Crocs: What a load of…
Okay folks, I’m going to get down to the dirty dirty here. One of the most recent fashion faux pas that I have continually seen is the amount of people wearing (and selling) Crocs. One look at that thing and one would think that Crocs are, well, a load of crock. Seriously. I was at a local upscale mall this past week and stopped by RESTORATION HARDWARE and POTTERY BARN to check out the sales. I noticed that a couple of sales associates who had cool outfits wore Crocs that “matched” their outfit. I didn’t want to be rude, but in my mind I was crying in tears out of laughter as I walked by them. I can understand that if you’re late for work, you’ll just take whatever shoe you find that is remotely in the same color of your outfit. Fine. We’ve all been there before, so it’s not a big deal. But honestly, are Crocs THAT good enough to wear with anything? Is it a shoe-for-all-outfit type? Is it THAT comfortable than say, Hush Puppies? Is it THAT sophisticated enough to wear for a “classier” retail establishment? Hmmm….
So I did my own research a couple of months ago and, sad to say, tried out a few Crocs in a Hallmark store (yes they sell them at Hallmark!!) at an outlet mall in town to see what the fuss was all about. Of course, they came out with any and every color and shade of the rainbow, including the almighty camo. While I could see how one would think it was OK to get, it wasn’t at all attractive in any outfit (especially mine) nor comfortable after walking for a “long period” of time. (My long period of time was walking in and out of the card aisles for a few minutes). After my trial period ended, I found myself people watching in the mall, and to my surprise (OK, I wasn’t THAT surprised), I saw more guys wearing them, and guess what is the predominant color for them? You got it. Camo.
Now granted, budgets can also be a part of the reason why people buy this crap. I would refute that argument and say that there are better choices for every budget that would actually make you LOOK better in the long term, and make you feel a bit more sophisticated than wearing Crocs. For example, I bought a pair of black leather sandals from BANANA REPUBLIC Outlet for $15, and I love it. It’s casual enough in look to wear with jeans and tee, button down shirt, or any combination, and “casual-formal” enough to wear a nice pair of herringbone slacks with a freshly pressed button down shirt.
And in the end, I don’t look like a load of crock wearing it.
I’d Rather Go Barefoot
Nothing is more attractive on a man than colorful, over-sized rubber shoes. Actually, they remind me of my childhood, Bozo the Clown in particular.
In all seriousness, I’m not sure why people think that comfort equals ugly (just as expensive equals attractive, but that’s an entirely different blog entry). Perhaps Ugg should hook up with Crocs and come up with an even “Ugglier” foot covering.
abs said this on July 25, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I agree, Abs. What’s more atrocious is when the WOMEN wear them… Now THAT is FUGLY.
thepersonalshopper said this on July 25, 2008 at 5:10 pm