Yet More Loathing for the Crocs
Manolo says, here is the link to the most amusing and gratifying article in the Radar Magazine in which the Manolo has been quoted decrying the terrible rise of the crocs.
However, this is the best quote in the entire piece.
“I have to say that these things are hideous!” adds Jay Escobara, cofounder of New York-based design collective Saenai. “Crocs personify the ‘eclectic’ person who really isn’t all that different from the Kmart shopper but pretends to follow the trend in hopes it might place him among a group of people and/or lifestyle.”
It is so true, so very, very true.
September 17th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
I am sending this straight to my best friend who truly loves The Manolo, but yet still loves those Crocs. Perhaps this will shock some sense into her. ;)
September 17th, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Last week, my husband and I were out at a local bar. I saw a woman in her 50s wearing faded grey sweatpants and a very baggy (and stained) white sweatshirt. And on her feet - the white socks and mock-Crocs, of course. I almost threw up at the sight. Why do people feel it’s appropriate to dress like that?
Crocs represent the worst in “casual” footwear.
September 17th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
Yes, is there anything sadder than a climber who aspires to be associated with something trashier than what she would be by nature?
September 18th, 2006 at 1:16 am
I adore my Crocs! And yes, mine are the real Crocs. Love them, love them, love them! Most comfy shoes in town, I promise. I normally just wear them outside around the house or to run quick errands. Nevertheless, they were a thirty dollars very well spent. Thank you very much. And for what it’s worth, I am not someone who normally follows any old trend. At first I thought these shoes were plain hideous, then heard that they were super comfy. I bought the $12.00 Target version, but they killed my feet. I returned those to Target and bought me the real, Crocs brand and sure enough, they are comfy.
September 18th, 2006 at 3:31 am
Ayyyyyy! The elodiecheese is a newcomer to The Manolo’s blog, yet over a short period has absorbed The Manolo’s insightful knowledge of the super fantastic. The Croc, it is not aesthetically pleasing, nor is it “hip”. The super fantastic person hopes that it is a passing craze, one soon to fade into oblivion. Indeed, how can one be “comfortable” wearing such an excuse for a shoe? Does one not feel the pain of ugly rubber? The piercing of the gaze of onlookers who disparage and decry the undeniable offense caused by the Croc? Does not the stomach lurch? Does not a shiver run up the spine?
The elodiecheese, she is an impoverished child of a mere 15 years, yet to gain experience in the world. However, if there is one thing she knows instinctively, it is that it is better to save the moneys to purchase a pair of super fantastic, and, if required, comfortable shoes that do not cause public offense.
Do not give into the abhorred Crocs. Do not justify donning them with pitiful cries of comfort or lack of pecuniary resources. The elodiecheese, she would rather wear shoes fashioned from the torn pages of old algebra tomes, held together by the pink gum scraped from the bottom of the wooden maths desk and the desire for the super fantastic.
September 18th, 2006 at 9:35 am
I have Crocs- love ‘em for casual wear. Of course for more formal occasions I wear my Birkenstocks, which show off my hand-knitted socks perfectly. All of this to-do about expensive “designer” shoes is just an attempt to compensate for not having hand-knit socks.
September 18th, 2006 at 10:46 am
Fuzzy slippers are “comfortable” too, but that doesn’t mean you wear them to the store! I’d much rather see flip-flops – at least they actually resemble sandals. The problem with Crocs is that they are SO bright, and SO hideous, that you can’t see anything else EXCEPT them. If you want to draw attention to your feet, do it with good-looking shoes, not “comfortable” neon plastic monstrosities.
ksenia – that’s hilarious! (You WERE being facetious, right?) Because who in their right mind would be proud of owning both Crocs AND Birkenstocks? And it makes me laugh to think of Birkenstocks for “formal wear”, although I’m sure there are people out there who think that way.
September 18th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
I’m with you, Manolo, on the wearing of Crocs in public. But I keep a pair by the front door so I can slip them on to take the trash to the curb or retrieve my newspaper on a rainy morning. Do you consider this acceptable?
September 18th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
I’ve now seen camouflage-print Crocs, which I think is the equivalent of a glove-slap-to-the-face challenge to good taste everywhere.
September 18th, 2006 at 4:54 pm
I was thinking about this earlier today, and it occurred to me that I love Crocs, because I am lost without something to disapprove of. The advantage to Crocs is that–unlike famine, pestilence, the military-industrial complex and a nation of uninsured–I can disapprove of Crocs without getting really, really depressed. Some people wear hideous, institutional-looking squishy plastic shoes! That’s terrible! My disapproval energizes me and allows for the display of wit!
September 18th, 2006 at 5:22 pm
Dear my 2 cents - What a person does in the privacy of their own home in the company of other consenting adults is no one else’s business. However just don’t wear the crocs in the street and frighten the horses. PUHLEASE keep your crocs behind closed doors as the secondhand viewing of the crocs is almost as dangerous as the secondhand inhaling of the tobacco products.
September 18th, 2006 at 6:35 pm
They have been sold where I live in Canada for years as gardening clogs. Suitable for manure tromping. Which is entirely correct.
September 18th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
when i traveled this summer, almost all the groups of tourists i saw there were at least 3 or 4 people in them. why? one day i saw them in a store, and my friend said they were comfy, so i had to try a pair on for ducks, and they were so horibly hard i could not belive it.
September 18th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
I refuse to wear any shoe that can be cleaned in the dishwasher. It’s frightening. Truly frightening. *shudder*
September 18th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
On the contrary, Sarah, I think that crocs are pestilence. And, therefore, depressing.
I almost get angry when I see people in them. In fact, I find them so stupidly annoying that I sometimes want to call people out on them. Especially a few weeks ago when I saw a mom and her two kids in matching fluorescent pink crocs. ARGH!!!! I think that my anger is caused not even by the shoe necessarily, but the herd-mentality such annoying trends bring about.
September 20th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
I was at a job fair last week. (Alas, I was one of the job seekers.) There was a woman there wearing BRIGHT PINK CROCS.
I could not be too unhappy about her fashion choice, though, because it made it so easy for potential employers to make decisions.
Croc-wearing persons: NO.
Elegant-suit-and-pump-wearing persons: Perhaps.
September 23rd, 2006 at 7:12 pm
The Crocs virus has spread to Italy– I spied them for sale in a shop in Venice marked up 100% from American prices. The horror.
September 25th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
You people are so superficial, I agree that there are inappropriate times to wear them but that they are not that horrible!! Until you have actually slipped a real croc, not a faux croc, on your foot you shouldn’t judge the persons wearing them!! They are extremely comfortable & great for quick errands & working in the yard!! That is something you can’t do in fancy high priced heels!!
October 5th, 2006 at 6:31 am
You’ll never catch a plastic person in rubber shoes! Plastic is too thin and unflexible. Crocs rule - that is if you do more than just sit around in pain trying to impress others. I (as a busy mom) have much more important things to worry about. Crocs allow me to get everything done in comfort. With age comes wisdom and sore feet. Crocs are a life saver. A few added bonuses: no blood was shed to make these shoes. Saving a life (even that of a lowly cow) seems somehow important to me; I clean my Crocs with Clorox Cleanup (do you people have any idea what kindof germs, pestilence and vermin lurk on your shoes?). Trust me under a microscope - my crocs are a lot prettier than your $200 leather heels!
February 15th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I wish I could be so important as you to have nothing else to worry about but what someone else wears on their feet to pick up the mail.
June 20th, 2007 at 1:30 am
okay I am just curious why all of you are so offended by what people you do not even know wear on there feet…did it ever occur to any of you that some people wear them mearly for comfort, or that some people may actually like them? I own a pair of crocs…I work in the medical field, I wear them because I stand on my feet all day and need something that is comfortable. You would think reading this site that everyone is under the age of 12. It truly shows how ignorant and judgemental people are. I dont expect that this posting will do anything except give you fuel to make yourself feel better by degrading others. Oh and by the way your comment that people only wear crocs to fit into a certain category…what category are you trying to fit into by by telling everyone who buys a certain shoe…like oh say monolo blahniks…that they are following a trend…wake up live your life and stop worrying about everyone elses.