Hippie Shoes Reveal Their Inner Heidis

THE rules of footwear used to be strict when it came to fashion versus comfort: women could not have both. A shoe appropriate for walking six blocks comfortably to the subway was not the same shoe to wear to the office. A pointy-toed pump with a three-inch heel meant blisters.

Dansko's Raven Margarita slingbacks, top, and Clarks' Red Empress.

Heidi Klum Birkenstocks.

Which makes some of this summer's shoe offerings a minirevolution. Brands like Dansko, once known for manufacturing the thick-soled white shoes preferred by nurses, now sell shoes like the Roxy, a demure red suede shoe with a pump heel and an ankle strap. Birkenstock, the company that prides itself on hippie-comfort über alles, now employs the German supermodel Heidi Klum to dream up an annual collection of flashy, sparkly Birkenstocks through her own design.

In the summer collection of Naturalizer, a brand known for inexpensive comfort, there is a black wraparound sandal with a three-inch cork-wedge heel.

The aggressively hip look of shoes from these companies may signal a new front in footwear: fashion finally meets comfort. Many women, particularly those upward of 40 who are fed up with decades of torture-inflicting shoes, now view the choice between fashion and comfort as an anachronism, and shoe manufacturers known for their practical styles are responding by adding zing to their summer lines.

"The baby boomer is less willing to compromise when it comes to her feet," said Bob Infantino, the president of Clarks USA, known for its clogs, boots and sandals. "We're just really becoming aware that you have to start designing around what women want and how they want their shoes to look."

The prevalence of comfortable sneakers and flip-flops has made younger women more impatient with killer footwear, too. "The young customers are so used to wearing athletic shoes growing up that their comfort expectations for shoes are different," Mr. Infantino said. "And I think it's fairly easy for a company to design around comfort."

Clarks has a new line for summer that it describes as "the perfect marriage of Eurofashion and Eurocomfort." The dress-casual group includes the Raffia, a red espadrille slide, and the Venetian, a leather tangerine sandal with a heel. But the distinguishing feature in these shoes is the cushy sole that Clarks engineered to guarantee comfort.

The changes come at a price. The Dansko Raquel, a pink, heeled sandal with a braided toe strap, is 5 at the Steamboat Shoe Market, an online retailer.

The Heidi Klum Birkenstocks are between collections right now (new ones come out in July), so the place to find them is on eBay. A pair of metallic silver and pink sandals - with faux pink sapphires and silver studs - went recently for 4.50.

Other sandals are more affordable: a Naturalizer high heel is listed for .99 on the shoe company's Web site.

At Good Footing Adventure, a shoe store in Park Slope, Brooklyn, the most prominent display is filled with Birkenstocks and Danskos. The styles in front are a two-inch-heeled sandal, in light green or cinnamon, for 4.95.

It is quite an evolution for Dansko. It was founded 15 years ago and first produced clogs that were used as work shoes, something to wear around a horse farm that matched the company's rural setting in West Grove, Pa.

But the company acknowledges it has come a long way from clogs. In an interview, Catherine Byers, the director of marketing and communications for Dansko, rattled off the fashiony attributes of Dansko's summer line, strappy sandals. Mediterranean influence. Gladiator sandals. Since focusing on injecting more fashion into its lines, Dansko has created shoes with dyed cow hair, tiger stripes and zebra stripes.

This fall, Dansko is planning to introduce the Chelsea Collection, a line defined by a low heel and "sleek design" aimed, it says, at "urban hipsters."

There is still more public relations work to be done. Ms. Byers said that when she traveled, she tried to "wear flamboyant ones, hand-painted ones" to get people's attention. (They are usually noticed in airport bathrooms.)

This workhorse has even gone Hollywood, worn by actors and pictured in celebrity magazines.

"Julia Stiles, within the last couple of weeks," Ms. Byers said, deep in thought. "Edie Falco. Julia Roberts wears them. Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson."

And one more.

"I don't know if this is good news or bad, but Rosie O'Donnell," she said, somewhat sheepishly. But the new fashion-forward product lines may not be what all consumers want. On the blog A Socialite's Life several weeks ago, a discussion raged about Ms. Klum's line for Birkenstock.

As one person wrote, "An objective on-looker might deduce that Birkenstock are moving away from their traditional 'eco-conscious' and 'green' customer base and are attempting to woo a new affluent and trendy customer who would easily empathize with the glamorous profile and, indeed, lifestyle of Heidi Klum and Seal. Let's face it, the traditional Birkenstock customer has probably never even heard of Heidi Klum."

Fears aside, there are limits to the fashion-meets-comfort category. Ms. Byers of Dansko said, "So far, we've never had this conversation: 'We need a stiletto heel!' "