Happy feet

This past winter I discovered Crocs, well maybe not Crocs, but the Wal-Mart equivalent. For $7.00 I got a great warm and comfortable pair of shoes. The ones that are all enclosed and lined, very nice!! It’s like wearing Dutch wooden shoes if they were made out of plastic and lined. OK maybe they aren’t too much like wooden shoes but that’s what they remind me of. The other day I was in Fred Meyer’s and saw the more common looking Croc type shoe with the holes in them and since my feet have been sweating I bought a pair.

Ohmygawd!!! They’re even better then the ones I had. These are pliable and squishy. It’s like walking on a cushion! I’m going back and buying more, a lot more, in different colors.

I’ve seen Crocs on people all over the place, but I’ve never really thought much about them until my sister made me try on her pair. She was going on and on about how great they were. Once I tried them on I was hooked like a trout.

Now I hear all over the place that Crocs are tacky and not the “in” thing anymore. This is from the fashion world. I’m not sure they were ever Croc fans. I certainly hope it’s not true. Of course it would be just my luck to have discovered something great and then it’s gone.

The problem with fashion is that designers don’t really wear it. They are all in either simple, frumpy black, or something weird and frumpy, or just plain weird. They design clothes for prepubescent amazons and shoes for people with small feet who only have to wear them just long enough to snap a photo or go down a cat walk. Even I could wear something that long. The real test is how does a normal person’s foot feel at the end of a normal work day? Can you chase down a three year old in them? What about climb steps and work in the yard?

I think Crocs, and their look-a-likes, are here to stay, just like the flip-flops. In a lot of ways I think the two have a lot in common: they slip on and off easily, they are cheap and readily available, people of all ages can wear them, they hold up to a lot of use, you can hose them down, they come in a variety of colors, and you can wave at people with your toes while wearing them.

I’m waving at you, can you see?