Dear Edward,

If you had asked me that six months ago, I would have told you, “Oh my god what are you thinking? Crocs are ugly and they’re for kids.” Harsh? Maybe. Honest? Yes. However,

However having gone through the summer working at a yacht club, my mind has officially been changed.

Going to school in New York City, the high fashion center of the world where I get a lot of my insight, I had not seen Crocs worn at all and made the assumption that the Balenciaga x Crocs collaboration never really hit the shelves running. But, as I came to realize, I was wrong.

Over the summer, I saw at least five pairs of Crocs a day. Granted, about 70 percent of those were on the feet of children. But I did see a good number of young adults with them on.

If you wear them with the little jibbitz shoe charms, you may look more childish than you intend.

On the other hand, if your look is purposefully fun, funky and young, then go for the jibbitz. Jibbitz, the funky add-on “pins” that go in the holes of the Crocs, help give them personality.They come in the shape of anything you can think of, with everything from cartoon characters to food.

Crocs are actually very functional because they are waterproof, washable, breathable and pretty comfortable. The shoes’ funcitionality are due in part to the foam resin called croslite that the shoes are made of.

If you wear them in a non-neon color, they would not be very noticeable and blend in easily with other shoes.

Crocs are also great because you can wear them in “relaxed-mode” with the back strap up or “sport-mode” with the back strap down behind your heel for extra support. They are easily slipped on and off and weigh basically nothing.

Keep in mind that many so-called “VSCO girls” wear colorful Crocs with socks, and that is a style too. If that is the look you’re going for, I’ve seen many men and women pull it off.

If you want them simply as another pair of shoes instead of making a colorful addition to your outfit, as I said before, you might opt for a neutral color.

However, in my opinion, I think if subtlety is the goal, I wouldn’t get Crocs; I’d go for some other pair of shoes.

Perhaps the waterproof Birkenstocks might suit your needs better. They can look great, be incredibly functional and are much more popular.

Personally, I would never be caught dead in Crocs, except for when I was nine and wore my pink ones from Disney World, because I honestly think they are ugly. But these days, sometimes ugly is the new pretty.

So if you like them, I promise you will not look stupid in them and I’d say go for it and as a big plus, they are really cheap.