Sheeple Are Ugly
The New York Times, via Michelle Slatalla, eventually noticed (in May) that people are wearing bright-colored, hideously ugly rubber clogs with a big rubber belt on the back, called Crocs. P.S. They look a lot less big and ugly at the Amazon link above than they actually are. Here's an excerpt from her piece:
"Congratulations on creating another teenage fad," I told Tia Mattson, a company spokeswoman."No, no, the thing we've tried to do is not push this as a fashion product. It's not fad-driven and it's not just teenagers," Ms. Mattson said, horrified at the thought.
"But all the teenagers in my town are wearing them," I said.
"Children are wearing them," Ms. Mattson corrected me. "Grandmothers are wearing them. Men are wearing them. Chefs. Doctors and nurses."
"Nurses too?" I asked.
"The thing that's unique about the shoes is their material," Ms. Mattson said. "It's not plastic or rubber. It's a resin that we developed that feels really soft and warm when you wear it."
I tried to picture fuchsia clog things in the intensive care unit. It was slightly easier than trying to imagine Uggs.
"If they're not a fad, what are they?" I asked.
"They're a great comfort shoe at a great price," Ms. Mattson said.
One interesting thing I learned about this particular fad — sorry, I mean comfort shoe — is that the trend started in the middle of the country, instead of on the East or West coasts. Orders have been strong since 2002, when the company exhibited the shoes (in limited colors) at the Miami International Boat Show. But production capabilities limited early distribution to states like Colorado and regions like the Midwest.
"So California kids are adopting a fad that Kansas City is already over?" I asked.
"It's not a fad," Ms. Mattson reminded me.
If you'd like bright clogs that are very comfortable (I bought them about three years ago, after I saw my doctor wearing them, and he told me he could go 12 hours on his feet in them), go for Italian-made Calzuros. Nobody else has them, and they're very sleek looking compared to the ugly Crocs. Here are mine.
They are exceptionally comfortable, and I don't know if you can say the same for Sloggers, but Sloggers are the best-priced clog I've seen, and much better looking than the double-wide Crocs.
Of course, I don't leave the house wearing my Calzuros, unless the house happens to be on fire. The same goes for flipflops, which are rightly known as "shower shoes" -- a wee hint on where to wear them.
As for rubber clogs as gardening shoes...as I mentioned recently, I don't "garden," as I consider gardening glorified farming, but I guess you could come mow my lawn wearing them and I wouldn't complain.
I can't keep those Slogger-type things on. They just fly off my feet as I walk. Of course, I've been told by a number of men through the years that I walk "like a jock" or I have a "farmer's walk".
w00t.
I'll stick with my Doc Martens.
Deirdre B. at October 19, 2006 8:39 AM
I think the rubber clog look is just horrific, though the comfort factor did almost make me get a pair this summer. (I have problems with my gargantuan feet which make wearing most pretty shoes - even flats - something I can only do for very short periods of time, preferably with not much walking or standing involved. So I try to find comfy shoes that match my outfit which I can wear to hoof it to the Tube station or whatever, and then I change in private before anyone I care about actually sees me.) I resisted, just because I hate spending money on things I wear which I don't absolutely love. Can't do it!
Jackie D at October 19, 2006 9:35 AM
The Crocs must be insanely comfortable, 'cause otherwise I can't understand why so many (seemingly sane) people would wear the ugly things.
I can't stand flip-flops, either... but then, I'm notoriously difficult to please when it comes to shoes. My mom bought me those butt-ugly SAS Handsewn shoes (nurse shoes from the 1970's) throughout my teen years (OH, the trauma! OH, the angst!!!), and I was so brainwashed into thinking comfortable shoes had to be ugly that I only started wearing high heels a few years ago.
Some ideas are harder to shake than others. :)
Melissa at October 19, 2006 1:20 PM
I'll admit to owning clogs...albeit an old pair from Target from my pregnancy days when style took a backseat to comfort, and even then I made sure they were a decent pair of brown leather ones so as to look more like boots under pants (or overalls depending on the month), and not to look like I just paused mid-harvest to go out. Now I only wear them when I walk the dogs - in the morning - when it's dark. Not that I judge a book by it's cover, but when did nurse apparel become so popular and mainstream? I only saw these in medical supply and scrub catalogs and even then they were in sensible colors. Why the neon? Isn't it enough they look ugly, do we need to draw more attention to them with neon orange?
Abby at October 19, 2006 1:23 PM
I don't wear Crocs (I wear nice leather loafers with my jeans) but they are great for my kids. They play outside, the shoes get dirty and I hose them off. But adults should stop dressing in stuff from Kids R'Us.
Ruth at October 20, 2006 5:06 AM
Surgeons and other O.R. personnel often buy clogs like this to be used only in the O.R. so that they don't have to risk getting blood on their shoes. The little booties that we put on our shoes are no guarantee of protection from blood and other, more disgusting, bodily fluids getting all over one's shoes. Back in Cleveland in the early 1990's a Birkenstock clog that looked a bit like the Calzuros or the Sloggers was very popular in the hospital where I did my residency.
orac at October 20, 2006 6:12 AM
My doc, who's also a surgeon, had the orange ones. They're...autoclavable, they say...which I imagine means "washable in very hot soap and water?...to get all the disgusting stuff off. I just scrub them with an old toothbrush and dishwashing soap. Good as new!
Amy Alkon at October 20, 2006 12:25 PM
Autoclavable? Geezzzuuusss. I didn't think they were THAT surgeon-friendly. Yes, that means washable in very hot soap and water - it also means it can stand pressurized temeratures up to 190+ degrees (C). When you can wash your shoes with the same machine you can sterilize surgical equipment with, I guess they can be whatever color they want them to be.
Abby at October 24, 2006 2:00 PM
I love my Calzuros! Of course, I never wore them outside the hospital...until last year. I ordered an extra pair for street use to protest the flip-flop invasion. [I thought I was sooo subversive.] Imagine my horror when I realized rubber clogs were becoming mainstream.
ema at October 24, 2006 9:52 PM
I am going to address the comment above towards Crocs. As a nurse, I spend 12+ hours a day standing on my feet. When you spend that much time on your feet you would welcome a comfortable shoe. At that point, it's not about a fashion statement. Rather, it's about going home and not having aching feet and a sore back. If those who made comments realized that it's comfort, not looks that matters in footwear their feet would thank them. But nevermind, they'd probably wear a pair of 6-inch stilettos if they were the latest trend. Who died and made them the shoe natzi anyways?
Beth at November 12, 2006 3:29 PM
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