For interviews, product samples or other media related queries, please contact our PR Department at publicrelations@crocs.com.
Back to News
Turn heads in Crocs
Finger Lake Times, June 27, 2005
Rubber shoes? Wouldn’t your feet sweat like mad?
That’s what most people think at first.
Then they meet Crocs.
These not-quite-shoes/not-quite-sandals are quickly taking the nation – and Finger Lakes – by storm.
“It can get a little sweaty, but not bad enough that you need socks,” said Ted Wilson, a recent Hobart College graduate who lives in Geneva and has been a Croc-lover for three years. “Just run some water through them and you’re fine. The whole point is that your feet can breathe. It’d be like wearing underwear with swimtrunks … there’s a lining there for a reason.”
But fashion blunders aside, Wilson said the only time he dares to mix socks and Crocs is during the winter, when he wears wool socks with his forest green footwear. He also pairs of pink and orange Crocs for the summer. As you can see, wearing Crocs can be a year-round affair.
“I pretty much live in them,” he said. “During the summer it’s shorts and a pair of Crocs and that’s it. You’re good to go.”
Wilson’s enthusiasm for Crocs isn’t just a college-age crush. Men and women, young and old, have all become fans of the clog-like footwear. Seneca Falls resident Marilyn Corrado, 73, began wearing her pink Crocs about a month ago after seeing an ad for them in her newspaper.
“They seemed like nice things to wear,” she said. “So I went and bought a pair.”
The paper may have turned Corrado on to Crocs, but Wilson credits himself for spreading the fad throughout Geneva and the Finger Lakes by word of mouth. He said he’s influenced at least 20 to 25 people to wear Crocs, including Fox Run Vineyards owner Ruth Osborn.
“Ted was working and he came in with pink Crocs,” Osborn recalled. “… we all said ‘Ted, what are you doing?’ But the next thing you know I went online and ordered them.”
Wilson’s infamous pink Crocs turned heads and changed minds at the Colleges, too. He said that because he can buy them for $15 – at a store in Maine where he works in August – he’s given Crocs as gifts to several of his friends at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Depending on the style, Crocs can cost anywhere from $25 (with lots of holes) to $40 (with few to no holes).
In all, Crocs come in seven different styles, providing plenty of options for today’s fashion nut. The difference among them is the number of holes. For those who like to let it all hang out, there is the open-toed “Nile” or flip-flop styled “Athens.” For a more conservative Croc-wearer, the “highland” – Wilson’s choice for winter – has an enclosed front.
At Half Moon Bay in Penn Yan, the “beach” – a style with plenty of holes – has been a best-seller. The shoe store has sold Crocs since last summer, and owner Lori Herger said sales have grown lately with customers of all ages buying the shoes. Noting comfort and price as reasons for the popularity, Herger said the vast array of colors – from pink to black – attract people the most.
“Before the first day of school this year, three senior boys came in and bought pink ones,” she said, adding that she recently had a man in his 50s come in looking to buy pink, lime or black; he already owned orange ones.
But with the growth of Crocs, there are plenty of generic versions that mimic the original. The biggest difference between Crocs and their distant cousins are their make-up. The Boulder, Colo.-based company uses a patented closed-cell resin. The compound allows Crocs to stay free of bacteria and foot odor and makes them easy to clean – Osborn said she just puts hers in the dishwasher.
Many of the copy-cat brands use foam or other forms of rubber, which annoys Wilson.
“They’re not expensive to begin with, so why do you need a rip-off?” he asked. “It kind of ruins the fun of having Crocs. I guess [companies] take every good thing and try to make them cheaper.”
Even with a lower price, Wilson said he thinks the original brand will remain the most popular, especially with lots of different styles and colors available. However, after being made fun of while student teaching at Geneva Middle School, Wilson acknowledged that it may take some time for a younger audience to accept Crocs.
“Girls will be wearing them … but eighth-grade guys are too tough,” he said. “I guess if Kobe Bryant doesn’t wear them, then no one’s going to wear them.”
Corrado said that in addition to an age gap, she’s seen a gender gap in Croc acceptance.
“[Men] say that they’re funny looking and [women] say they’re pretty.”
Osborn’s experience has been different. She said that her husband, Scott, likes Crocs, and she’s been planning to buy him some. She added that because of the exposure that Wilson gave Crocs at Fox Run, some younger males thought they were “pretty cool.”
Whether Crocs take off with the youth of the Finger Lakes or not, Wilson said he’s sticking with his funky footwear.
“[In the beginning] everyone laughed at me pretty hard,” he said. “But it caught everyone’s attention … and it wasn’t that bad after all.”
Bryan Roth
read more…