Birkenstock’s most classic sandal is suddenly shockingly luxurious. Okay, it’s actually not really a surprise that the Birkenstock Arizona has luxury leanings — a Manolo Blahnik collab and $400 premium editions will do that — but it is interesting how normalized the Arizona’s sumptuousness has become.
Like, Birkenstock so patiently iterates its core styles that out-and-out freshness deserves a double take.
So the Birkenstock Arizona’s patient growth from the single greatest sandal ever designed to humbly utilitarian flex is only really noticeable now that we’ve dived so deeply into upscaled Arizonas.
Case in point: the Arizona Big Buckle Highshine.
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This is a combo of several existing Birkenstock upgrades, welding together flashy, oversized buckles and glossy patent leather into a quietly statement sandal. But even though we’ve seen Big Buckle Birks, we’ve seen Highshine Birks and we’ve even seen Big Buckle Highshine Birks — already available online for $170, even — this particular outing is a little different.
Here, Birkenstock has upgraded the quotidian Arizona with a couple slick tonal colorways, a handsome look that makes the daily driver look as modestly opulent as the sandal styles offered in Birkenstock’s top-shelf 1774 collection. But it’s priced only a little more than the archetypal Arizona.
This isn’t the first luxe-looking Arizona-style Birkenstock, not even close. But it is reflective of the Arizona’s upswing.
In the wake of 2022’s Boston boom, wherein the humble clog inspired closed-toe Birkenstock mania, the Arizona has re-emerged as the godsent classic it always was.
Here is a sandal that is incapable of being inappropriate, simply too wearable and too classic to ever go out of style.
As such, the timeless suede Arizona is an all-timer but shouldn’t there be even more elegant styles that take arguably Birkenstock’s most famous sandal to classy new peaks?
Yes, clearly. Because what could be more luxurious than the opportunity for everyday wear?