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Lurking beneath ankles everywhere are Crocs - rubbery, technicoloured, ventilated fashion abominations that, in the name of practicality, citizens are dressing their feet in with scant regard to time or place.
The plastic horrors have taken the country by storm, but their popularity remains an enigma. Bulky, hole-filled
and jellybean-coloured, they are not the height of footwear fashion.
"Crocs are ugly, they are hideous, they are disgusting," railed Denise L'Estrange-Corbet, founder of Kiwi fashion label World. "They should actually have teeth in them that bite off the feet of anyone who wears them as punishment for having such bad fashion sense. I wouldn't wear them if they were the last shoes on earth."
L'Estrange-Corbet said the only thing good about the rubber monstrosities was their bright colours. "But they should be banned. If I were prime minister, that's what I would do - ban Crocs."
Auckland fashion designer Caroline Church puts it just as bluntly. "They're dog ugly. They really are, but so are Jandals - people don't look good in them, but they wear them anyway."
However, pragmatism and the lure of comfort have even got to Church. She admits to owning a pair herself - bright green gumboot-style Crocs - but swears they are only for around home.
Described by the manufacturers as 'boat shoes', Crocs have been a phenomenon - overseas sales have soared from $1.2 million in 2003 to an expected $338 million in 2006.
Since appearing on New Zealand shelves in November 2005, Crocs have tripled in sales. Last year, more than 100,000 pairs of Crocs flooded our shores, but retailers still didn't have enough to fulfil public demand. Their invasion of the globe continues, with 100,000 pairs made every day. But Australasian managing director of Crocs Andrew Witts said that with sales at 130,000 pairs a day, that's not enough.
The most popular colours are the plainer ones - chocolate and black - although Crocs are available in every lurid colour of the rainbow. The beach and Jandal models have appealed to Kiwi consumers most.
Shoe lovers will be appalled to learn that the vivid slip-ons have even won a prestigious award: trade publication Footwear News named Crocs its 2005 brand of the year.
Former winners include shoe designers Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin. Crocs deserved to win as a product that "really resonated with customers looking for something different", editor Michael Altmore said.
Bafflingly, he appears to be right. Aficionados have even put video tributes to their Crocs on Youtube. Others have sent holiday snaps of themselves wearing Crocs to the website and have posted stories about how the coloured clogs changed their lives or how they've bought Crocs for every member of their extended family.
New Zealand pro volleyballers Anna Scarlett and Susan Blundell have a favourite pair of Crocs each; American musician Faith Hill has been snapped wearing her Crocs; and actor Matt Damon has opined "Crocs rock!"
"They're comfortable," Vicki Birk said, as she strolled in central Auckland in her beige Crocs. She's had them for five or six months, and said she wore them anywhere and with anything. In Mission Bay, Scott Mcfarlane had a pair of Crocs stashed under son Finn's stroller. He's had them since before they arrived in Kiwi stores, and said they were more comfortable than Jandals. They're strictly for the beach or after cycling though: "I'm not going to go out dancing in them."
Crocs cost between $49.99-59.99, although numerous copycat versions have appeared. The Warehouse sells a look-a-like called Frogs for $15 a pair. Spokeswoman Cynthia Church said they had sold thousands. "They've been very popular since last spring, when we first got them in."
Crocs were designed in Boulder, Colorado, and named Crocs because of their similarity to the animal - equally good in water and on land, and living a long time.
