Attention Waldies and Crocs Lovers!

“wolkop! wot de haile?!?”

“Shoe Trends
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Crocophiles
Bethany McLean - Fortune
(Fortune Magazine) -- In the summer of 2005, I found myself in Wyoming, preparing for a 10-day hiking trip in the wilderness with my dad and a group of serious outdoorsmen. The men had the usual gear -- tents, fishing rods, freeze-dried food, bug repellent -- and some unusual gear: not terribly masculine cloglike shoes made of a perforated rubbery substance.

Now, I consider myself a shoe connoisseur -- they spill out of my closets, colonize my floors -- but I'd never seen anything like these, or, frankly, anything quite so hideous.

"Why would you wear such a thing?" I asked.

The men explained that the shoes, called Crocs, were perfect for fording a stream or wearing around camp. They were lightweight -- only six ounces each -- easy to slip on, extremely comfortable, and inexpensive (roughly $30).

The shoes were so perfect that one of the men had even bought a pair in baby blue, because that was the only color left in the store.

Today, the question is no longer why anyone would wear Crocs, but rather, is there anywhere they shouldn't be worn?

Celebrities like Al Pacino and Teri Hatcher wear Crocs, as do their children. Red-haired chef Mario Batali wears his orange ones on TV; movie star Adam Sandler wore his khaki ones on the red carpet.

I've seen lime-green Crocs on hipsters on Manhattan's Upper West Side, yellow ones and orange ones on teenagers in the Chicago airport, and tiny pink ones on tiny girls and little blue ones on little boys in the suburbs.

Michael Atmore, editorial director of the footwear group at Fairchild Publications, spotted Crocs at a book signing in fabulously wealthy East Hampton in early August. "They were all everyone was talking about," he says.

In 2003 the company that makes Crocs-Crocs Inc., (Charts) which is now publicly traded -- sold 76,000 pairs of shoes worth some $1.2 million. This year, analysts expect it to sell close to 20 million pairs worth almost $300 million.

Beauty in ugliness
The Croc is the latest triumph of two counterintuitive (to some of us) concepts in footwear: comfort and ugliness. The shoe, which is made by injecting a special foam resin into a mold, was invented by a Canadian company called Foam Creations.

In 2002 three Boulder, Colo., buddies in search of a business idea, Scott Seamans, George Boedecker, and Lyndon "Duke" Hanson, took a boat trip to the Caribbean. Seamans had brought along a pair, and all were struck by their unique properties.

"The first thing I said was, 'Man, are those ugly,'" recalls Hanson. But then he put them on. "It's like walking on Nerf Balls," he says.

Unlike other clogs, this shoe was cool and lightweight, and both slip- and smell-resistant. (The resin is "closed cell," which means that bacteria can't take root.) The partners promptly struck a U.S. licensing agreement with Foam Creations.

Since "Foam Creations" lacks a certain something, the partners thought about a new name. Hanson says he was keen on crocodiles because they're good on both land and water, live a long time, and have no natural predators.

Then he realized that when the shoe is viewed from the side, it slopes up like a crocodile's snout.

Sold! "Croc" it was.

The newly christened Croc was a hit at the 2002 Fort Lauderdale, Fla., boat show, and it took off from there, largely due to the many accolades for its comfort. (As one blogger -- there are many blogs about Crocs -- put it, "You have to put on a pair and try them and, I swear, you won't care if they look like donkey balls, you'll just love them.")

Crocs Inc. acquired Foam Creations in June 2004, and in February 2006, it went public. The company now sports a market value of more than $1 billion and is rolling out more styles. "We've created our own category of footwear," says Hanson.

As I obsessed about the sudden proliferation of Crocs, I realized that they are not so much a new category as the latest in a pantheon of ugly shoes that became a fashion phenomenon despite -- or maybe because of -- their bad looks.

Think Jellies, Earth shoes, Birkenstocks, and most recently Uggs, to name a few. (Remember the Ugg-boot with miniskirt look that swept through New York and L.A. and then everywhere else a few years back? No? Lucky you.)

"There's a long tradition of the underground alternative ugly shoe thing that is a backlash to $600 Manolo Blahniks," says David Wolfe, creative director for the Doneger Group, which analyzes fashion trends.

That tradition is a conundrum to those of us who think of shoes as exquisitely crafted, expensive torture devices. At a recent conference in Toronto, I was teetering along in a pair of beautiful three-inch Christian Louboutins, a heavy computer bag over my shoulder, and I have to admit I was eyeing the Crocs in front of me longingly.

But comfort be damned.

I'm with Manolo, of Manolo's shoe blog (which has no official relationship to Manolo Blahnik), who has consigned both the Ugg and the Croc to his Gallery of Horrors, which he calls a "permanent exhibition of the worst of the shoes."

It's hip to be hideous
Other pundits, though, say that ugly can have a cool all its own.

"Boomers love bulldogs," explains Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the NPD Group, a provider of retail data. (Wait a minute. I happen to love bulldogs. There are different standards for dogs and shoes.)

He adds that wearing a deliberately ugly, yet extremely comfortable, shoe can be asserting one's superiority to the dictates of fashion. "It's a way of saying, 'I'm successful. I don't have to care,'" he says.

Ted Allen, one of the stars of Queer Eye, says, "Part of being stylish is being contrary." (Allen, whose boyfriend owns two pairs of Crocs-iridescent green and basic black-says that the shoes are fine on the streets of Chelsea, but only with neutrals, and he would not recommend them for a job interview at Bear Stearns.)

The problem for Crocs Inc. and its investors is that fashion phenomena often don't make lasting businesses.

Will the Croc be a Birkenstock -- or a Jelly? And now that Crocs are everywhere, where can they go? "My sister in central Indiana is wearing them," says Allen. "I wonder how much longer this can last."

Indeed, as I do some deep sole-searching, I can't help wondering if my inability to embrace Crocs is due to their ugliness, or because everyone else is ahead of me.(Check out the new Georgie boot, though. It's pretty cute.)

Some people question whether Crocs can successfully expand into other styles, which may explain why a whopping 33 percent of Crocs stock is sold short.

"If you made the Hula-Hoop, you can't diversify," says Wolfe. (Actually, there's hope: the maker of the Hula-Hoop, Wham-O, also introduced the Frisbee, the SuperBall, and Silly String.)

Even the founders of the Croc grudgingly admit that the shoe has its limits.

Asked if he'd prefer a woman in an evening gown to wear Manolos or Crocs, Hanson says, "If I'm brutally honest, I'd put her in the Blahniks." Then he pauses. "But have you seen the pictures of Faith Hill in Crocs? Man, does she look good."”

“"I swear, you won't care if they look like donkey balls, you'll just love them."”

“my crocs are a light green. very natural "earth-tone" looking. i dont think theyre ugg at all”

“I've worn out my crocs, I wear them so much.

I once had Uggs, too. I wore them until they fell apart.”

“I got a pair from this local store that sells factory seconds and chineese knockoffs(called "hammers" for those in the tennessee area) for $6.88! they've got seahorses stamped where the croc symbol is, but they've survived the hell that I put myself and my gear through. I bought em' cause they're light, cheap, and comfortable- style has never mattered to me, I shop at goodwill and dive dumpsters and wear whatever is cheap”

“they sure sell a lot... I can't stand how they look, so I have never tried them out. They would make interesting hiking wear.”

“.i have a friend that thinks you can use them as a food source if you are lost in the wilderness. oh and it's only the crocs that you can eat and not the cheeper walmart ones.”

“Well, I had the very unpleasant experience of packing up things in my house and moving them to storage.

Somewhere, in all that stuff, is one pair of yellow waldies. My parting gift to the person who bought the ugly mother#&%!$ers.

I did like them, just not the color.”

“hey chili i remember those yellow crocs, i have a pair also. i got the yellow so i could see them bettwer at night. i also own a pair of brown ones. so how's it going?”

“Payless has their Croc knockoffs on sale for $9.99 as of today. They are better than the Walmart knock offs as the material is softer like the real ones.”

“do they have size 11 1/2?”

“I think they only have size 2s right now, hold on lemme check”

“LOL, dorks, all of you”

“Do they got sides eleventy for me and Gissmaeioux sayed sides siks fore?”

“Seeing as how I packed the yellow ones in the same box I packed Cottonsox panties in, I am ready for a new pair.

Any color but yellow.”

“Hay!
What is bad a bout yeller bwt?!

Some of my good frends are yeller and me to!
(o:3”

“BWT!
NO NOT GET ME NO WALKIES!

I did not memember that I awreddy got boodys and Gissmaeioux to.”

“I *heart* Gojo.”

“I am sure someone will appreciate the yellow waldies. It just won't be me.”

“bought everyone "Rics" 'rangers' for Christmas....only 14.95 ea. just as good as them high dollar crocs.....cushy'er too.”

“I dig the Tie dye ones they just didn,t have my size.”

“You can still get the tie dye ones - they've just recently come out with some new colors.

I found some at Payless a couple of weeks ago, this time with a navy blue base color instead of light blue. They go up to a women's 12/men's 10. I bought a pair of these & love 'em.
http://tinyurl.com/yytwmf

Just noticed they're on sale on the web site.

They also have a tie-dye in muted browns & greens (men's sizes 9 - 12): http://tinyurl.com/y7lld5
last edited: 12/24/06 12:50:14 PM”

“hmm i have the airwalk ones. I found that they ran short. I normally wear a 9 or 9.5 and I have to wear a 10 in those. I looked at crocs after I bought the airwalks. I think the Crocs are a little heavier--they might have a bit more support as a result, but I'm cheap and think that Airwalks are supper!”

“think that Airwalks are supper

perhaps with the proper seasoning.”

“chili..they have UT ones”

“i have the black airwalks that are shoes.”

“Thanks Bess those rock.”

“Have you seen the newest style by Crocs? They look more like mary janes than clunky clogs.

http://shop.crocs.com/pc-23-4-professional.aspx?reqid=23&reqProdTypeId=41p&subsectionname=footwear§ion=products

or


http://shop.crocs.com/pc-34-4-mary-janes.aspx?reqid=34&reqProdTypeId=41p&subsectionname=footwear§ion=products
last edited: 12/26/06 9:52:19 AM”

“Check out the manly all-terrain model:

http://shop.crocs.com/pc-129-4-all-terrain.aspx?reqid=129&reqProdTypeId=41p&subsectionname=footwear§ion=products”

“What the heck did she leave chili panties for?”

“those all-terrain crocs are goofy-lookin

and 60 bucks!”

“bling for your crocs
“http://www.styledash.com/2006/12/19/bling-for-your-crocs”
crash bang
8:39:39 PM
12/26/06


One of these days I'm going to come up with an Idea like that and I will become independantly wealthy.”

“I was at the Dollar General Store last weekend and looked over and saw a rack of croc knockoffs (called Dawgs). So, for the price of $6 I picked up a pair (take note these are an olive green, sometimes called drab green....they ARE NOT yellow).

Feel great and a pretty good bargain. Appear to be contructed as well as crocs.”

“I love my crocs”

“I wore out one pair of black waldies, and replaced them with the no label DG variety. They had the heep loop tacked to the top of the shoe and I just cut through it. So far so good, only I don't know if they float. I still keep my yellow ones for backpacking because they are easy to spot.”

“You did, Chili? I thought you hated those things. I'm so proud of you.”

“http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2061288,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1

Uh Oh!”

“As long as they don't ban them in the woods!”

“Hmm, another multi-use backpacking item - Footwear and stove igniter.”

“hey, they have crocs for sale at walgreens right now.”

“Hey....woo hoooo...I have pink ones too!~!!....but mine are from Walmart...sorry..I'm not going to pay $30 for shoes...
div = cheap (poor is more like it)”

“payless has the best crok knockoffs. they even have tiedye :)”

“http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/youngathrt2002/detail?.dir=/a52bre2&.dnm=86bcre2.jpg&.src=ph
aren't they too cute????”

“i like the new nfl crocs, especially these WORLD CHAMPION crocs

http://www.nflshop.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2606275&cp=&pg=4&sr=1&origkw=crocs&kw=crocs&parentPage=search”

“I like the ones jerbear had at MCNP.”

“those are sweet crash, i'd hate to spend that much on sandels but if they have to colts on them i may have to splurge”

“i just wish the colts had better colors

but that doesnt matter, because

THEYRE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!! WOOHOO!!!”

“I like the ones jerbear had at MCNP
I picked up a pair of them. They only come in men's sizes and they had one pair that was small enough to fit. Yeah. I really like them so far.”