I'm a fashion writer and once hated Crocs. Now, my closet isn't complete without the ugly shoe.
- I was once a Croc hater. But after buying a pair, I couldn't imagine life without them.
- Seeing Crocs all over London Fashion Week made me rethink the shoe.
When I started my career as a fashion writer, I was a Croc hater.
But now, after finally ripping off the Band-Aid and getting myself a pair of Crocs a few months ago, I can't imagine life without them.
I've always played it safe with my personal style, so out-there shoes like Crocs just didn't seem to fit into my wardrobe. But over the summer, I realized I didn't have any comfortable shoes for running errands when I didn't want to wear sneakers. (I also didn't want to wear slip-on sandals or flip-flops, which don't feel sturdy enough to me.)
So, I caved and spent $55 on a pair of classic Crocs clogs in jade green.
Now I'm in my mid — approaching late — 20s, I've entered my "practical-girl era," which might explain my newfound appreciation for the foamy shoe.
Still, in my opinion, there's a time and a place to wear Crocs. You won't see me rocking them at brunch or a dinner date, but I'll wear them for a morning-coffee run, walk in the park, or lounging by a pool.
Nevertheless, if there's anything I've learned from the fashion crowd, it's that if you wear something with confidence, it'll almost always look fashionable.
I was reminded of that recently at London Fashion Week, where I was surprised to find a few attendees had styled their Crocs in a way that made me wish I'd worn mine.
Crocs were all over London Fashion Week
At the Paul Costelloe fashion show, I met Kelly Harrington, a freelance trend forecaster, designer, content creator, and creative consultant, who previously worked at H&M Group.
She was wearing her signature denim: a long, pink, distressed T-shirt with a pair of cream jeans that had a purple side panel. But my eyes went straight to her matching purple Crocs, adorned with an array of Sanrio Hello Kitty Croc Jibbitz pins and her name, spelled out in varsity lettering, on one shoe.
"Crocs are not just a shoe but a canvas for personal narratives," Harrington told me.
The designer added that she thinks collaborations with high-profile fashion brands like Balenciaga, Christopher Kane, MSCHF, Aries, and Susan Fang "have elevated Crocs to runway stardom."
In fact, a few days after we met, London-based designer Simone Rocha launched some collaboration Crocs as part of her spring/summer 2024 collection at London Fashion Week. The line included a pair of platform, heeled Crocs, embellished with pearls and crystals.
Also at London Fashion Week, I bumped into 16-year-old fashion designer, Tytus Tułecki, at the Natasha Zinko fashion show, who was wearing green Crocs with clothes from his own label: a pair of slouchy jeans (complete with a double waistband) and a red jersey covered in logos over a checkered, blue-and-white shirt.
His take on Crocs is that they can be wrongfully associated with a person who doesn't care about fashion. He told me he thinks Crocs are appreciated by young, fashionable people because they're statement shoes, but they're not delicate.
Tulecki said he paid under $70 for his Crocs Crush boots and that other Fashion Week attendees had approached him to praise his styling of the shoes.
"They're the embodiment of the irony in fashion," the designer said of Crocs. "That's exactly what makes them a cool fashionable shoe."
Possibly the coolest take on Crocs I saw at London Fashion Week was from Bence Borbely, a self-dubbed balloon fashion designer. Borbely's technique incorporates balloon art with clothing pieces, and even glasses.
At Fashion Week, the designer transformed his pair of regular cream Crocs into futuristic slip-on shoes by adding mini silver balloons, which matched the balloon vest he wore over a pastel-green top with a shiny skirt.
Borbely told me he thinks that Crocs are perfect to customize.
"The perforated design of Crocs allowed me to insert balloons into the holes and create a connection with my own brand and Crocs," he said of the shoes he was wearing.
I've been inspired to wear my Crocs more
Though I didn't have my Crocs in my suitcase as part of my London Fashion Week wardrobe this year, I'd wear them next season.
Seeing a mix of niche, mainstream, and luxury ways to wear Crocs at this year's fashion events has made me rethink the shoe. Now, I feel motivated to invest in a second pair of Crocs and some Jibbitz charms (like the Hello Kitty ones) to customize them according to my personal style. I love the idea of adding and removing charms to create different looks; it's as good as having multiple pairs of shoes.
I also look forward to wearing my Crocs next time I travel; they feel like the perfect long-haul travel shoe, and I'm certain a pair of charm-embellished Crocs will amp up my next airport look. And whatever my destination, I'll likely end up wearing them.
Ultimately, I still believe there's a time and a place to wear Crocs, but my idea of when and where has become broader.