Several months ago, I noticed someone wearing something odd. No, it was more than odd. I didn’t know what could have possibly been going through that person’s head that caused them to make this decision. I could, perhaps, have excused the transgression if that was the only time I saw it, but no. I saw people participating in this bizarre fashion choice again. And again. And again.

No matter how hard I tried, I could not understand why anyone would want to wear socks with their Crocs.

Let me start by saying that I love Crocs. I have owned one pair or another for as long as I can remember. I’ve owned the classic clogs, flip-flops, and something you can’t find too easily anymore called jelly flats. Currently, I have a pair of yellow clogs and a pair of blue flip-flops, so I consider myself reasonably well-informed on the subject of Crocs.

There are many reasons why Crocs are so great, but it mainly comes down to these two:

1. They are super quick and easy to put on.

2. They are waterproof.

These are the greatest benefits of Crocs and where their most significant value lies in addition to being the reason Crocs were created in the first place — to be a boating shoe. And they excel at fulfilling this purpose.

Crocs are made of a waterproof rubber called croslite that will not become remotely uncomfortable, no matter how wet the shoes get. Part of this is due to their excellent ventilation and drainage, which even rivals water shoes. Water shoes often become somewhat mushy when they get wet, though they do eventually dry out, while Crocs dry almost instantly.

Crocs also have excellent traction, so even when they are wet, they do not slide around very much on most surfaces.

Furthermore, Crocs are super easy to put on. It only takes a couple of seconds to step into them, even in the so-called ‘sports mode’ (how I always wear mine), and once they’re on, they will stay on extraordinarily well, hardily weathering nearly all strains they experience.

For these reasons, I have loved wearing Crocs, particularly as what I affectionately call a ‘tent shoe.’ When I’m camping and need to move in and out of the tent a lot, it can get extremely annoying to have to put on socks and then tennis shoes/hiking boots while in the awkward position of standing halfway in and halfway out. But with Crocs, I can just slip my shoes on in a couple of seconds and be on my way.

There have also been occasions when, after learning that rain was likely on a certain night, all of the other Girl Scouts I was camping with had to get up to move their shoes inside the tent, trying to figure out where to put them so that the tent wouldn’t get muddy, while I could simply leave mine exposed to the elements and stay bundled in my sleeping bag.

Particularly noticeably when camping like this, Crocs allow me to trudge through nearly any terrain fearlessly. No matter how muddy it is, I know I can simply rinse my Crocs (and possibly feet) off, and they’ll be as good as new.

Of course, Crocs are popular among many people who have never been camping a day in their life. Yet even for a deep puddle on the sidewalk, Crocs allow their wearer to not worry about messing up their shoes or socks, allowing them to march straight through any aquatic barriers that may stand in their way.

Whenever a person might be worried about messing up their shoes in mud or something similar and wants something quick and easy, wearing Crocs is a simple and effective solution.

Yet there is something that ruins this remarkable trait, that makes both of Crocs’ characteristics utterly useless — wearing them with socks. If a person is going to wear their Crocs with socks, they’re already going to the effort of putting on socks, so why not go ahead and tie the laces of a much more supportive, secure shoe than an oversized rubber block? It wouldn’t take that much extra effort, so what’s the point of putting on socks at all?

Also, for obvious reasons, a sock completely destroys the whole point of Crocs being waterproof. They were designed to be exposed to water and the elements, so why would anyone make the purpose an object was designed for impossible? Why should such great durability be wasted?

Some people might think that wearing socks is preferable to nothing because feet, particularly with the odor they make, can be gross and disgusting. However, what makes this odor worse? Confinement! Air restriction! By wearing socks, the breathability Crocs are designed so well for is negated. Wearing socks increases foot sweat, which is the very opposite of the sock-Croc combination’s intention.

If these unpleasant feelings truly become so much of an issue while not wearing socks, there is often a way to quickly hose off or wash out the shoes and eliminate all of it with no lingering odor.

But if not, it comes down to a question of why the person wore Crocs in the first place.

Crocs are great for short excursions when a person wants something quick, light, simple, and easy to put on. So, if a person needs to wear shoes for a long period of time, why not wear shoes that are intended for these long, dry stretches and take a few more minutes to put on?

Some people like the sock-Croc pairing because socks keep a person’s feet warm. This is related to the reason a strange subsection of the population likes fuzzy Crocs.

But, let’s face it. We live in the great state of Texas. For those of us who live here, there are no excuses.

Additionally, both socks and fuzz negate the wonderful benefits of Crocs mentioned above. There are plenty of other shoes that provide comparable and superior comfort and warmth that are not Crocs.

I would admit that, because of Jibbitz and the ease of customizing Crocs, there could be a reason for wearing Crocs in situations where socks are necessary (either because it is too cold outside or because they must be worn for long periods of time in a dry area). However, I frequently see people wearing perfectly plain, unadorned Crocs with socks. These people are clearly not wearing them for the personalization that Crocs allow them, so they have no excuse for wearing Crocs with socks.

For all remotely functional purposes, not wearing socks with Crocs is far superior to wearing them together.

However, this is not the reason many people join the sock crowd. So many people, most notably in Gen Z, are disgusted by bare feet. They think them gross, stinky, and home for foot fungus galore.

But feet, on their own, are not disgusting. It is only when they are confined in a semi-breathable box for hours on end that they begin to develop an odor and sweat. It is this odor that many people begin to associate with all bare feet. 

When bare feet are in tennis shoes (and some sandals, I’ll concede), these undesirable characteristics can pass onto the shoes.

However, Crocs are washable and do not absorb odors, so there is nothing gross in this way about wearing Crocs barefoot.

Another reason people might be grossed out by feet is because the sight of  toes or some other characteristic of feet bothers them. This, honestly, I cannot relate to. But even for those people who do experience this, wearing Crocs barefoot should not bother them, because the shoes are enclosed. Those tiny little holes — 13 on top of each one — are just that: tiny. While general colors might be visible, it takes a concentrated effort to see the feet through them.

Therefore, even if seeing feet does bother a person, wearing Crocs without socks should not be an issue.

In summary, Crocs being worn barefoot is infinitely better than wearing them with socks because of the functionality and potential wearing them barefoot provides, and wearing Crocs without socks is not disgusting in any way because they neither accumulate odor nor are open.