Been There, Done That: Can you wear white Crocs after Labor Day?

Crocs, you either love them or you hate them. I happen to love them. I like light and airy shoes in good weather just like the next person, but no sandals or flip-flops for me. I’ve suffered too many broken toes over the years for that.

I used to run barefoot constantly as a kid. As an adult, my toes seem to always be in the way of everything, letting them hang out there just daring something to pick them off is a bad idea. I have to keep them covered and Crocs provide me with the perfect balance — a little toe protection and a little air for the warmer months.

In my teens, I was a shoe hoarder, but back then I was into high heels. I like to stay closer to the ground now with my Crocs, but I still have my hoarding tendencies. I have lots of colors to choose from — dark blue, light blue, two shades of light green, deep purple, bright orange, black, brown, and camo, among others.

I have inside Crocs, outside Crocs, work Crocs and even winter Crocs. Inside Crocs have little to no tread left and no business being outside. Any sort of wetness (like wet grass or concrete) is a broken hip just waiting to happen and gravel driveways are no picnic either. That’s what outside Crocs (with decent tread) are for.

And those can be the wild colored ones. The black, brown, camo and blue inside ones are for work.

The fur-lined winter ones with holes are for at home when I let our Beagle Boy Cletus out and he gets his cable tangled around something and I have to trot through rain or snow to get him.

Or at the camper, for crisp fall mornings when I have to make a quick trip out to the car for something.

Not all my Crocs are true Crocs, but I’m OK with that. I get them wherever I can, thrift shops, yard sales and rummage sales, dollar stores, whatever. I wanted gray ones in particular and checked at two stores that have served me well in the past, but nope, no gray.

Fine, I’ll just buy a pair. But holy moly, who knew they’re like 50 bucks a pair for real Crocs. If all mine were real Crocs, I’d have like $600 or $800 worth. In addition to the little stand that holds my daily stock of six pairs, I also have a grocery bag full.

OK, so no gray at the dollar store, I got white instead. The problem there was that I only tried on one of the shoes at the store. It fit, so why bother with the other one? Well, in this case it would have saved me a return trip to the store to return the mismatched “pair” of shoes — one a 5/6 and the other a 7/8.

I got a pair that matched, but now my dilemma is “white after Labor Day.” Is that even still a thing and does it really apply to Crocs?