My earliest recollection of the Clarks brand is from about 1966 when their “desert boot” became popular in Los Angeles.
I began buying their casual shoes in the 1980s, particularly when it became hard or impossible to find Roots. I've found them very comfortable as well as attractive. My main complaint, which holds for most other shoes made today as well, is that it is impossible to replace the soles (those I've owned don't have heels, per se). I've also had other problems with the soles, including pinhole leaks after stepping on a nail or tack1). I also managed to break (split) open the soles on one pair by repeatedly crouching or kneeling in them: not enough resistance to repeated extreme bending of the (thick) soles. The wierdest –most surprising–problem with soles came from not wearing the shoes for a long time: the rubber or whatever they were made of lost its elasticity and strength, so when I did put them on, the soles crumbled–literally–with my first steps.2) The ones that disintegrated include a pair of black wing-tips I wore with suits (to the office).
See also