Clarks Shoes: From Childhood Conformity to Global Cultural Icon

Clarks were for kids whose mothers chose their clothes and tolerated no discussion. These were the opposite of 'cool kid' shoes.

Which makes what happened next all the more remarkable - how Clarks transformed from a symbol of childhood conformity to a global cultural icon.

A new book celebrates 200 years of the 'square' Somerset brand that found its way into pop subcultures worldwide.

The more I grew in years, the more mortified I became. Because in the playground hierarchy of the 1970s, these shoes were the opposite of cool.

They were what your parents made you wear, what teachers approved of, what marked you as hopelessly conventional.