Crocs are making a comeback…

Crocs are a paradigm of the ’90s nostalgia aesthetic revival that we’re seeing all over the place at the moment. Whether it’s those deliberately tacky beaded chokers, super high neck baby tees, or big bubble resin rings – we’re all seemingly reverting back to how we used to dress as toddlers. 

I wonder why? 

I, like many other kids born anywhere between the late 90s and early 2000s, used to have a pair of crocs. Two, actually. My mum bought them for me because they were durable, comfortable, and virtually impossible to scuff or ruin. They were the shoes of holidays, of convenience, of childhood. There wasn’t a hint of edginess or coolness to the crep.

Crocs have recently released a new model of rubbery shoe, the ‘Bae’, which you may have seen plastered all over TikTok and Instagram. The previous ‘Classic Clog’ which we may associate with chefs and health professionals has now been “reimagined with an extra dose of height, attitude, and style.” 

After not too much contemplation, I decided to squeeze out the last of my January student loan and buy a pair of these shoes in the ‘Cantaloupe’ colour. With free delivery and tempting promos to throw in a load of ‘Jibbitz’ (the charms you can put on your Crocs), it was an easy sell. 

The Crocs arrived and I did what anyone with a phone nowadays does and documented my new purchase via an Instagram story. Within minutes I had dozens of DM’s from people telling me that they loved the shoes and were actually also on the cusp of buying a pair too. 

Now, maybe the Croc ‘Baes’ aren’t for you and maybe you think the people who follow me on Instagram are either lying or have no taste, but I think there’s a certain reclamation with wearing the shoe. 

Comfort. Comfort is the staple selling point of Crocs, regardless of their new cool-while-uncool status. Unlike high heels or tight shoes, Crocs allow the wearers who may have been previously unable to be comfortable (or walk properly without the risk of an ankle injury) an all-new sense of freedom.

After all, Crocs do vouch “we believe that comfort is the key to happiness, and our legendary Crocs comfort makes the world a happier place, one pair of shoes at a time.” 

But, if you’re a wearer of those Buffalo platforms, a staple of ‘Fallow Fashion’, these Croc platforms may be right up your street! Crocs are hopping on the zeitgeist of the ‘ugly/pretty’ aesthetic everyone is raving over, from grandpa sweater vests to in-your-face clashing abstract patterns. 

On the ‘Crocs Cares’ section of their official website, it states that their mission is to care for three key segments of both global and local communities: families, animals and the environment. In 2017, Crocs partnered with Boulder County Open Space’s Partnership Program where “volunteer groups perform construction and maintenance work on trails in Colorado at least once per year.”

With growing concerns over fast fashion and fleeting trends, it’s important to not just hop on board with a trend for the sake of it. However, Crocs is seemingly an ethical company concerned with the environment, workers’ rights, and sustainability. At least, more so than certain other shoe brands which regularly pump out extortionately-priced models without a hint of philanthropy to be found on their website or socials. 

People say that fashion exists on a 20-year cycle. So, what was cool in the 2000s will only ever become cool two decades on. And, as we begin this new decade of the not-so-roaring 20s, it seems only inevitable that the Croc has come back into fashion.