Thursday, July 26, 2007

Are You a Crocs Fan?


You must know at least someone who owns a pair. Wait a minute, let me ask you this question -- do you own a pair yourself?
When I first laid eyes on these colourful shoes/sandals I thought they were the ugliest footwear ever to be invented, I mean designed.
I still do though a little less so now because I think their appearance grows on you. But I must admit, they do look very comfortable.
Many times I was tempted to buy a pair but always good sense, I mean style, prevailed.

They are known simply as Crocs. They come in all shapes, sizes and colours --to fit man, woman and child. And yes, even for anyone in between.
Of course, with every hotly popular invention, I mean, design, there will be the copycats, or, as we know them -- fakes.
Never you mind. Some people say, they are just as good as the original.
I don't know. I own neither original nor fake.
I suppose I am so behind, so not cool.
Everywhere I go, I see people wearing them - at Starbucks, Austin Chase, Coffee Bean, MacDonalds, supermarkets, 2-star hotels, 5-star hotels, shopping centres, even offices. And yes, even at the National Press Club. And that's because Ahirudin Attan (Rocky's Bru) owns a black pair.
At least he did not get a purple or orange pair.
He loves his Crocs. And I reckon they love him too because they do look great on him, I mean his feet.
He swears by them and has made a promise to himself to get another pair.
He'll soon be converting the non-believers, I'm sure. That would include me. But I am a woman of strong faith and not easily influenced.

And, oh, by the way, they (the original) are not cheap.

So. let me invite you to read this article in Slate on "The Croc Epidemic". Click here.

23 comments:

Elly said...

Nuraina dear,

Just for your info, you can get really cheap Crocs fakes at Mydin, he!he!;-)

meesh said...

Hey Nuraina,

I have two pairs! And I love them! One is the regular pair, I've seen Rocky wear and one is the Mary Jane version. They even have a ballet flats version, but I find that wearing those defeats the purpose of it being loose.

The thing about Crocs is, they are hideously ugly. It's true. I feel like Ronald McDonald most of the time. But, they are safe, and non-slip. I wore it white water rafting in Nepal and over here when it rains.

And you know those long shopping trips? Where you spend hours just walking? I've found out how shitty and unreliable my Vinci flats are when it comes to that. My feet hurt, my back hurts, my wallet hurts.. hehe.

They protect you from all that. I've gone trekking and long distance walking in those shoes. They are amazing. Come on, get one?

Anonymous said...

Kak Ena,

Listen to Rocky - BUY IT.

I swear by crocs. It's a liberation of the feet. Never mind the style.

Just buy it and let me know.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

i'll stick to my good ol' converse. thank you.

and nike's total 90.

and...i guess thats it.

thank you.

Anonymous said...

salam kak ena,
crocs almost like clogs arent they?
better looking then terompah. :D

zorro said...

Ena, I was fiddling with my worn-out Scholl on Monday and Rocky just blurted out "this is the most confortable shoes I have had". I recognized it as crocs because the kids in my pool have them in all shades and Norlie, one of my "Desperate Housewives" who has a 6 year old girl and a pair of twin boys said it grows on you. I aim to get a pair, probably the Cloud series. I figure if I drink two glasses less of beer per visit to NPC, I should be able to get a pair by early first quarter 2008. You think I can do it....minus two per visit?

zorro said...

Li Tsin, the tikus showed off her pair when we were waiting for Raja Petra yesterday in the police canteen.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

elly: are they as good? Rather, are they any good?
i see a lo of "crocs" in Cold Storage, i think also Giant.. Maybe even Tescoe.
Actually, who's to know, kan? if you wear ori or fake...
thanks Elly.

Meesh : I know I know....frankly i love the crazy sea of bright bright colours hanging on the wall of a Crocs shop.
i am so tempted to have a looksee. It's like this, I know I may just buy a pair because they loook soosooo comfy so I refuse to even step into the shop (this one is in Ikano).
and i know if i buy a pair, i'm sure i'll wear them everywhere and anywhere including to places they're not allowed...
thanks, meesh.

elviza: so tempted.
they're so ugly but so comfy.
i suppose you've got a pair for Luqman? and your significant other as well?

Kerp: what can I say to a Nike man?

Accia (E): hahaaa..... macam tu-lah, kot..

Zorro: Go get them, Zorro! They look cool on Rocky. I think they look more cool on men than on women.
So I am sure they'd look cool on you.
Hahahaaa.... we'll work out the maths on the beers for you...let's see, one mug of beer costs? or a jug...?

Anonymous said...

kak ena, if youre afraid of looking like ronald mcdonald, get the ones that look like selipar jepun. I have a pair, and they are very comfortable. You must try them, they are worth the price!

lalin

Anonymous said...

K.Ena,
My husband got 2 pairs,my son got 2 pairs & I got 1 pair.We bought our first pair in Singapore.That time it still not out yet in KL.We wore it during our umrah trip last April.It is soooo comfy.U should get one and pleez get the ori...proud to say my croc been around the world and nobody give me that stare even at 6* hotels.

Anonymous said...

We will get one for Ainaa- as a present for her 8th birthday this week. But where to get it near here, Bukit Kayu Hitam, Alor Setar (Giant?), SP (TESCO is in this town) or we have to drive all the way to Penang?
As NIKE says, just do it! But this time at their expense. How ironic!
aMiR

Light said...

The original comfort natural contour footwear are birkies.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

Lalin: The next time i go to Ikano, i'll spend a little longer at the window of the Crocs outlet - long enough to be intoxicated by the blaze of colours and seduced by the enduring thought of Croc Comfort..
ok... the one like selipar jepun, selipar jepun, selipar jepun, jelipar sepun, jelipar sepun...er er say what?

anon@10:34am: aah...a cool family of croc wearers.
i'm really beginning to think that i am so the odd one out. like, where have i been? everyone who's anyone who's cool and clever wears Crocs, for crying out loud!
ok... i am so tempted...you all are really fantastic walking blog adverts for Crocs!

aMiR: yes, yes....Bukit Kayu Hitam would surely have stocks of Crocs.
But whether or not they are original, your guess is as good as mine.
For Ainaa or anyone in your family, if u have read the comments -- get original!

LCuc'cha: Birkies...yes! But I always thought SCHOLLS were the real original..
I remember I'd wear nothing else for comfort on my feet (back in the 70s till today) but SCHOLLS...
They used to not be available in KL, so used to get mine in Simgapore or I'd "kirim" anyone who was going to London...

Thanks for visiting!

Anonymous said...

Amir,

If you go to the place that you have mentioned, esp Bukit Kayu Hitam, you will not get the ori. Kalau fake, memang balik. You can even get them dekat Padang Besar sebelah Malaysia tak payah pi Siam.
Giant & Tesco pun ada yang fake aje kot kat sana. But in Penang, definitely you will get the ori too sebab kat sana banyak big malls.

Anonymous said...

I am standing firm amid the raging croc epidemic but the jury is still out on whether I will ever become a croc devotee, never say never.

My standard pair of casual footware is thongs. I even wear them in winter, with socks of course. I know I know, it's a fashion faux pas wearing thongs with socks but heck, I am no fashionista.

Azian hasan said...

Hi Kak Ena,
This is Mior's wife. I told Mior tak payah lah beli, mahal. He was contemplating in front of the Crocs store at Ikano the other day. Reminded him that his work shoes pun do not cost that much...

REally love TWB

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

aMir, good advice from ANON@2:50pm.

Sesat: dont blame you. thongs are the ultimate in comfort footwear.
but in the cold --with socks? heheheh...to each her own, i always say.

one fine day, i suspect our defences will be down and we'd get a "thong" Croc.


Azian: akhir nya, Mior beli tak?
semua orang kata theya re so comfortable, so memang lah dia teringin.
what about you? have you already got a pair?
I masih belum. But the Ikano shop is really dahsyat, ya? warna warni...
thanks for reading TWB...

Anonymous said...

The crocodile skin trade is a lucrative business in Australia, particularly in the Northern Territory. I wrote a paper on crocodile farming recently. Crocodile harvesting is an interesting model of crocodile conservation and commerce. In the late 60s, the saltwater crocodile was depleted in Australia (they were exploited, unregulated, to supply the booming demand for their high-quality skins, and were often killed by pastoralists because it was considered a pest -- crocs feast on cattle -- the pastoralists I surveyed lost about 10 to 50 cows a year to these reptiles). A ban on crocodile harvesting was imposed because they were classified as endangered. By the late 70s, crocodile populations made an amazing recovery and were at carrying capacity in many of the northern Australian rivers and were posing a threat to cattle and people. A 'conservation by sustainable use' approach was adopted and harvests have been carried out under a limited harvest quota system since the early 1980s till today. The system creates a financial incentive; pastoralists no longer kill the crocodiles or destroy their eggs because it has value and can be sold to the crocodile farms. Sustainable trade is also beneficial to the large Australian Aboriginal population living in the Northern Territory (as you would probably know, the Aborigines are the most disadvantaged community in Australia -- very low income levels, life expectancies 20 years lower on average than the regular Joe Bloke, etc.). Crocodile meat is also rather popular (its exported) but its an expensive delicacy (its said to taste like a cross between chicken and fish). So there you have it, crocodile conservation and crocodile-skin accessories going hand in hand. And I don't own croc-skin shoes either; I'm a sneakers person ;)

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

Slade,
thanks for the crocodile story.

but just to let u know, Crocs are not made of crocodile skin or any part of the crocodile.
they're made of a proprietary nonplastic resin formula (known as Croslite).

i don't own any croc-skin fashion accessories, either...

thank you for dropping by

Anonymous said...

Hi Cik Nuraina

Pardon me, I wasn't aware of the 'Croc' marque. Had the impression that you were referring to croc-skin shoes!

Have a nice weekend.

Rockybru said...

Just got back from Bintan. I used to travel with a pair of exec shoes (bally or clarks, usually), running shoes for the gym (nike, anyone?) and a pair of slippers for the room (hotels usually provide you with size 6 or 7 slippers).

At Bintan, I brought only my Crocs (mine's not the slipper Crocs, more lika a moccasin but weather/water proof throughout). Add a pair of socks, and the Crocs are ready for the gym or a walk by the beach in the rain (it rained all three days I was on the island). The Crocs dry up in time for the official Media awards night. There are 18 holes on each shoe and like golf it's a good topic for conversation.

Crocs are so comfortable you can wear it to the toilet of your hotel room. I am sure I didn't take it with me into the bathtub. If I did, I wasnt aware. I did have it 0n when I was having my power nap one afternoon.

Enough said, guys. Go buy a pair. And stick to the Original.

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

slade: that's ok...


rocky (ahirudin attan):
hey...i havent seen you changing footwear since your love affair with them Crocs!
yeah.... you're a one-label man.
my kind of guy! haha.

next birthday, we'll get you another one.

Han Solo said...

Too bad I can't wear them...People like me who have flat feet need something with arches inside the shoes *sniff*