To think Crocs and Clogs are the ugliest shoes ever!!

I was about to say Birkenstock sandals are ugly!

They are easiest to put on to do the bins or put the washing out, what do people wear instead if they don't wear them

I think they’re ugly but my 12 year DD and all her friends are obsessed

Also good for showers at campsites.

I’ve had some a couple of weeks whilst pregnant and they are a godsend. I can put them on without bending over, I can nip put into the garden quickly. I think they will be even more useful in winter when going to the bins because usually I get wet slippers. I’m not going to be wearing them properly in public though… just yet.

I tend to agree, that's why I wear these..(see exhibit 1) when representing my clients in court.

Fizbosshoes we have a shared pair of crocs by the front door. They were originally DDs then mine. Everyone uses them to pop out to their car, put something in the bins, whatever. The first time our SIL wanted to use them he politely asked but he now just happily helps himself.

I have my own crocs, with gems, for gardening, kept in the back porch. So easy for putting on and off. Who cares if they're ugly or not?

I agree crocs are ugly. I also used to mock them.

Until I slipped my sons on one day to nip out to the car and oh my god…they are so comfy!

Not really that fussed on crocs, but I LOVE the Birkenstock Boston clogs. I think they're lovely and look really nice on.

Suppose it's horses for courses and all that.

The novelty/hype is because they're unapologetically actually wide enough for people's feet, particularly their toes, to spread out properly and for the wearer to have healthy biomechanical functioning.

You view them as ugly because we've been conditioned to think that narrow toeboxes and small, dainty feet are pretty and feminine and, as long as we can't actually see the results of wearing unhealthy footwear (ie, no visible bunions, blisters or collapsing insteps), it's attractive to wear shoes for the socialised gaze - I don't say male gaze because it's too deeply entrenched in both male and female.

Crocs probably get the strongest reaction (along with some barefoot shoes) because they aren't trying in the slightest to hide or disguise the shape - other more conventional shoes that have the right shape and width are often derided as being school shoes.

Think of how many people declare that feet are disgusting and ugly. Few say the same about hands, noses or eyes - but feet are as essential a part of the body as those. We have been conditioned to find a natural part of our bodies as repellent unless they conform perfectly to an ideal that bears absolutely no relation to health and function or are hidden to appear that way - and shoes are the natural extension to this revulsion if they indicate through their shape and size that we might have normal, healthy, functioning bodies.

It's very sad, really, to be socialised to hate a part of ourselves so much that it's normal to reject healthy footwear in favour of what damages us.

irregular choice

the most hideous of shoes

I agree about the Crocs, but I have a pair. Why - because I have mobility / stability problems (disabled) and when travelling they make fantastic "shower shoes" that prevent me from falling / slipping. The normal shower shoes just aren't stable enough for someone like me.

I have never understood it. I think theyre absolutely hideous

This probably breaks all sorts of MN rules but we have a pair of communal crocs. They started off being mainly for DS (he loves crocs) but me and DD would wear them to put the washing out or empty the bins. Now DS has grown out of them so they are for me or DD to wear for occassional chores. I wear them when I'm cleaning the shower as well. ( I don't want to get my socks wet but flip flops are a bit slippy!)

DS has one pair of fur lined crocs as slippers and one pair of normal crocs for almost anything else sports mode

I argue that sliders and yeezys are just as ugly, if not more so

They are not the cutest footwear but they are so comfortable, so practical for around the house and garden so have helped my hip pain so much. I don’t wear them out in public unless nipping the dog out for a quick walk round the block. And they are a cute baby pink and fur lined!

They were originally made for boating and sailing.

Oh they are hideously ugly. But they are incredibly comfortable.

They're not meant to look pretty.

They're ugly as hell but I love them - they're comfortable. I don't wear them out most of the time other than for the beach or if I'm doing school run and not getting out of the car, but days on the beach where we have to walk across a rocky bit to get to the sand, they're perfect

@andweallloveclover

I could’ve written this post myself!

I utterly detest them and cannot see the appeal whatsoever. My children wear them and adorn them with croc charms, and my husband wears crocs too and even buys limited edition versions. They wear them everywhere!

I have heard so many times how comfortable they are, so one day decided to try a pair on to see if I could then understand somewhat - but they were incredibly uncomfortable and unsupportive!

I’ll never understand these or Uggs.

They are definitely ugly, but they are so comfortable and easy to slip on for going out into the garden, or on the beach!
I have 3 pairs, one pair furlined, but swore I'd only wear them in the house. A knee injury a few months ago put paid to that, as my Crocs were the only shoes I could wear!

@Comtesse - Fitflop do great flip flops with arch support. As do a brand called Archie’s. I had plantar fasciitis a few years ago and find the Fitflop flip flops great. They look a bit like Haivannas. I’m wearing Archie’s slides at the moment and they are really comfortable but I prefer Fitflop flip flop over the Archie’s ones.

It's all about the comfort.