Without giving my age away completely, I was around when Crocs first became ‘a thing’. I remember seeing middle aged people wearing them and thinking “What the hell are they?” – and not in a good way.
I hated them, and I wasn’t the only one. There was even a blog dedicated to how ugly they were. I swore I would never own a pair of Crocs, I wouldn’t be seen dead in them. Not now, not ever. Horrible, over sized, cheap looking things…
Then I became a Mum.
When you have kids, a whole new world of difficulties opens up before you because you are usually holding at least one of them. How do I stand up without using my arms but also without waking the baby I’m holding? How do I open that door with just my elbow? How do I turn the kitchen light off using my chin?
It’s a bit like losing a limb. Or two.
My other discovery was that putting on shoes with laces – in fact bending down to do anything at all – was incredibly inconvenient most of the time. So what was the answer?
It was Crocs. Slip on, slip off, light weight, and didn’t give me blisters.
I now own two pairs, both the kids have a few pairs (adorned with Jibbitz), and although he would never admit it to his friends, my other half keeps a pair in the shed he uses for gardening. We are a Croc family.
So how did we get here?
From Fashion to Function
I used to be interested in fashion. I wasn’t ever going to turn into an influencer or anything like that, but I read all the right magazines. I owned a few outfits that I had put a lot of thought (and money) into, and shoes were always my main interest.
Even if I wasn’t spending an hour getting ready in the morning, I put thought into what I was wearing that day. I wanted to feel good about the way I looked, and I loved it if anyone commented on my outfit.
Let’s be honest, while it’s true that we should dress for ourselves over anybody else, it’s 50/50, isn’t it? The only reason we care what we look like is because somebody else is going to see us.
So when Crocs came out they went firmly into the same mental dustbin as bum bags and anything with Velcro: practical maybe, but crimes against fashion none the less.
Crocs were worn for practical reasons by chefs and nurses who were on their feet for an entire shift, and by weirdos who shuffled around town carrying lots of plastic bags filled with more plastic bags. They weren’t worn by regular people in their free time.
Until they were.
At first it was people like your geography teacher, or Mrs Dent from next door, but slowly, Crocs became kind of mainstream. Prince George was seen wearing a pair in 2015 and sales skyrocketed by 1,500%!
I still wasn’t having it, though. The rest of the world might be losing their mind but I wasn’t going to join in.
The Holiday That Changed My Mind
When my firstborn was about a year old, we made the questionable decision to go on holiday. On a plane. That’s a whole other story.
Anyway, I had a pair of flip flops but they were a bugger to keep on, and the grip was rubbish too, I kept slipping by the pool. Not ideal when you’re holding a baby.
We had made holiday friends with another pair of new parents, and to my horror, the girl said “What size are you? Try these.” and pushed a pair of Crocs towards me. I froze.
I’m British, so our rules didn’t allow me to refuse her kind offer, and I begrudgingly slipped on this well meaning nitwit’s Crocs. I could feel my fella staring at me, a delighted grin on his stupid face.
Holy foamy cushioned comfort, Batman!
I did the ‘testing new shoes’ walk that people do and they had excellent grip as well as being super comfortable.
I hated how much I loved them.
I bought the least offensive pair I could find, knock offs obviously, and wore them on holiday. Then they lived in my suitcase for a few months. After one particularly hot sweaty day wrestling my increasingly weighty child around town, I remembered I had them, and tentatively put them back on. I still wasn’t a fan of how they looked, but there was no denying they were useful.
That’s when I discovered that genuine Crocs had evolved.
Styles and Jibbitz
Oh my gosh there are so many different styles of Crocs now. They don’t all look like Goofy’s shoes anymore.
I went on the website and some of them were actually… quite… stylish.
I bought a pair, and the rest is history. I’ve had loads since, and I don’t just wear them for practical reasons either. Crocs are now part of my outfit, and I love it.
They are perfect for kids in the summer too. Light, airy, good grip, easy to clean (🐶💩), easy for kids to put on, and relatively cheap. Plus, you can buy Jibbitz, those little shoe charms, so the kids can personalise their Crocs. My two love this element. Whatever they are into at the time seems to be available.
It makes their footwear fun. We enjoy picking them together and attaching them, swapping them out depending on the occasion, etc. We have Christmas Jibbitz, unicorn Jibbitz, Peppa Pig Jibbitz, all sorts.
The Crocs brand had come a long way since they were first released, but I never realised. They even have a running shoe these days, not that I will have any use for those any time soon lol 🍰🍷
I had spent years snubbing these things, but when I finally folded as tried them, I loved them. It taught me something, too.
Crocs and Motherhood
My journey from hating Crocs to proudly owning more than one pair sort of symbolises the journey of motherhood.
My mum’s crocs game is🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/RLWGeg6cTH
— Fragrance Queen (@A_doseof_E) September 24, 2023
You have to let go of your ego, you have to choose functionality over fashion, and you stop being so quick to judge because you come to understand other people’s choices. Or at least, you understand there are probably unknown circumstances that led them to make those choices.
When you start to do that, when you stop taking yourself so seriously, you actually have more fun, too. For example, if I was worried about people noticing my baby sick stained t-shirt while in the park with my children, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the day out. And guess what? I actually enjoy wearing my Crocs now. They’re fun. They give me pleasure.
Not as much pleasure as a £600 pair of Christian Louboutins, but you know what I mean!
Now, when I see a woman wearing Crocs I smile knowingly, when once I would have turned my nose up. And if they are a particularly eye catching pair I might even look them up online once I get home 🤭