Almost three years ago, in the summer of 2017, I wrote an article for Vogue about Crocs. That time, I checked out what it would be like to spend a typical office day in the stone-encrusted foam resin slip-ons by Christopher Kane. “I have always loved the classic Crocs Clog. I love that a lot of people think crocs are “ugly”, completely unfeminine and not created for the sake of beauty, “- said then Kane.
On that fateful day, a few minutes after I took off my pair of Vetements on the 14cm platform, I took a deep breath (so deep I could say after namaste) and then plunged my feet into incredibly comfortable unisex crocs. that people of all ages pray for. If this feeling is not familiar to you, I think it would be fair to compare it to how the feet feel after a 30-minute session with a reflexologist.
Rereading this article, I understand that in vain I went to beauty salons so often in order to simply experience the ease after massaging my suffering feet again and again. And I also remember that crocs, favorites of the summer fashion of any child of two or three years old, I met very rarely in decent institutions. Then they should have been “used with extreme caution.” At about five in the evening, I decided to ask the opinion of my neighbor at the workplace. “If I had just walked into the office one fine Tuesday morning wearing this pair and black trousers, you wouldn’t even notice.” To which my friend replied: “Yes, of course, I would, ****, notice you have stones on your feet.”
Let’s forget about geological decorations for a second: I had to admit defeat – I could not find an argument in defense of my ardently blooming love for crocs. Over the next several years, I purchased six more pairs of different shoes, including the cartoon Balenciaga platforms and other iterations of them that are more massive and lined with fleece – the only shoe I could wear for two months after I suffered a knee injury that I might not have been if I were wearing Crocs.
The classic Clog model has become my faithful travel companion, ready to support me during my beach vacation and give me an unspoken fast pass through airport security (now, of course, this is only a vague memory). Plus, unlike all the other pairs I bought in 2017 and wore on a regular basis, the humble foam crocs still look exactly like new. I can say this with my hand on my heart, because they are on my feet right now as I write this.
Crocs used to be an accessory for retirees, gardening enthusiasts and children under ten, but in 2020 they have become a more universal symbol. We all began to simplify our wardrobe, prioritize comfort, utility, clean surfaces (and suddenly realized during quarantine that it would be nice to have our own garden). In this situation, the £ 33 crocs are at the forefront of off-hours fashion.
This year has literally bulldozed it all, and as a result, the criticized shoes have won the love and loyalty of a generation now in their 20s. They wear the lavender Classic Bae with Orseund Iris sweat shirts and tops or crochet mini dresses, and the kids wear Trunki T-shirts or Peppa Pig. The beauty of crocs is that they actually go well with everything and don’t go well with anything at all – a nod to wardrobe fashion with a twist. Want a few new wave crox names to get inspired? New York-based actress Zaina Miuccia, who recently starred in the fierce In Your Eyes video for The Weeknd, and Milan-based LinLin model.
“I haven’t worn any other shoes since the beginning of quarantine,” a glamorous restaurateur friend told me about her classic rainbow tie-dye crocs. She joined the cult relatively recently, in March, and wore her pair of tulle Molly Goddard dresses to social distancing picnics, and low-waisted sweatshirts during shopping and home jigsaw sessions. Perhaps this is largely why crocs are so relevant this summer: the shoes that most of us took for walks to the supermarket in pajamas come in handy at a time when the only pastime outside the home is those walks to the supermarket. And you also get addicted to convenience and functionality, and it’s easy to keep them clean (remember, crocs were previously considered footwear for medical institutions?).
There is another factor that definitely works in favor of Crocs’ reputation. At a time when signing up for a pedicure is not an easy task, I personally will not say anything against closed summer shoes. And as for whether they are good for the office – well, let’s leave that in 2017. Right now, I’m not the only Vogue editor rushing to turn in before deadline, whose feet enjoy the comfort of a pair of foamed resin shoes …
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