Old Crocs

I started wearing Crocs about a year ago. Our son has been wearing them for longer and has more than one pair; his current favourite is the Sponge Bob-branded (above), comfortably on on their way to 'recycling'.

After the novelty-allure wore off I began to realise how dull, blunt and lustreless Crocs look, and I'm amused to see that others have noted their hoof-like appearance. Crocs are a clear triumph of function over form, unusual for non-specialist footwear (I used to think they were specialised, that only doctors and interns wore them). According to Wiki, many see them as a 'fashion disaster'. Apparently the fashion consultant Tim Gunn said (in Time Magazine): '...the Croc ? it looks like a plastic hoof. How can you take that seriously?'

Well, it depends on how 'seriously' you wish to take clothes, or visit your disapproval on people who don't happen to subscribe to your infallible fashion sense. On the other hand, certain people may find it difficult to take Gunn's seriousness (and therefore him) seriously; they may consider such style-sentries a little lacking in the life department. For the dedicated, there is a blog, 'I Hate Crocs dot com' and (naturally) a Facebook group 'I Don't Care How Comfortable Crocs Are, You Look Like a Dumbass' (I wonder if they are alligned to The Tea Party).

I have always thought that Fashion and Masochism make good bedfellows. Who but a torturer of women would have dreamt up the corset or the stiletto (and never mind if it was women who invented these things; each sex is perfectly capable of torturing itself)? Think of all those scarecrow-thin models with their swaying, famished hips. They may come across as empowered, but happy, comfortable? Not in my book. Yet many think that this look, or some less stagy approximation of it, eminently desirable, sexy. Whatever bloats your float. But here's where I depart from the common consensus. I find comfiness sexy, women at home in their own skin, in unconstrained clothing, sandals, flat shoes, even Crocs (and nakedness, of course, is always an option).

Anyway, I find my own Crocs so comfortable that I wouldn't trade them for the smartest Italian shoes. If it takes hooves to walk on air, then hail to the hoof.