For a split second, fashionistas thought we were Croc-safe. The makers of the popular plastic clogs were on the rocks with financial trouble months ago. Even though the company sold over 100 million pairs of shoes in a matter of seven years, the company had lost $185.1 million last year, slashed roughly 2,000 jobs and scrambled to find money to pay down debt. We thought the ugh-ly footwear was on the outs. We predicted that Crocs would disappear within a handful of years with the halt of production and the already-bought pairs inside unfashionable people's shoe closets being forgotten or eventually disintegrating into thin air...

So close! Thanks to PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., Ysolt says sarcastically, the fashion-crime-of-a-shoe won't be as short-lived as some of us had hoped. A bail-out for the biggest fashion crime of the millenium? No, PNC, no!!!

Other style mavens are with me. Fashionista, Annie Lam, has some major beef with the unsightly footwear. Her rant: "I guess they're okay for downtime, but I'm not a huge fan whatsoever! It's like with Uggs--they are super-comfy, but they are LAZY shoes. Even my sister who is an RN at a teaching hospital wears Crocs--they're a hit there. I think they make one ugly, short, fat and lazy. And, they are EXPENSIVE! Dang pastel plastic--and give me a damn break on those Croc Candies (the accessory clips on the Croc holes). What a great marketing ploy! Moms and kids went crazy for them because 'they are cute.' Hello Kitty is cute. Not ugly plastic mules."

Where do you stand? Please tell me you're on our side?! You're not happy about the Crocs bail-out, are you?

--Ysolt

We first laid eyes on Crocs in 2002. And yes, fashionistas were mortified. We thought we were over the clogs of the late '90s (You know, the clunky canvas kind with wooden bottoms?). Then, these plastic-looking clogs with holes on them surfaced. Coming in various colors, like bright red, hot pink, lime green and black (just to name a few), were we supposed to swoon?

I recall the first time I ever stepped into a pair of the colorful foam footwear (just for kicks and giggles, of course). To my surprise, they did feel like heaven--light, supportive, comfortable. After a quick glance at the mirror, however, I shut my eyes as if I had seen a ghost and jumped out of 'em so fast out of fear someone might see me.

I may have squirmed, but others were all over 'em. The makers sold 100 million pairs in seven years, says the Washington Post, and wearers include former prez George W. Bush and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Even my four-year-old nephew is obsessed with them--he refuses to wear anything else! Last week, it was raining and we asked him to put on his boots instead ... He threw a temper tantrum on behalf of his Crocs. Guess what he ended up wearing?

To my four-year-old nephew's dismay, the Crocs empire is in trouble. "Last year, the company lost $185.1 million, slashed roughly 2,000 jobs and scrambled to find money to pay down millions in debt," according to a Washington Post article. What's the Croc-wearing-world to do? I'm not shakin' in my (fashionable) boots, that's for sure. But if you are a fan, you might want to stock up. These far-from-cute footwear might become obsolete soon enough. As for my nephew, he's just going to have to deal--I'll get him a pair of Vans or Converse when he outgrows his beloved Crocs.

--Ysolt