Like the wildly successful, crayon-colored line of plastic perforated shoes that started it all, the backlash against Crocs footwear just keeps growing and growing. We were slightly ahead of the curve, examining the garish boat shoes and their lack of fashion or podiatric appeal in the 2005 article "A Really Big Shoe." Around the same time, Manolo the Shoe Blogger added Crocs to his Gallery of the Horrors, a collection of some of the ugliest shoes of all time.
But since those golden days, the attacks are intensifying. The couple behind the I Hate Crocs blog have a lot of fun subjecting the shoes to blenders, fire, and scissors. And the very unfunny Crocs Accidents blog is devoted to documenting freak accidents suffered by small children wearing rubber clogs, particularly if there's an escalator involved. (Excerpt from lurid news report: "The right toe—minus the bone—was found nearly three hours later but could not be reattached as it was too badly damaged.") This on top of dubious reports about Crocs generating static electricity that supposedly makes medical equipment go haywire.
Those who think the haters are getting a bit too alarmist can still find comfort at the Croc Fans blog, of course. The rest of us can brace for another summer full of festive, hideous, menacing yet oh-so-comfy clown clogs and the people that love them. –Alan Prendergast
Bonus video:
