Forrest Gump said in the 1994 movie, "My mama always said you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes, where they going, where they been."
This is certainly true about my favorite pair of shoes: My Crocs!
Tuesday, October 23, was national Crocs day. I have noticed that most people either a lover or a hater of the plastic clog type shoe.
I wore my pink crocs to the bus stop on the first day of second grade. This was 2007. Crocs were in their prime, only hitting the stores three years prior in 2004. Everyone at my school had them and they were a daily trend seen on many of my peers.
Crocs were first sold in 2002 as a boating shoe when they were unveiled at a Florida boat show. All 200 pairs of shoes that were originally manufactured were sold out. Now, Crocs have sold about 300 million pairs of shoes in 90 countries.
I think everyone noticed Crocs fade away around 2010. No one really wore them anymore and they were "out of fashion." During the 2008 recession, the Croc company went from being worth $200 Million to having a loss of $200 million.
During this time, Crocs redesigned their company. They created and introduced all sorts of shoes. This gave people both comfort and style, and appealed to a more fashion-forward audience.
I asked for a new pair of Crocs for Christmas my junior year of high school. This was after my best friend got a pair over the summer. They looked so comfortable and she would wear them all the time. When I opened up my brand new red clogs, my whole family laughed at me. I didn't care though because they were my favorite present that year.
Now, all of my friends have Crocs and we would wear them all the time. My friends from school all brought them to prom to put on once we took our heels off. Obviously, we took pictures with our Crocs underneath of out fancy dresses.
I don't understand all the hate on crocs. They may not be the best looking shoe, but they are comfortable and customizable. How many other kinds of shoes can you say these two things about?
Jibbitz can help to make your crocs personal to you. They have jibbitz of just about everything. You can even get a 100 pack of jibbitz for like $10 on Amazon. Like Forrest Gump said, "Shoes tell you wear you've been," jibbitz help to tell a little more about you.
With the safety strap (or action strap as I like to call them), you can go from just walking to some sort of activity in a matter of seconds. This makes them incredibly versatile.
Crocs recently announced that they are closing their manufacturing centers. I got a little scared when I heard this news because I assumed that they would be closing. Thankfully, this does not mean that they are going out of business. This was just a business tactic to raise revenue.
Wearing Crocs is a way to show that you are comfortable and confident with yourself. The company started a recent campaign called "Come As You Are." The goal of this campaign is to "invite people to share their identity, their one‑of‑a‑kindness." This is something the company sees as an important thing in today's society. The campaign features stars like Drew Barrymore and John Cena.
Crocs are an amazing shoe. My crocs have been with me for many important events over the last two years, like homecomings, graduation, and competitions.
I encourage everyone to get a pair of crocs. You will not regret it! My crocs were the best present I have ever gotten and I love wearing them. I can guarantee that you will love them too!
