After writing up my review for the Beklina Matisse Criss Cross Platforms, I ended up purchasing these Ribbed Open Toe Clogs in both black and buff (as I mentioned at the end of that review). Well it’s been over 5 months since I got these shoes so it was about time I wrote up a review. If you follow me on Insta, you see that I wear these shoes a lot (see the compilation above lol). I loooove how they look and how comfortable they are, and they’ve quickly become my go-to shoes.
If you’ve never heard of Beklina before, it’s a small business based in La Selva Beach (near Santa Cruz) run by Angelina Rennell. She does everything from design, customer service, social media, and sourcing/production. When I asked her for more details about her production, she let me know that the clogs are all handmade in Peru by two small family-owned factories that she visits regularly. The wood and leather is also locally sourced in Peru.
So first a note on sizing. In my last Beklina shoe review I went with a 8.5 even though I’m normally a size 8. Well after reading some reviews about these shoes I decided to go up a full size since they run a tad narrow and I have wide-ish feet. So for both the buff and black open-toe clogs, I went with a size 9 and I’m so glad that I did. I found that the buff ones fit perfectly while the black ones were a smidge tighter. I think the difference in the feel might have been due to the fact that dying the leather black made the leather a touch stiffer than the undyed (or less dyed) buff sandals. Also these shoes are all hand made in Peru so there’s bound to be some slight differences due to the hand-making process. I also found that the black clogs used a slightly different wood than the buff ones (I don’t know if you can tell in the pictures). But in general the black clogs were a tough lighter (in weight) than the buff colored clogs. But the hand-carved wooden platforms for both shoes are not heavy and easy to walk in (especially since the heel isn’t high and the bottom is fully lined in rubber).
When it comes to wearing them, I have to say I prefer the buff clogs over the black ones. I feel like the buff ones go with everything and help elongate the leg. I probably also prefer the buff ones since they’re slightly wider and fit a tad comfier. But I love both and wear them all the time (granted I haven’t walked miles and miles in them and mostly for errands).
Anyway if you’re interested in trying out Beklina shoes (or any of her other beautifully made items), I’ve asked Angelina, the owner of Beklina, for a discount code for you guys. So for the next month, you can get 15% your purchase with the code FairlyCurated15. I won’t make any commission off of it or anything, but I hope this would add some value to the blog for you guys reading this. And if you do end up getting something from Beklina I would love to see what you get!