SEC19 W4: “The brands that shapes my style”

My dearest friends,

It's interesting how certain brands can have a big influence on your lifestyle. So much so that it actually makes me smile.

We all know that style isn't just about what you wear. No, there is a far more powerful meaning to it. For me, style is a reflection of who we are, that one thing that can influence various aspects of our lives and those closest to us.
Whether it's adopting a loved one’s favorite brand, embracing a trend, or simply using what is known to us, it can forge deeper connections, new avenues, and shared experiences.

Let’s take myself and my husband. For many years, he has been a Crocs lover! As a child, he experienced problems with his feet, and no matter what shoes he wore, as soon as he wore them for a long period, his feet started aching. There is actually a name for it: plantar fasciitis. It is a common cause of heel pain caused by inflammation of the plantar fascia, a thick band of connective tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot from the heel to the toes, which in his case is caused by flat feet.

The advice he was given was to wear a good pair of sneakers. Well, he tried and tested them all with no luck.

Then we heard about a new shoe on the market that was not yet available in South Africa, Crocs. The more we read about it and heard about it, the more it sounded just like the solution he was looking for. The Croslite material that is used in the making of Crocs provides a unique combination of cushioning and support that helps reduce foot fatigue.

Those were the days when you could not just jump on the internet and order whatever you wanted, pay with your credit card, and have it delivered to your home in a couple of weeks. We had to wait in anticipation, my daughter’s biggest word as a child, to see their arrival in South Africa.

2007 was the year that brought this distinctive, comfortable footwear to a new audience, of which my husband was one. He bought his first pair of Crocs. Those were still the traditional gray ones. The ones with the closed-toe clog with a round, roomy toe box, a slightly raised heel, and, of course, those small holes along the sides and top of the shoe. Yes! The ones that, to this day, are still familiar to all of us and that cost an arm and a leg. They are also the ones that he has been buying year after year, seventeen pairs in total.

It turned out to be the perfect solution for his feet, but not for mine. I told him that I would never wear a pair of Crocs, as I found them the ugliest shoes on earth. I would rather walk barefoot. "Over my dead body" were my words.

On September 9, 2017, during a short holiday in Cape Town, he decided that it was time for a new pair and marched me into the Crocs Store at the V&A Waterfront.

It was the first time that I went into a Crocs store, and I was blown away by the different styles, the sizes, and, of course, the colors.

While he was looking around, I took a photo and sent it to the family WhatsApp group.

“Look what we are doing. Crocs shopping!”

He wanted to buy me a pair of Crocs, but of course, I declined. The family, everybody knows how I feel about Crocs. He did not listen to me and told the shop attendant to bring me a pair of "flops,” as he knows I like to wear flops when we are at our holiday home.

Not to make a scene, I took my shoes off, put the Crocs on, and paraded in the shop. “Are you now happy?” Of course, it was his turn to take a photo and send it to the group. There had to be evidence that I was wearing Crocs, despite what I’ve been telling them all these years.

It was only when we got home that I discovered that he actually bought the pair of Crocs. It was in the quiet of my bedroom that I took them softly out of the box and tried them on one more time. Not too shabby! "Squishy" and comfortable, indeed. I was hooked! We now buy two pairs of Crocs every year.

I now understand why Crocs is a brand that not only has a functional need but also has become a cultural phenomenon, leading to its widespread popularity and success around the world.

From a Crocs “flipflop” lover!

PS: Never say... never!

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