posted by Damozel |
Robin Givhan of The Washington Post is concerned about President Bush's choice to combine a pair of black Crocs with black socks while dressing himself for a bike ride.
He wore the clunky resin clogs -- which have ventilation holes and a heel strap -- with a pair of black shorts, a white camp shirt, a baseball cap with the image of an unidentified Scottish terrier and black bike socks imprinted with the presidential seal. He had the backstraps of his Crocs flipped forward so they rested on the top of the shoes -- turning them into slides. This subtle gesture -- coupled with the subdued color -- actually made the exceedingly unattractive shoes look tolerable. The Washington Post, By Executive Order, Crocs Aren't Chic (22 June 2007).
I am far from fashion forward, and rather like the idea of the leader of the free world wearing a baseball cap "with the image of an unidentified Scottish terrier", but I think he should draw the line at Crocs worn with black socks or perhaps at Crocs.
With respect to W's Croc-wearing, Givhan points out---lest others decide that W's choice of Crocs legitimizes them for wear in all government contexts---that the president at least wore his conservative black Crocs in a Crocs-appropriate context.
If only others would limit their Croc wearing to such occasions. But no.... They must wear them as if they were perfectly acceptable shoes and not the equivalent of waterproof bedroom slippers, with a similarly imprecise fit....Why, oh why, must people assimilate perfectly reasonable, functional and cheeky sports attire into street clothes? Why couldn't they keep their Crocs on the boat or in the garden? The Washington Post, By Executive Order, Crocs Aren't Chic (22 June 2007).
Givhan is concerned that the president's Croc-wearing will encourage others, less scrupulous in their Crocs-use, to use their Crocs inappropriately. Could this be the president's intention? As the Manolo (eminent shoeblogger and columnist for The Washington Post Express) once mused, "These [Crocs] they are indeed the shoes of a hypothetical distopian future, one in which the inmates they must be dressed in the footwear least likely to be useful in the popular uprising against the regime.... " Manolo's Shoe Blog, The Gallery of the Horrors. Hmmm.
On the other hand, Crocs have this advantage over other shoes: they can be cleaned in the dishwasher. Perhaps W chose them for ease of maintenance.
In the meantime, Givhan suggests that the pairing of Crocs and socks, besides making no sense given the nature and purpose of the shoes, is "ill-considered. The combination makes one think of an old man on his way to the beach." I am not sure this is fair. At least W has covered up what the Manolo has elsewhere referred to as "the unsightly man-toes."
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