Hold on to your bucket hats because whether you love them or loathe them, Crocs are making a comeback.

Earlier this week, the shoe brand reported record sales in the first quarter of the year and raised its revenue outlook for 2021.

Sales rose a massive 64% to $460m (£331m) in the first three months compared to the same period last year while pre-tax profit grew to $122.5m between January and March from a previous $18.7m.

Crocs CEO, Andrew Rees, now expects sales for the full year to rise by as much as 50%, compared to an earlier projection of 25%.

The shoes have been a hit with hard-working healthcare workers during the pandemic after Crocs donated 200,000 pairs to hospitals across Europe at the peak of the crisis.

But is the return of the clog brand purely down to the COVID where all we’ve wanted is comfort, or are we planning on actually wearing them out and about?

Musician, Questlove wore a gold pair on the Oscars red carpet earlier this week, saying he’d become a fan of the shoes during lockdown, and the Justin Bieber customisable style sold out almost immediately.

While previous Crocs collaborators and fans include rapper Post Malone, actor Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, pop star Ariana Grande, Drew Barrymore and even the Duchess of Cambridge is said to have a pair, this week Victoria Beckham said she was unlikely to wear a lilac pair gifted to her by Bieber.

So the data says Crocs could very well be the hottest shoe trend of the summer, but what do Scottish fashionistas think?

Top Scottish model, Morven MacSween, is in agreement with Posh Spice, “I tend to get on board with the latest trends and am not afraid of the more unpopular ones - the socks with sandals, adults in dungarees and tie dye…but I can’t get over my feelings of Crocs only being acceptable for dads who like to garden and little children.”

But fashion PR and Instagram influencer, Shauna McGregor is all for the comeback, “Ah, the iconic Crocs. Causing controversy on runways and most recently red carpets, they don’t half get people talking! Dare I say that they are so-bad they’re so-good? With a colour-way for every personality, they are a shining light amidst the mundane, so it’s a “yes” from me. As for the jibbitz (the Crocs charms to adorn your plastic clog) the more the merrier. Sign me up!”

But what does Hood editor, Maxine Eggenberger, have to say, “Crocs are easily the most Marmite shoes in the modern world. Though divisive, I do think, like all things, they have a place in our lives. I toyed with buying my husband a pair for his birthday as an easy slip-on for going out to the garden. I told him this, and the idea was met with revulsion. To this day, however, I can see, as he struggles to tie the laces on his Vejas to head out to the bins, the realisation sweeps across his face—that this task would be much simpler if he had that pair of Crocs. After a year of dressing with comfort and practicality in mind, their rise in popularity shouldn’t come as a surprise. So if you want to wear Crocs, too, then I say go for it. If I were to dabble, I’d probably stick to a black, white, or khaki colour-way for timeless appeal, but I do understand the allure of a purple or yellow pair; getting dressed should bring you joy, after all, and what’s more smile-inducing than a set of bright Crocs? I’ll wait.”

Return of the Croc