In case you haven’t noticed the holiday season approaching because you a bumbling fool who hasn’t left the house in weeks to expierence the countless numbers of shopping sheep looking for the perfect gift…

Yes, Christmas is upon us and by God everyone must find the best deal or be excommunicated to poor shoppers hell! (Well maybe not hell per se, but at the very least you’ll be forced to wear a sign on your chest that says “Stupid Shopper” in public with no makeup and sweat pants on) During this time, we are guilty of being thrifty because honestly with gas approaching 4 dollars a gallon if your name doesn’t begin with O and end in Prah, you probably have a limited budget. So what is one to do? Buy expensive pretty gifts that are fashionable but not comfortable or gifts that people can actually use? Its the age old debate about vanity over usability or as I call it, the Brad vs. Forrest test.

Imagine if you had the choice between Brad Pitt and Forrest Whitaker.

Now both are world class actors, they’re rich, and famous. But one is *ahem* … Brad Pitt. And the other one has an eye so lazy that he can have a conversation with two people on opposite sides of the room and look at both of them at the same time. So for arguements sake let’s say that Brad is a jerk and Forrest isn’t. Do you go with the eye candy that is jerky but is *ahem* … Brad Pitt or with the nice guy that you can’t be sure if he’s looking at you? This is how I feel about Crocs.

For the uninitiated, Crocs are a popular slip-resistant plastic shoe with holes in them. The are hyper popular with the kids and people who could care less about what something looks like and want to be comfortable (otherwise known as Forrest people… not to be confused with tree huggers). Other looks based folks (who will be known from here on out as Brad people) look at Crocs as the worst thing to happen to fashion since MC Hammer pants….

Some have even gone as far as to waste their lives writing blogs about their hate for crocs and even going as far as to torture Crocs for information about where in the hell the terrorists might strike next.

Ok, well maybe she’s not torturing the shoes for terrorist info, but she’s at least going to get some info on Iran’s nuke program.

First things first… crocs are affordable. On the Shoes On A Shoestring website, most crocs go for about thirty American dollars (as opposed to 325 Pesos). So if you do buy some, you won’t have to break the bank. So what’s the big deal? Why do people hate these shoes so much? From what I gather, there is a large population of croc-haters that just find the shoes as repulsive as taking a bath in sour milk and hot garbage.

But really… are they that ugly? Seriously, they are like a high tech flip flop… and they are really comfortable. There is a new croc called the Mammoth which has a fur lining in it and wearing it is like walking on a fur rug at your grandmom’s house… without the pugnant ordor of moth balls in the air.

Now crocs aren’t what I would call a fashion shoe that you could wear with anything. So if you see someone wearing a suit and crocs…

…feel free to slap them as hard as your human based strength with let you… Now if you are the Hulk, then use your gamma radiation strength to Hulk smash them. Crocs are meant to be worn as a casual shoe that you might wear with a sundress or jeans…

or even on your boat if you have the money to lavishly spend…

But to say that crocs are an abomination of epic proportions is a bit much…

Maybe I spoke too soon….

http://crocsaccidents.blogspot.com/

Just because they’re comfortable and cheap DOESN’T mean it’s a good idea to look like you stepped out of a Hannah Barberra cartoon. ma2one is an adult so I can’t see why she can’t see the logic in investing in good shoes like Dansko, Sofft, Softspots, or even some versions of the Earthshoe. They’re expensive but it’s b/c like many designer shoes, they’re designed to be comfortable. For what you pay for several horrendously loud coloured crocs, you could have 1 pair of sensible and attractive brown shoes that go with most professional and casual clothing.

And why does she even pick on our beloved Manolo?! There are so many posts of him pointing out absurdities, one recent one being the exorbitant price markup on a shoe in which reptilian embossed leather was the only difference from the original leather design. I believe Manolo is no snob and does not blindly worship these luxurious accessories so much as not grace us with his sardonic musings.

Horses for courses, my friends. Horses for courses.

The vitriol directed at ma2one had nothing to do with the fact that she likes Crocs. It was in response to her multi-paragraph rant, during which she directed plenty of insults and vitriol of her own at the Manolo and his readers simply because we dared to express that we do not like the Crocs.

December 2nd, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Why is it that what pleases the feet must so often offend the eyes, and vice versa?”

My vote for best comment.

The rise of the Crocs is a response to the fact that so many beautiful shoes hurt the feet. And there is nothing worse than spending a ton of money on a pair of shoes, and then finding out after you wear them a while that they kill you.

Shoe designers and makers really need to look to making better looking, comfortable shoes. So many of the comfy, high-end shoes, still look pretty orthopedic.

The Crocs are not a good bargain! They’re way over-priced trendy things when it’s so easy to find cuter, cheaper, better quality shoes. Yay for the rubber boots! Yay for the $15 rubber gardening shoes!

For the rain and for the gardening.