h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's that school shoe buying time of year again. Back in the '70s when I was a slip of a girl and Clark's shoes were the only shoes available, was it my imagination, or were Clark's shoes indestructible? They must have been. Apparently, my brother-in-law (a fashionable sort of fellow) very naughtily got two mates to drag him round the playground on his toes on the first day of school so that he could show his mum the trashed ones a get a new (non-Clarks) pair.



Anna

Can I just say, the Clark's shoe god rules!!!! thanks to growing up with Clark shoes i have beautifully formed feet and impeccable taste in shoes oh and a bit of a shoe fetish

Bit of a difference to the actual conversation,and i hope it does'nt detract from your appreciation of clarks in general,but i worked for that company for five years and beleive you me,behind the scenes it's a seething hot bed of sexual promiscuity,good fun though!
That is all.

I was always put into Start Rite, who had notoriously hideous designs, but were always 'perfectly' fitted and good for your feet - or so I was always being told....

I always suspected that behind sensible shoes lies a passionate heart. I went to Clark's yesterday

I used to love the mechanical fitting machine - always felt like it was going to crush your feet and then instead just gave them a little friendly squeeze - all shoe shops should have those things

oh Doctor Octagon, tell me more about about the sexual tension that goes into making shoes .... told you i've got a bit of a fetish i knew there was a reason i find clark shoes such a turn on

Sounds an excellent place to work!

The regulation shoes at my school until the LVth form were either Clarks or Startrite.

After that we were allowed to wear any style providing it was brown and had a low heel. But I managed to get away with a pair with a 1.5" heel and was considered very daring

Once we were in the Lower and UVIth we could wear our own clothes.

Well, I used to occasionally operate that machine and it's as much fun to use as it to go on it.But we used to have twice yearly conferences for all managers and assistant managers,everyone would descend on the conference centre at Gatwick airport for three days and by day talk about next seasons focus for sales and view all the new styles and advertising and stuff,by night it was a completley different story everyone would go freaking crazy and descend to new levels of debauchery(i'm not joking!)I've allways considered my self quite liberal with wine and women and song and such,but nothing could have prepared me for those "conferences" NEVER look at your local clarks manager the same way again and if you get a chance,ask them about the infamous summer conference of '99!

Shoes were always Clark's in my school until we were about 10, then Doc Marten made an appearance on the horizon Net result being that I have no podiatry problems, unlike many of my peers, and can tie shoelaces at the speed of light.

We had to wear Clark's Cordelia right up to Vth form, then after that we all got those pork-pie shoes the nurses (used to) wear.

I was disciplined for wearing a pair of Dr. Marten's finest shoes, which is probably what started me on a lifetime of wearing Docs at every opportunity.

Did any other female peeps here have the Clark's Commando shoes? With the compass in the heel? They were way cool.

Dr Octagon - believe me your conference experience was not so out of the ordinary. I work in the conference industry and have seen the most outrageous behaviour from what I could only describe as a bunch of Jeckyll and Hydes!!

By day they sit through some fairly tedious speeches (made tolerable by the fantastic graphics I put on the screen for them of course), then they have a mediocre buffet lunch (no alcohol as there are yet more speakers in the afternoon) and finally when the final slide of the day has been shown and the announcement that the cocktails preceding the gala dinner and awards ceremony will begin at 7.30, they change into unrecognisable beasts! Getting legless and shagging is all they have on their minds - even as the walk-out music is still ringing in their ears.

Trouble is, there is usually another day of the conference the next day. It is not a pretty sight and the turnout is usually alot lower than the day before.

But back to the shoes - does anybody remember the X-ray machines they used to have in shoe shops? I remember the foot squeezy ones very well as I used to (and still do) love having my feet squeezed!

It was Clarkes all the way for me until I was 14. Then I discovered 1980's fashion and trainers. I now have fallen arches

conference dinners are just like school discos with more alcohol and more hormones... and great dad dancing

i loved the x-ray machine, i loved the care and attention my feet got and i've got to thank the heros and heroines of clarks for giving my feet a good start in life - no fallen arches, no squashed toes, so hideous deformations. i still wear clarks shoes, with the occassional foray into doc martens and converse trainers.

"behind the scenes it's a seething hot bed of sexual promiscuity"

Well, I know where my next job application's going...

B

Oh and just to balance out the debate - I wore clarke's shoes until I was about 14 and wasn't allowed heels until I was 16, my feet however are deformed because all my shoes gave me plenty of space to curl my toes.
The nice man at clarkes gave me lots of exercises to do (including two which involved toe curling(?)) which did b****r all except give me the power to write using my feet and pick up pencils using my toes (useful skills I'm sure you'll agree).
My toes now rub against almost all the shoes I've bought and my toe nails grow in a variety of directions that are never quite right (lovely thought).

Thank you clarke's - at least you used to squeeze my feet

I'm sure my expereinces are'nt unique but clarks is definatley the worst corporate event i've ever been to(and unfortunatley i've been to quite a few!)