Charlatan

The first person I ever saw wearing them was someone I really don't like. From that day forward crocs already bear a taint.

I made it very clear that nobody in my family (if they want to stay in my family) can wear them.

I just found out that my daughter had a pair given to her when they were in Toronto and I was away for a year. Thankfully, they didn't bring them over with them.

Hideous shoes. People wearing them outside of kitchens, are begging to be mocked.

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Bill O'Rights

As with other such fads...I reserve the right to point and laugh uncontrolably.

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ubertuber

I like 'em for roadtrips - slip em off while in the car and on when you need to get out. They're comfy and easy. Kinda like flip flops, but better.

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Push-Pull

We knew a guy who had a bright yellow pair. We always laughed at his "clown shoes".

If they're THAT comfy, then for God's sake, get a neutral colored pair.....

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LazyBoy

Don't own a pair, don't care too....

-Will

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surferlove007

LOL
The pinto of shoes...well when I got certified to sail...my fellow students wore them on the boat and said they were great because they gripped well. As for a personal decision...no, college students just don't wear crocs. Simply no.

A lot of my students this summer wore them, younger kids 5 - 10 just thought they were all the rage. Whatever...not my thing.

Yes, they are ugly plastic blocks.

noodle

sorry, i wasn't clear.
the feet retain the odor.
of plastic and sweat.
i've smelled croc feet.
they're worse that jelly-shoes-feet from the 80s.
if you're wearing socks,
then the socks and the feet smell like sweat and plastic.

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newtx

Crocs are for comfort. I would compare them to the old AMC pacer. Remember that one. Picture a fish bowl that you can drive. Birkenstocks and Crocs are more comfortable to me than going barefoot.

ratbastid

I think the bottom line on Crocs (as demonstrated in this thread) is this: if you've ever had them actually on your feet, you love them. And if not, you can't imagine why anybody would ever want a pair.

shesus

haha, then I'll never know because I love my feet too much to put them in those things. I have a foot fetish..don't judge me.

I'm sure that pleated, elastic waist pants are comfy too, but that doesn't mean I'd wear them...

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Martian

I get that crocs are good for boaters and people who work in kitchens and such. And if that's what you want them for, I say go for it; hell, I get function over form. Outside of that specialized purpose though, I do not understand it. I have a pair of shoes that are quite comfortable and don't look like... well, that. The Ford Pinto of shoes, indeed.

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Blackthorn

I've never worn them so I don't know how they feel on the feet. I do know the reason that I've never worn them. They are FUGLY! Anything that forces you to shuffle your feet as you walk doesn't appeal to me and when you look like a block of swiss cheese that's gone peacock I aint putting you on my feet...

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Plan9

Wasn't President Bush caught wearing them?

That is reason enough to NOT wear them.

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ratbastid

Hunh?

maleficent

have you ever watched someone walk while wearng them? they clomp along like a baby pachyderm... flip flops cause th shuffle - crocs people clod along... very graceless...

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Psycho Dad

+1

My sister-in-law's chronically unemployed husband was the first person I ever saw with them (well maybe not the first but I blame him for my dislike of them) and now I can't stand them. I thought the shoes to be little improvement over the filthy house slippers he normally wears in all situations.

However from what I understand they are quite comfortable and I can see that makes them excellent for people who work on their feet all day such as nurses and whatnot. then again, people who work on their feet all day are employed and thus I'm not biased against them as I am my sister-in-law's chronically unemployed husband

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ratbastid

I walk perfectly normally in mine...

Baraka_Guru

Does this make Crocs the Macs of footwear?

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maleficent

it tends to be more women that have the clomping problem them men do...

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Craven Morehead

Same here. However, if I flip the ankle strap foward, basically converting the Croc into a clog, I'm not sure I could make the same statement. Maybe that's what was seen.

Ustwo

Pretty much.

Only macs look good and are over priced.

Crocs make you look like a retard, but are cheap.

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Baraka_Guru

Thanks for the clarification, Ustwo.

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TotalMILF

I got this pair for my toddler son:



They are great for kids because they're super comfy, easy to slip on/off, and incredibly easy to clean. Hell, I think I even threw them in the dishwasher once.

I had a pair that I used at work (daycare) because they're soft and super comfy, and because I could clean them very easily. I don't actually wear them in public, though.

I would probably wear these out and about, however:



Some of their shoes are definitely ugly, but some are just fine

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maleficent

I never thought that dishwasher safe should be a prerequisite for a pair of shoes - were they top rack only or can they take the full heat of the dishwasher

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Grancey

I'm all about comfort when it comes to my feet, so I really don't care what the shoe looks like. I never knew that people had such strong negative opinions about these shoes until I started reading this thread. Anyway, to get to the point. I kept seeing crocs on feet and in the stores and thought they looked comfy. Maybe it's my foot, but they were not comfortable, I couldn't walk in them, and I couldn't wait to get them off my foot. I'll just stick to my sloggers.

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xepherys

LOL, this thread entertains me. There are a couple of guys here who have them as shower shoes. Before I came here I mostly saw them on college students and children. The "original" model of crocs that most people think about are ugly as hell, but they have a few styles that aren't quite as atrocious. I would never wear the "cayman" style though (original)... even as a shower shoe.

As for the foot stink, dont blame the crocs. The material they are made out of has anti-microbial properties and prevents (as best it can) stinkfoot. Some people just have nasty feet though.

Apparently there is a croc boot now. I wonder if it'd be good for snowbound adventures. Strange... Oh and my vote for ugliest corc? The "islander":

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maleficent

Now those look like the duck shoes that LL Bean sold back in the early 80s - genereally in obnoxiously bright colors with the leather upper...

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xepherys

Yeah, I remember the duck shoes. I never liked them. If I knew then that they'd lead to the above abominations, I'd have disliked them even more.

O-M-F-G... this thread got me looking at the various croc styles and this stuck out...


...


...


wow

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Sensei

I haven't noticed too many of them. Then again, I am oblivious to fashion.

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teshadoh

^ You live in Portland, OR & you haven't seen anyone wear them? They are the official shoe of the white liberal upper income 'outdoors' person - which in Boulder, CO is the largest demographic. On top of that - Crocs was created & headquartered here.

For those that hate seeing them - every now & then - welcome to my world, I see them EVERYWHERE!

telekinetic

I concur, very peculiar! What a bizarre topic for the entire TFP to be so closed minded about, and absolutely not letting a flood of first-hand accounts with a single dissent among them sway their ignorant preconceptions.

snowy

Crocs aren't as common around these parts as Chacos or Tevas, say. The problem with wearing a shoe like Crocs in the PacNW, where it rains a lot, is that their classic model has holes in it that allow water into the shoe. Most of the people I know who wear them are people like my SO's aunt, a hairstylist. She stands on her feet all day and wants a comfy shoe.

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Charlatan

I am aghast.

My wife bought a pair of pink ones for her trip to Cambodia.

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xepherys

I don't think it's an ignorant preconception issue. I'm quite convinced that they are probably very comfortable. Regardless, I also feel that, at least the "basic" style is ugly beyond sin. I might get a pair as shower shoes on my leave for the remainder of my deployment only because I detest the typical $2 pair of thong-style flip-flops. Also, the better coverage I can get for my feet in this god forsaken place (no, not Afghanistan... our SHOWERS!) the better. But I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a pair in public, or probably even around the house. Uck!

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blueroses

I'm in the never tried them, don't like them crowd. I think they're hideous. But I do know a woman who wears them because she has back problems. She has them in about every color.

For the most part though, I can't stand the shoes. Occasionally the wearers will get on my nerves. Case and point: I was at a theme park waiting in line and this young girl was wearing multi colored croc-knock offs. Right behind her were two other middle school girls, sporting their real crocs. This is a snippet of the croc-loving middle schoolers' snide remarks:
Girl with Pink Crocs: "Look at her, she's not even wearing real ones"
Girl with Green Crocs: "Yea, they don't even have the little logo on the side"
Girl with Pink Crocs: "She probably paid like five dollars for them"
Both laugh.

First of all, anyone who would pay more than $5 for them should probably get their priorities straight. Secondly, anyone who pays that close of detail to crocs should be shot. And lastly, I have a theory that they were just jealous that their crocs weren't multi-colored.

laconic1

Crocs are just one more bad thing to come out of Boulder. I'm not even a total shoe snob, but gosh those things are awful.

ratbastid

Prejudice and snobbery. Never would have thought it, from TFP.

blueroses

I will add that I think the croc company has been doing good things in the "giving back" department. They have a SolesUnited program which teamed up with the Dispatch Foundation and donated a recycled pair of crocs to the Dispatch Foundation's efforts in Zimbabwe for every pair bought on their website. Currently, they're donating $5 for Breast Cancer Research for every pair bought. So kudos to them. They may not be my cup of tea, but hey, to each his own.

alkaloid

I love my Crocs. Being a fat man, I love the fact that I don't have to bend down to tie my shoelaces. They are very easy to slip on and off and they don't randomly fall off feet like sandals. When I leave them outside overnight and it rains, I just have to shake it off before putting it on. And they are quite comfy. Yes they are ugly, but I'm not trying to attract any mates either.

Leto

A hospital here in Toronto has banned them as they are not sanitary for nurses & doctors who could get body fluids dumped on their feet. All because of the holes in them.


I first saw these shoes when I was visiting my brother back in '04 who had a banged up dirty old white pair. He said that they were perfectly made for sea-kayaking because they floated, were light and didn't smell up your feet like sports sandals did.

Back then, though, they were known as Holey Soles, and didn't have a strap. More like a true clog. and had just opened up in Vancouver (off to google that name). I heard that Crocs was an American company that bought up Holey Soles.

ah, it's still Holey Soles, http://www.holeysoles.com/flashsite/aboutus.htm


so, maybe Crocs is a competitor/suitor of Holey Soles. At any rate, I have a black pair that I picked up that summer of '04 (free from the warehouse) and use around the house/yard. I find that in the winter, the snow gives me a soaker if I'm just running out to the garbage, or the BBQ...


Oh yes, you can now purchase "jewellry" for your Crocs/HS. they can be inserted into the holes like buttons.


Yes, Wayne's World car!


I worked in a kitchen. I wouldn't wear this in a kitchen, not with the risk of spilling something hot on my feet, or dropping a knife, cleaver or pot!

I wore real clogs (Holiday Inn cook in high school) in the kitchen. the wooden kind with leather uppers that were all the rage in '77. They barely afforded protection.