Ugg boots were the winter trend to love or hate. Huge sunglasses leave some smiling, but others grimacing. Skinny jeans have both friends and foes.
Now, Crocs are causing mixed reactions.
“They are ugly, clunky clogs,” Chelsea Krombach, a freshman in First Year College, said. “No matter how comfortable they are, the shoes don’t look good on anyone.”
Krombach is not alone in her sentiments about Crocs.
Browsing the Internet, students can discover Web sites and blogs devoted to one common interest: disgust with Crocs.
A blog called I HATE CROCS DOT COM is a forum for those who despise the footwear.
The blog hosts a link to a company’s Web site, www.spreadshirt.com, which sells Anti-Crocs shirts that feature giant scissors cutting pairs of Crocs. The Web site also offers pins and messenger bags with that same graphic.
Born as a boating shoe, “Crocs Footwear has become a bona-fide phenomenon, universally accepted as an all purpose shoe for comfort and fashion,” the Web site said.
Callie Collins, a junior in fashion development, owns a pair of Crocs.
“I got my first pair of Crocs five years ago and still am wearing the same pair,” Collins said. “I picked them up at the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show where they were being launched as the ideal shoe for wearing on boats and around the water.”
Collins, whose family is in the boat business, said they were a practical addition to her wardrobe.
“I bought them for wearing on the slick decks of boats and docks and liked how waterproof they are versus Sperrys,” she said. “They also float, which is great in case they were to fall overboard.”
Collins said she also wears her Crocs when it rains.
The original “Beach” Croc has an orthortic foot bed that molds to the foot’s shape and is anti-microbial, odor- and slip-resistant, with a non-marking sole, according to the Web site.
And since the release of those first Crocs, the company has come out with a new line.
From the Mary Jane style known as “Alice” to the “Georgie” boot, the Crocs Web site features more than 50 new styles for men, women and children.
But Crocs aren’t just for summer anymore. Though the “Mammoth” may look like the original, it has a new addition: a removable faux-fur lining to keep feet warm in cool conditions.
Crocs even offer NFL, NHL, MBL and collegiate models of the original “Beach” style, which allow the wearer to sport his or her favorite team.
And personalizing them isn’t just left to color, style and preferred team.
Jibbitz accessories fit into the holes on the tops of the shoes and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, styles and colors — even Disney characters and cultural Jibbitz can be seen on Crocs throughout campus.
With all of the classic and new styles, the Web site says that Crocs are for everyone including “the boater, the nurse, the fashionista, the traveler, the gardener and the chef.”
And though some may choose to love them or hate them, others, like Siran Wang, a freshman in management, don’t wear Crocs, but find them tolerable to look at.
“I have never worn them before, but they look pretty comfortable,” she said.
