Wooden Shoes: The Netherlands


Figure 1.--This photograph from the rural village school of Zijtaart in 1942 shows quite a number of the children wearing wooden shoes. The Dutch text read, "De volgende serie van vijf foto's uit de collectie van Harrie Vervoort is onder enig voorbehoud op 1942 gedateerd, gebasseerd op de paar namen van kinderen die bekend zijn. Voorste rij vierde van links is Harrie Rooijakkers. Zevende van rechts is Jan Munsters, hij draagt schoenen. De meeste kinderen dragen nog klompen. Op de klassefoto's van 1946 zijn het schoenen. Tijdens de Tweede Oorlog waren schoenen op de bon en was men daar heel zuinig op." This translates as, "The next series of 5 photos from the collection of Harrie Vervoort is dated 1942 and based upon the names of children who were known. First row fourth from left is Harrie Rooijakkers. Seventh from the right is Jan Munters. He is wearing [leather] shoes. Most of the children wear wooden shoes. During World War II shoes were rationed and one had to be was very frugal." When the Dutch source states that shoes were rationed, this meant leather shoes. We don't believe that wooden shoes were rationed which is why so many children are wearing them.

Wooden shoes are called "klompen" in Dutch. Holland a few centuries ago had thousands of clogmakers. At that time, almost all clogs were made by farmers. Specialize tools were not needed. These old fashioned, handmade clogs were for the most part created using tools that the farmers already had and were use for various other purposes. A folk tradition developed. Many farmers decorated the shoes that they made. The Dutch tradition of clog making began to change in the late 19th century. There had always been some clog makers in cities who produced clogs as their main occupation. The number of selfemployed clogmakers started to increase after 1870. That was not only the result of the increased population, but even more importantly because of the agricultural changes in the Netherlands. The ordinary farmer didn't have enough time left to produce clogs. We are not sure how common wooden shoes were after World War I. We don't see them very commonly in the photographic record, although our Dutch archive is limited. We do note some school portrairs with many boys wearing wooden shoes. It is likely that World War II gave klompen a new lease on life.

Terminology

Wooden shoes are called "klompen" in Dutch. This is of course the derivaztion for the English word clogs.

Clog Making

Holland a few centuries ago had thousands of clogmakers. At that time, almost all clogs were made by farmers. Specialize tools were not needed. These old fashioned, handmade clogs were for the most part created using tools that the farmers already had and were use for various other purposes. The Dutch tradition of clog making began to change in the late 19th century. There had always been some clog makers in cities who produced clogs as their main occupation. The number of selfemployed clogmakers started to increase after 1870. That was not only the result of the increased population, but even more importantly because of the agricultural changes in the Netherlands. The ordinary farmer didn't have enough time left to produce clogs.

Importance

Clogs were primarily important because leather shoes were expensive. Thus they were mostly worn by working-class people, factory workers in the cities and farmers in the country. This same dynamic occurred in Belgium, France, and Germany. We are unsure why they were particularly common in the Netherlands.

Chronology

We do not have much information on wooden shoes during the 19th century, but think they were quite common, especially in rural areas. Our limited archive showsquite a few Dutch children and adults wearing clogs before World War I, mostly in small village and rural settings. Workers may have also worn clogs to some extent. We are less sure how common wooden shoes were after World War I. We do not think they were very common except for rural areas. We don't see them very commonly in the photographic record, although our Dutch archive is asmittedly limited. We do note some school portrairs with many boys wearing wooden shoes. It is likely that World War II gave klompen a new lease on life. Leather shoes probably were in very short supply during the War, especailly the later years of the War. One HBC reader tells us that Wooden shoes were common in the Netherlands. until the late 1950s. Nowadays boys in rural areas may still wear them--although it is no longer as common as it once was. One Dutch reader, reports, "They are cheap, durable and comfortable. Another reader tells that it is a mistake to think of wooden shoes as a thing of the past. He writes, "I would like to point out that the farmer in Holland still wears his wooden shoes. Not because of the tourists gaping at him but rather because it is a sensible choice for him in the wet fields of Holland.

Demographics

While our information on the 19th century is limited, a variety of sources suggest that in the 20th century, especially after World war I, that clogs became a rural form of footwear. This was not entirely a measure of poverty, although that was a factor. In the boggy Dutch ground, leather shoes rapidly deteriorated. Clogs ptoved much more practical, especially in the era before rubber Wellington boots were widely available. Clogs held up much better than leather shoes. Both adults and children wore them. They were, however, worn like work boots. Most rural families had leather shoes when dressing up. We think children commonly wore leather shoes to schooll, especially after World War I, but our information here is still very limited. Another factor is the development of a folk tradition concerning clogs which is most pronounced in rural areas.

Social Class

We believe social class was a factor in wearing clogs, but our information is limited. As clogs were inexpensive, we believe that they were commonly worn by workers, including city workers. And this presumably means that their children who did not go barefoot also wore clogs. Workers steadily imprived their incomes in the 19th cedntury and early 20th century. We think that meant that most workers began wearing leather shoes, but probably at the even of World War I that some wirkers still wire clogs. After World War I we believe that clogs shaply declined in Dutch cities, but this needs to be confirmed.

Usage

The wooden shoe was a work shoe. We do not have much information on the medieval period, but in modern times we believe both city workers and farmers wore them in the 19th century. We know much more about the 20th century. The photographic record shows wooden shoes primarily being worm in the 20th century by farmers. Woerkers may have worn them in the early-20th century, but after World War I they are mostlyv seen in rual areas. We are less sure about schoolwear. A Dutch contributor tells us, "In (conservative) rural areas , especially where there were a lot of farms, children must have worn wooden shoes to school and kept on doing so much longer than elsewhere , but I suppose that in the course of the coming of 'modern times' (early days of rock'n roll ... suring the 1950s) , children wearing traditional clothes and clogs/klompen rapidly came to an (almost complete) end." [van der Groef] The children here are mostly wearing wooden shoes to school (figure 1). We are not sure if this was common in rural areas at the time or because of the German World War Ii occupation, leather shoes were not available.

Folk Tradition

A folk tradition developed. Many farmers decorated the shoes that they made.

European Regulations

A few years ago, the European commission decided that wooden shoes were not safe to wear and should be outlawed in industry. Formal tests were carried out and it was decided from these tests that wooden shoes were very safe indeed.

Comfort

While it is true that for the average person, used to leather shoes or sneakers, it may sound very uncomfortable to wear wooden shoes, the truth is that a pair of 'klompen', properly sized and worn with woolen socks is very easy to wear. You should see the kids in the rural areas of Holland run and play, while wearing wooden shoes!" Dutch clogs were made out of poplar. Poplar has a fiber that is tough but still flexible during the working of the wood. Poplar wears well, and gives the clog a long life.

Reader Comments

A Dutch observer tells us, "Almost nobody in the country wears them anymore these days, unlike in the past. I think I can still recollect my grandfather wearing klompen in the early 1960s. My grandfather used to live in a rural area where people, adults and children, went on wearing clogs for a longer period of time than in the cities. But just a short time ago I saw a schoolpicture of my late uncle from about 1923, and on this pictue I saw a boy who was still wearing them, whereas he used to live in the big city of The Hague .... - but possibly he was an exception to the rule even then already." [van der Groef]

Sources

Wim van der Groef, Wim. E-mail message, Decmber 6, 2009.






HBC





Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main country wooen shoe page]
[Return to the Main Dutch footwear page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Satellite sites] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]




Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web chronological pages:
[Main chronologies page]
[Early 1800s] [Mid-1800s] [The 1880s] [The 1900s] [The 1920s] [The 1940s] [The 1960s] [The 1980s]



Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web style pages:
[Skelton suits] [Tunics] [Eton suits] [Kilts] [Sailor suits] [Knicker suits] [Short pants suit] [Long pants suits]



Created: 7:23 PM 11/23/2008
Last updated: 5:55 PM 12/6/2009