If you have some older Clarks shoes in your closet...beware!

[Laurie]

Here's my shoe disaster:   

 

I was going to an event at my son's school, my husband came home early to stay with my daughter, and I was excited to be able to go see my son's presentation.   I had a pair of Clarks in the closet that I bought a few years ago but hadn't even worn yet.  About a half hour before we were leaving  I changed into my outfit and put on the shoes.  There was nothing wrong with them, I went up and down stairs, no problem whatsoever.  Then I drove my son to the campus, dropped him off since he had to be there early, and then I went to the assigned parking lot which wasn't that close to the building where the event was being held.  As soon as I stepped out of the mini van I knew something was wrong with my right shoe...the upper was coming apart from the sole.  I thought about going home, but I decided to just walk really carefully.  I got to see my son's presentation, but the whole time I kept wondering if I'd be able to make it back to the car with that shoe and I tried really hard not to move my foot for a couple of hours!  

 

When it was time to leave, I told my son what had happened.  Unfortunately, when I got up to leave, I had an even greater problem.  BOTH shoes were now falling apart on my feet!  We had to walk very slowly back to the parking lot but I made it without having to walk barefoot.  By then, it wasn't just the upper part of the shoes separating...the black material of the footbed/sole was imploding!   When we got home, my husband said he'd never seen anything like it before.  

 

I was really upset, and the next day I searched on the internet and found this:  

  

 

My shoes weren't that old, they were still in the box and had never been worn.  So be careful in case you have some Clarks in your closet!   Some apparently do not have a very long shelf life.  

 

 

[hopskipjump]

Same thing happened with multiple pairs of Danskos! I pulled out a pair to wear to a funeral, and left ugly black bits of shoe sole all over the white marble entry way of the Catholic Church as I walked in. By the end of the services, it was both shoes.

I had reasons to wear "dressier" shoes two more times shortly after that, and both of my other Danskos did the exact same thing even though they looked fine when I first put them on.

 

All the shoes were about two years old but had been sitting in the closet for about a year.

 

The leather uppers were fine! But not the soles!

[Kalmia]

My husband's Clarks disintegrated while we were walking around the zoo. Very annoying.

[MEmama]

How strange! That must have been very disconcerting!

[Laura Corin]

How odd. I've not had that happen.

[Arcadia]

Is your shoe closet very humid or very dry?

 

How odd. I've not had that happen.

It is probably the shoe glue. I had my Clarks and other shoes glued back by cobblers almost every year due to rain conditions. The front of the shoes open up like a crocodile's mouth :lol: Edited May 22, 2016 by Arcadia

[ikslo]

My DH had that happen to him, but they weren't Clarks. It happens.

[QueenCat]

Wow! About 3/4s of my shoes are Clarks........ And some have been worn very regularly......... the only pair I ever had a problem with was a pair that got soaked and stayed soaked as I couldn't get out of the rain/puddles for awhile......... but they didn't fall apart until after hours of soaking....

[UCF612]

Crazy! I own a few pairs of Clarks but haven't had any issues yet. I'll be aware now though.

[Lanny]

Sorry to read about your issue with the Clarks shoes!    I believe that happens with many brands.  My wife bought a pair of shoes from a store called "Pat Primo", I think last November. Possibly she'd worn them before our trip to Orlando in April?  On May 1st, when we were waiting for the Avianca ticket counter to open, so we could check in for our flight to Colombia, my wife and DD went off to a (very nearby) restroom, and I watched our stuff.  Probably about 30 or 40 yards each way. When she returned to where I was sitting, she showed me that the heel of one of her shoes was loose.  I have it here in a plastic bag and will take it to the Shoe Repair lady, ASAP, to see if she can fix it.  My wife was fortunate in that her carry on bag contained a pair of clogs (flip flops?) and she wore those, for the flights from Orlando to Bogota to Cali...  Another time, years ago, she bought a pair of shoes, in the Superstore near where we lived at that time.  She paid for the shoes and then put them on, while we were shopping. She walked across the store and one of the shoes had a horrible problem and she returned the shoes for a refund.   Lots of poorly designed and built shoes on the market, especially for women...

[Laura Corin]

Is your shoe closet very humid or very dry?

 

It is probably the shoe glue. I had my Clarks and other shoes glued back by cobblers almost every year due to rain conditions. The front of the shoes open up like a crocodile's mouth :lol:

Odd. It's not as if Britain has a dry climate. I wore my last pair almost every day for three years

I had them reheeled but that's it.

[MelAR05]

Same thing has happened to every pair of Clarks I have ever owned. Needless to say, I no longer buy Clarks.

[Guest]

Strange. I, too, have had Clarks shoes but have not had this happen.

[Guest]

Wow, I have six pairs of Clarks, many as old as seven or eight years, alone with some new pairs. None have ever disintegrated or broken down on me. Quite the opposite!

 

That's a bummer :(

[MomsintheGarden]

I've had this happen to at least five pairs of Clarks over the past 8 years. It didn't happen to the styles I bought 20+ years ago, so they must have changed their sole material. Once a piece of the rubber falls off the side of a shoe, the pair is a goner. I wish I could find a brand that I liked as much as Clarks. If you switched, what do you use now?

[Happy]

Wow, I have a closet full of Clarks and never have had this happen.

 

It does seem as if the shoes I've purchased in the last couple of years aren't the same quality as those I have from many years past.

 

What will I wear if not Clarks????

[Vida Winter]

This happened to my husband on the way to our son's wedding (what timing!). I don't think they were Clark's, though.

[mamiof5]

That's so odd! Have never heard of this happening with any brand of shoes. I own a couple pairs of Clark's and they have lasted a long time (4-5 yrs now? I use them a lot from Feb -Oct.

[TrixieB]

I had that happen with a pair of Clarks too.  Also with a pair of hiking boots (not Clarks).  That was the worst.  My friend and I started heading up the trail and my boot soles began falling off.  Fortunately I had another pair of shoes in the car that were appropriate for the hike.

 

My dad also had the same thing happen with a pair of shoes (I don't know the brand).  He had barely worn his shoes, although they were a few years old.

 

My mom said she heard it had to do with the material the soles were made from.  Apparently the material disintegrates over time.

[J-rap]

Oh my!  I just sold a pair on eBay.  I hope that doesn't happen with them!

[DawnM]

I ordered a pair from eBay and by the time they got to me, they had completely come apart.  The seller was horrified.  I think they were in the heat and the glue came loose.

 

I was refunded, but sheesh!

[yucabird]

Not a Clarks' issue.  I live in a humid environment (Mexico/Caribbean coast), and name-brand shoes I purchase abroad (I can't otherwise obtain them.).  I've had AT LEAST a half-dozen pair disentegrate (family members have had shoe-probs too).  The breakdown tends to occur when shoes haven't been worn (or haven't been worn in some while).       

 

I've had great luck with Doc Martins.  (Fortunately or unfortunately) those darn things last forever.

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2016 by yucabird

[Laurie]

Same thing happened with multiple pairs of Danskos! I pulled out a pair to wear to a funeral, and left ugly black bits of shoe sole all over the white marble entry way of the Catholic Church as I walked in. By the end of the services, it was both shoes.

I had reasons to wear "dressier" shoes two more times shortly after that, and both of my other Danskos did the exact same thing even though they looked fine when I first put them on.

 

All the shoes were about two years old but had been sitting in the closet for about a year.

 

The leather uppers were fine! But not the soles!

 

White marble!  Oh my!

 

I have Danskos.  Now I'm not sure if I'll want to wear them away from home!

[Laurie]

How strange! That must have been very disconcerting!

 

I was still trying to recover (mentally, not physically) from the big frozen vegetable recall.   Then my shoes go to pieces.  

[Laurie]

Odd. It's not as if Britain has a dry climate. I wore my last pair almost every day for three years

I had them reheeled but that's it.

 

  I wonder if Clarks shoes sold in the USA come from the same factory as the shoes sold in Britain?  Mine say "Made in Brazil".     

[wendy not in HI]

That is just so odd!  I just bought a couple pairs of Clarks.  As I was checking out, the salesman suggested that I buy a pair of cedar shoe stretcher thingies.  He made it sound like that's the best way to keep your shoes nice - something about moisture control and maybe keeping the soles in shape??  I didn't buy them, and I didn't think anyone would ever need something like that, but now I'm wondering if they are worth buying...

[Laurie]

I just read this article:  http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/2.1443/want-your-comfort-shoes-to-last-1310918

 

Well I've learned my science lesson for the day.    

 

(This afternoon I was looking more closely at the shoebox and was glad to see a clearance price sticker.  I usually look for sales, but clearance is even better under the circumstances!)

[shawthorne44]

Not a Clarks' issue.  I live in a humid environment (Mexico/Caribbean coast), and name-brand shoes I purchase abroad (I can't otherwise obtain them.).  I've had AT LEAST a half-dozen pair disentegrate (family members have had shoe-probs too).  The breakdown tends to occur when shoes haven't been worn (or haven't been worn in some while).       

 

I've had great luck with Doc Martins.  (Fortunately or unfortunately) those darn things last forever.

 

I agree that is the "not been worn in awhile."  I used to be a real shoe hound.  Then lifestyle changes meant that I wasn't wearing heels and I wasn't buying new heels.  Every company Christmas party I would wear one of my heels and they were guaranteed to fall apart.  Last December we were happy that they survived until we left the party room and then I walked through the country club barefoot.   A couple of those were quality shoes bought in Milan.  But, they were all perfectly fine when I stopped wearing them.  

[dirty ethel rackham]

Wow.  How strange.  I own several pairs of Clarks, some of which had daily use for years.  Some get only occasional use.  None of them disintegrated.  My favorite pair did fall apart, but that was because the dog chewed them to pieces before we figured out how to deal with the incessant chewing needs. 

[heartlikealion]

I just read this article:  http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/2.1443/want-your-comfort-shoes-to-last-1310918

 

Well I've learned my science lesson for the day.    

 

(This afternoon I was looking more closely at the shoebox and was glad to see a clearance price sticker.  I usually look for sales, but clearance is even better under the circumstances!)

 

Oh no. I will have to tell dh to wear his shoes. He'll buy a few at a time and then often not wear one or two pairs until the first falls apart (not falling apart in the same way as described in this thread).

 

I was very upset one time a pair of platform shoes broke while I was wearing them. Not the way you might expect, either. It was a vertical crack if you were looking at them from the side. I loved those shoes.

 

[wendy not in HI]

I just read this article:  http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/2.1443/want-your-comfort-shoes-to-last-1310918

 

Well I've learned my science lesson for the day.    

 

(This afternoon I was looking more closely at the shoebox and was glad to see a clearance price sticker.  I usually look for sales, but clearance is even better under the circumstances!)

 

That is so interesting!  And strange!!

[Tree Frog]

That is just so odd!  I just bought a couple pairs of Clarks.  As I was checking out, the salesman suggested that I buy a pair of cedar shoe stretcher thingies.  He made it sound like that's the best way to keep your shoes nice - something about moisture control and maybe keeping the soles in shape??  I didn't buy them, and I didn't think anyone would ever need something like that, but now I'm wondering if they are worth buying...

 

My MIL had several pair of Clarks and really liked them. After she passed away, I received the shoes and we found in her belongings a cedar shoe stretcher thingie. Based on your experience, I wonder if that's where she got it. It doesn't look like it was ever used.

[QueenCat]

I just read this article:  http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/2.1443/want-your-comfort-shoes-to-last-1310918

 

Well I've learned my science lesson for the day.    

 

(This afternoon I was looking more closely at the shoebox and was glad to see a clearance price sticker.  I usually look for sales, but clearance is even better under the circumstances!)

 

Interesting........ I don't store my shoes in boxes....... on open air shelves...... most are worn regularly. Guess I need to wear some of them more often... Thanks for sharing!

[GoodGrief]

I had that happen with a pair of shoes, and now I can't remember the brand! It was so bizarre, happened suddenly while I was conducting a photoshoot at a local health club with a solid surface floor. The soles of the shoes disintegrated in the course of an hour and made a huge mess on the floor. Ack!

[Miss Marple]

My mom and I both have had pairs do that.  I was wearing a pair of clog types (a favorite, but this was the first wear of the warmer season) and the sole just started coming apart.  Thankfully I was still around the house!  Mom had several pairs do that.  So weird!