I have seen these shoes worn by medical personal in hospitals, but thought they looked too wide to support the foot. The nurses proclaim the shoes as the most comfortable they have ever worn.
I gave no more thought to the shoe until I happened to watch “You’re Fired/Celebrity” or what ever it was called – I usually dismiss reality shows as frivolous, but decided I would at least watch Trace Adkins – and one of the projects was recycling Crocs.
Since then, I have been thinking I should give the shoe a try. The colors are pretty, but the shoe is so ugly. Could this be another example of “do not judge a book by it’s cover”?
I strive to learn something new each day.
Replies
They smell, bad. Very petroleum based smell. If you go in a Crocs store, the smell will knock you over. It's like sniffing glue.
And they are ugly, and this is from a person who loves to wear Birkenstocks.
I personally found them to be uncomfortable, because they didn't hit me in the right places, but other people find them nice and squishy.
However, I don't wear my Birks in public. I save them for padding around the house in comfort. I wear nice shoes that set off my outfit when I go out in public. Crocs were designed for going to beach or the pool or washing your car. They were not designed for going out in public in real clothes.
Berna
"They were not designed for going out in public in real clothes."
Someone forgot this disclaimer. Maybe it doesn't count with the college crowd.
Hah, the college crowd! What joke. I live in a mid-size college town and I keep seeing the college girls in the nearby fast-food places wearing their pajamas and fuzzy slippers. I have lost a lot of respect for them as a group. First it was belly buttons and butt cleavage showing with their pants so low on the hip it was nerve wracking and now they can't even be bothered to put real clothes on to leave the dorm. I guess this is some form of rebellion against the establishment. Okay, I'm a child of the 60's--I get it. I just wish they'd grow up and realize it doesn't impress anyone over 22. Or maybe it's just pure laziness?? And these are probably the same girls who wouldn't go out to their mailbox at age 16 without putting on their makeup and hair gel. (grin)
Lately I've been seeing lots of young people walking around in pajama pants and slip on shoes and yes, slippers. Sometimes in the inner city of Chicago, I hate to be in my own neighborhood and look at the people around me. They dress horribly. Pants hanging below their butts with boxer shorts exposed, no shirts. The women wear cropped tops with big belly's hanging over too tight pants, they just look a mess. There was an actor on a news program last month (I don't remember who it was, I just heard him talking while getting ready for work) and he was saying that he was just appalled at how people dressed to come to the airport. He said "Don't they know that when they see the world, the world sees them?!" And he said "They looked like they just rolled out of bed and jumped in the car with their pajamas on."
Sorry, got off the subject....what are crocs?
Edited 4/22/2008 10:46 am ET by rodezzy
Edited 4/22/2008 10:46 am ET by rodezzy
Getting back on the subject of shoes - if you Google crocs, you will get something like this - http://shop.crocs.com/c-4-Footwear.aspx?reqid=4&reqProdTypeId=4&subsectionname=footwear
Edited 4/22/2008 2:14 pm ET by spicegirl1
Oh, yes, my grand daughter had me buy some of those summer before last when we were in Disney FL. She was 8 at the time. Not for me though.
Nope, won't catch me in Crocs! Remember "Jellies," those see-through plastic shoes? Not those, either. Plastic shoes are just not good for the feet; they don't breathe and don't support the foot. Weren't Crocs based on gardening clogs? They look so silly and make even very small feet look huge;who needs that?
Women and men in our small college town wear purple, orange, and pink Crocs in public, but then, some of our most distinguished professors look like homeless people, too. Apparently, you can buy Croc "accessories" to decorate your ghastly footwear; that's almost as clever as "pet rocks"!
I dislike Croc's--they're too wide for me and do not offer enough arch support. They were all the rage among the nurses a couple of years ago, but almost no one wears them at work now. The holes allow body fluids in, they are static producers and they're open heeled. Those are the older models. The closed in ones are sweaty. I have one pair and the grommets that hold the heel strap on are always breaking. They are also profoundly ugly. Some people love them, but not me. I have high arches and long narrow feet with bunions (although I've had the worst one surgically repaired) and work in a hospital lab all day. I wear Birkenstocks/Footprints, Naots and I bought a pair of Caterpillar oxfords and they're working out well. One of my co-workers loves the wooden soled Sikas. She's Dutch ironically and her dad used to make wooden clogs.
They're cheap enough if you want to try them. It also irritates me that they started in Canada and the original ones are Canadian made and now they're made all over the planet and they don't mention their Canadian roots at all.
I have Crocs, and I wear them in public. I'm old, though, and the poem about "When I get old I shall wear purple with a red hat that doesn't match......" fits me well. And I live in a college town where half the population is college age, and we are also a designated retirement community. Makes for interesting demographics. My son, a peace officer, says it's a formula for car accidents. But I digress. My favorite shoes are Wolky's which came from Holland. They have wonderful arch support. Leather inner soles. They are one of the few shoes I can wear all day and not have my back hurt. They aren't cheap, and a lot of them are sort of funky, but I absolutely love them. Crocs make my feet sweat and they are wide, but I still wear them. Not as much as my Wolky's which I have in several styles and colors, but each to his own.
Wolky's at least have a little style to them. Crocs are just heinous.
My mother-in-law, bless her, has terrible pain in her feet, and to a party I threw in her honor, she wore a nice dressy suit, white tube socks and crocs. Yeah!
I love her, Berna
I'm a Wolky fan as well--I have their serenity sandals. I only get them if I find them on a good sale though. I like colour, just not clunky :^) I'm on an endless search for attractive, yet supportive footwear.
Re: I'm on an endless search for attractive, yet supportive footwear.
And I, Jane. And I. My very favorite of all time, and the only one I paid full price for -- one of those "I gotta have 'em" moments -- is the Kite in navy blue. It comes very close in comfort to the Nimes, their original workhorse, and I just love them. Speaking of color, I have the Wolky Jewel in orange (black sole and accents).
Although we are diverging from from sewing I find that comfy shoes are very necessary when sewing. particularly cutting out. I bought a pair of Birkenstops last year and have tried to wear them around the house as they should give an amount of support. However after about 4 - 5 hours I get low back pain. Today was one of those days!! Is this because I normally wear a bit of a heel and need the height? I'd love to hear other opinions on this.
Birkies (the other popular shoe in our town) have a negative heel, which imitates walking in sand and is purported to be healthier, but they can be very painful for people whose calf muscles have shortened from wearing heels or those of us with lax ligament syndrome.Any time you change how your foot strikes the ground (and this is different in every shoe) you alter the alignment of your knees, hips, spine, and neck, so it's very likely that four hours in a pair of shoes with a negative heel would cause you pain. By stretching and wearing the Birkies just an hour or so per day at first, you can stretch your calf muscles so that wearing them will not hurt your back. And, of course, you can't enjoy sewing if your feet or back hurt!
Thanks for that - you have explained a lot to me in that message. I really like the Birkies so I will persevere with them until I can manage an eight hour day in them. I do think it is very important to wear proper shoes/sandals with support - it is too easy to slop around the house in slippers on days when you don't have to go out.
You are so right about that. The slopping around bit. When my feet hurt, I hurt all over, and my feet are very hard to fit. I've always envied my three sisters who could find cute inexpensive shoes and just wear them. I've always had to be so careful what shoes I wore, and comfortable ones were always pricey. I got into the habit of wearing house shoes when I first retired, and soon saw the error of my ways. Now I put on my shoes as soon as I get up, and my feet really thank me for it. Good luck in your quest for comfort.
If you like Birkies but find them a little uncomfortable, look for Naots (from Israel). Their 'last' is a little different than Birkenstocks and they have a lining of cushion between the inner sole leather and the rubber (or whatever) sole. I loved my Naots, which many people think are Birkies. Due to some structural foot problems the last few years I haven't worn mine very much, but the newer ones have removeable inner soles which can be adjusted for orthotics. I have a great shoe store and fitter near by. I can hardly wait for my surgery to fix my foot so I can buy some to wear with my orthotics. I was a college teacher thus one of those who wore 'those' shoes until I couldn't any more. My Naots were my dress up shoes!! I do have a pair of Crocs which I keep by my patio door, but only wear them to dash out in the rain to pick something up. Even then my back hurts after.
Teva sandels used to be made by Naot. It's a kibbutz in northern Israel. But an American company bought the name Teva from them and they are now made in Mexico! If you are a big fan of Teva's you would have noticed when this happened as the quality went down.I visited the Kibbutz when I was in Israel a few years ago.
I didn't know that! I was just noticing the other day, while shopping, that Teva sandals didn't feel comfortable like they used to. I thought my feet had changed.
Thanks for the info. I will certainly look out for them as I consider that it is so important to wear good footwear all the time and so easy to neglect one's feet when like me you retire and get to spend so much time at home in casuals. In the meantime I am persevering with the Birkies.
Crocs? Crocs are bug ugly and you wouldn't find me wearing them at all...not even in the garden. Staff in hospitals here cannot wear them for safety sake.
I have 3 pairs of crock and love them. what I have found is the color really makes a difference in how soft the foam is. I wear them all the time. Well, not ALL the time, but I do wear them out to the store etc. I've been a nurse for over 30 yrs. I find it very hard to find comfy shoes, I need a lot of cushion, the crocks are the best.
I wore crocs all summer long for two summers, and indoors in the winter. My feet bothered me so much after that that I had to get orthotics fitted, no inexpensive View Imagemeasure and now wear shoes with good support (New Balance) with the orthotics all day every day.I shudder when I see people wearing them, maybe the younger can get away with it for a longer time. Stitching Gal
No, I think they are cute on the kids and I also read an article that said they were bad for your feet.
I'm a nurse who is in her 50s. I think Crocs are, to say the least, hideous. That does not deter me from wearing them - everywhere! My feet practically cry when I wear "regular" shoes. I've tried Birks, Borns, Clarks, Dansko (which are too narrow for my boats), and a few others. I sometimes wear athletic shoes at work, but my feet feel better when I wear my ugly Crocs. I have some off-brand ones that cost $4.00, too, and unbelieveably, they're more comfortable that my Crocs. I wish I could find those cheap ones again!
I dread "dress-up" occasions, just because I've been so spoiled by my comfy Crocs.
I'm also in my fifties, and I think the original crocs are on the ugly side of "funny looking," or maybe it's the funny side of "ugly looking!" Our friends, a slightly older couple, wear them all the time, except to work. We all go kayaking and have found our crocs the best shoes to wear for this activity. Since they introduced us to crocs, we've bought several more pairs and wear them almost all the time (for example, not while in the pool!).I have some crocs flats and wedges which I wear to work almost every day. While I do have to dress "office casual," I do not deal with the public - living in Florida doesn't hurt, either.As I get older, people realize that I am going to wear what I want to wear, just as I realize that others will wear what they want to wear.
Edited 5/18/2008 6:32 pm ET by maer
I agree with you. I had a pair of Lee Valley look-alikes (only $20) that I found really comfortable & light, but haven't found them since I moved. I bought a really cheap pair last week & they are not as comfortable. As for the smell & sweating that another poster mentioned, these foamy shoes are antibacterial & only need to be rinsed out now & again - mine never smelled. The sweating was another thing, though - I found them more comfortable with socks (ugly as they looked), so I wore them as house shoes, as I need to wear shoes in the house or my arthritic knees hurt more - too bad, as I always preferred going barefoot. I'll buy more of them, though, just not in the bright colours.
Gloria
When I was an RN, my favorite shoes were Berkenstocks, they give excellent support and come in a huge variety of styles. Crocs aren't comfortable for me, I do have a narrow heel, but even the arch not in the right place. I now wear alot of Born brand shoes and sandals.
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