I’m not an unbiased audience, as Crocs is one of the few brands to ever send me free merchandise (the other two, in case you’re curious, are Lanz nightgowns and Topo Chico sparkling water; let’s go, lesbians!), so I turned to my estimable fashion counterparts for some insight into whether Shields’s red-carpet Croc moment constituted a major sartorial faux pas or, indeed, a bit of a slay.
“I feel like…you’d have to do a platform Croc, if you MUST,” opined Vogue writer Hannah Jackson, with her colleague Christian Allaire chiming in to add: “I LOVE Crocs and always will, but they absolutely do not belong with formalwear.” Harsh, but totally fair!
Luckily, living editor Liam Hess came in with a partial Croc defense at just the right time, writing: “Yeah guys idk i think the black Simone Rocha Croc with a dress is perfectly acceptable formalwear.” (Thank you, Liam!) Hess also spoke up for the Christopher Kane Crocs, though he draws a line at the Balenciaga heel Crocs for formal occasions. (And, anyway, why would you stiletto-fy your Crocs and rob them of all the comfort they’re so famous for?) “Fine, MAYBE the Simones,” Allaire acquiesced, with Vogue.com editor Chloe Malle providing the last word: “Pearls on your Crocs may be the one exception.”
Although I couldn’t be more excited to add custom accoutrements to my white high-heeled Siren Crocs, I regretfully have to agree with my fashion colleagues that Crocs—or, at least, the plain, flat ones worn by Shields—just don’t work with a formal ensemble.
That said, Shields very clearly doesn’t care if some rando culture writer doesn’t like her shoes—and there’s something appealing about that. Even if I can’t quite get behind the gardening-shoe-and-gown aesthetic, I can certainly appreciate the power of an extremely hot 59-year-old woman showing up to the Tonys in shoes she can actually move in. Maybe opt for the Mega Crush platform Croc next time, Brooke. (Or, dare I say, even the Simon Miller bubble clog?)