Ever since the years of Nike Velcros, choice of footwear has played an integral role in the social survival of students in the Reading public school system. Although often obscured by new and outrageous styles of clothing and hair, footwear holds just as much power as any other category of the fashion industry, and is arguably the most important and influential of all.
With so many styles of shoes suitable for everyday use, the purchase of a pair is beneficiary almost every day, not just once every few weeks as is the case with clothing. A typical high schooler will have many more articles clothing than they have p
airs of shoes.
Since we have less variety in shoes, of course the general trends are going to be narrower and more specific, which has led to the emergence of no more than ten appropriate styles each new school year. Within these appropriate styles are appropriate brands, of which there is usually only one. Examples include Uggs, Nike air Jordans, Birkenstocks, Minnetonkas, and Adidas. This year has been no different than any other, with a new brand and style making its dominance known by the second week of school.
The most recent brand to dominate the teenage shoe market? Porous rubber clogs called Crocs.
Short for crocodiles, the logo of the company is a smiling "croc". The shoes themselves look like something out of a futuristic world, usually monochromatic and extremely eye catching. Fit with features including an "adventure strap" that hooks over the heels, and attachable buttons for the pores that come in all prints imaginable, Crocs are certainly a unique type of footwear. Unique, and in the opinion of some fashion critics, uniquely hideous.
In his 2010 book, "Gunn's Golden Rules", Project Runway host Tim Gunn launches nothing short of an attack on the brand, the sight of which reportedly causes him to shake ."I can't imagine a more aesthetically offensive item of footwear than Crocs. That little strap! I shudder," writes Gunn.
Whether or not I agree with Gunn will remain undisclosed, but it appears that the vocal majority of RMHS would oppose his comments.
When questioned on their opinion of the shoes, all of my interviewees were either overwhelmingly supportive of the new trend (many telling me they owned a pair themselves) or had no opinion to share. One anonymous junior's comment summed up the non-croc majority's response. "I'm indifferent to people wearing (crocs)." she said. Another junior pointed out how ridiculous she thought it was to judge other people's choices in wardrobe. "Its either to be fun or comfortable." She reasoned. "It's not bothering anyone, and people take it too seriously."
A third anonymous junior, the only crocs wearer amongst my batch of interviewees, echoed the second commenter's response about function "I like them for (sports) because it's easy just to slip them on.", she told me.
When I asked about the comfort level, all four responded in their favor, as they had owned crocs at some point in their childhoods.
Although the purpose of this article was not to criticize crocs or their owners, I decided to ask my interviewees a more divisive question- just to see how much they really liked the style for themselves. Given a pair of crocs, would you or would you not wear them to school? After asking 5 people, the tally came to 1 yes and 4 nos, the yes being from someone who already owns a pair and wears them regularly.
Although they definitely don't agree on what or what not to wear personally, I realized that most RMHS students aren't keen to speak up on their opinions of other students. In our school, it appears most students don't feel the need to comment on or intervene in the styles of their peers. Perhaps I just chose a very nice and open-minded group of people to interview, but the impression they gave me was far from the croc hating rampage I had expected after spending a bit of time on Twitter.
Although I don't doubt the good nature of my classmates, it's possible that some of them may have felt pressured to stay neutral due to the overwhelming enthusiasm and promotional behavior of croc supporters.
The cult like culture of those who own crocs is extremely forceful, possession being more impactful than any trend to grace our hallways before. Croc wearers, who have dubbed themselves as "Crocnation", are known to greet each other in the hallways and in class upon seeing another wearer. They post pictures together on Instagram and retweet each other on Twitter, spreading their movement to the point that it is unignorable.
Croc nation seeks to establish a unified base organization, in many cases solidifying already established cliques, groups, and even entire sports teams. Something about that squishy rubber base. Crocs have emerged as a new, ultra-powerful trend, in which possession is not only an assurance of the owner's trendiness- it also grants membership to an exclusive club.
This "package deal" that comes with a purchase of crocs raises a question-which of the two are customers really paying for? Are crocs really an incredibly comfortable and versatile shoe that's worth the money, or does their charm lie in the free pass to crocnation? Do wearers enjoy their shoes, or the friends they've made by sporting them?
Perhaps croc nations' passion for their shoes is so strong that both fanatically supporting and enjoying the look and feel of shoes are concepts inseparable to them. Maybe their love is so intense that they can't help sharing it with others who think alike, on social media and in person.
The only way to find out what's really going on in the mind of a crocs customer is to buy a pair, which retail at 34.99. Speaking from the point of someone who's yet to realize crocs' charm (admittedly without ever trying a pair on) that's just about 34 dollars and ninety nine cents too much for me.