Which came from the rise of Birkenstock's resurgance as hip comfy casual wear, then to Teva as bombproof hip active wear, then back-tracked to flip flops as cheap hip daily wear, now to Crocs that combined all three.

Teva made it OK to wear beach shoes to work/church/parties/shopping. Crocs exploited that opening.

This is the exact same trajectory as the Gore-Tex rain coat. Originally destined for Everest, now mandatory for a trip to Home Depot, as it morphed from function-first to style-first technical outwear. Get thee to PataGuccia.

What you author is missing back there in the land of Italian loafers, silk poker-player louge shirts, and black leather coats is that the rest of the nation is catching its fashion wave from the outdoor recreation industry.

In addition: UGLY is indeed "in". Have you seen some of the top-end leather loafers lately? They look like they were sewn from yak-skin by a one-armed 101-year old mongolian mocasin maker.

I suspect this embrace of boxy & clunky is, at least in part, a rebellion against whatever the fashion elite tells us we should do. Just count your blessings that the fashion world has not yet discovered 1970's Soviet-bloc chic.

Sarvis:

Which came from the rise of Birkenstock's resurgance as hip comfy casual wear, then to Teva as bombproof hip active wear, then back-tracked to flip flops as cheap hip daily wear, now to Crocs that combined all three.

Teva made it OK to wear beach shoes to work/church/parties/shopping. Crocs exploited that opening.

This is the exact same trajectory as the Gore-Tex rain coat. Originally destined for Everest, now mandatory for a trip to Home Depot, as it morphed from function-first to style-first technical outwear. Get thee to PataGuccia.

What you author is missing back there in the land of Italian loafers, silk poker-player louge shirts, and black leather coats is that the rest of the nation is catching its fashion wave from the outdoor recreation industry.

In addition: UGLY is indeed "in". Have you seen some of the top-end leather loafers lately? They look like they were sewn from yak-skin by a one-armed 101-year old mongolian mocasin maker.

I suspect this embrace of boxy & clunky is, at least in part, a rebellion against whatever the fashion elite tells us we should do. Just count your blessings that the fashion world has not yet discovered 1970's Soviet-bloc chic.

I believe the flip-flop phenom with juniors is a reaction to the sophisticated '60's Jackie Kennedy direction that fashion has taken. Crocs will never score big with the junior crowd (who often drives fashion) because what hip 18 year old wants to look like her 7 year old sister or brother??

I agree with Sarvis that the author neglected to point out the lineage of the croc. I am a big birkenstock fan myself - owning 7 birks in my lifetime (the regular sandals, as well as the tatami and footprints lines which they have discontinued). When I first saw the rise of crocs, they didn't look too foreign or weird to me, because at first I thought they were the rubber/gardening birkenstocks - birki-clogs - (which I think is the name) that have been around for ages. They are made of plastic, are washable, and comfy. Similar shape. The birks look nicer, more streamlined, and less cheap.

I think the whole birkenstock/teva aesthetic has contributed to the popularity of crocs. One big difference is that to me crocs look cute and fun on little kids, but weird on adults. Not every adult could pull it off, while birks and tevas look great on all ages. I think my opinion would also be up for debate as well.