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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Jake Meeus-Jones & Laura Sharman

Woman obsessed with CROCS spends 20 years amassing massive collection of 450 pairs

A shoe fanatic has an astronomical 450 pairs of Crocs after spending more than two decades building up her collection.

Rochelle Burke, 38, started buying the comfortable footwear because of a medical condition which left her with swollen joints.

But now she "can't stop buying them" and has enough pairs to wear a different style or colour ever day for more than a year.

Rochelle said Crocs were the only shoes that gave her "proper support" and she invested in her first pair of the then $14 shoes in the early 2000s.

She spent the next 22 years collecting another 450 pairs which she wears ever day including to her medical office job.

The aficionado matches her Crocs with bright socks and even festive holidays.

For a smarter occasion, she dons a croc mammoth, croc crush boot or her Balenciaga croc boots.

While in the colder months she'll throw on a pair of fuzz-lined clogs, mammoths or the neo puff boots to keep her feet warm.

Rochelle Burke and her enormous collection of Crocs (Courtesy Rochelle Burke / SWNS)

Rochelle is not the only Croc-lover in her family - with both of her parents, Lori Burke, 53, and Trevor Burke Sr, 65, also collecting the footwear - she estimates that her mum has 300 pairs.

Rochelle, from Waterbury, Connecticut, US said: "I love wearing my Crocs, you can never have too many.

"I tried on a pair of Crocs and fell in love with the comfort and how easy there were to maintain and keep clean.

"When I got to 365 pairs, I had a pair to wear for every single day of the year.

"When I'm wearing my Crocs, I feel happy - it's a reflection of my personality which is humble, vibrant and full of life."

Rochelle plans which pair of Crocs she's going to wear for the week and the rest of the month.

Rochelle started buying Crocs due to a medical condition (Courtesy Rochelle Burke / SWNS)
Now she has enough pairs for every day of the year (Courtesy Rochelle Burke / SWNS)

She usually wears a pair every day and, instead of choosing to sell a pair when she's done with them, she passes them on to a friend or fellow Croc enthusiast.

"The cool thing about wearing crocs is the fact they are so versatile," Rochelle said.

"There's classic clogs, lite ride sneakers, mello slides, neo puff and crush boots, Crocs mammoths, the list is endless.

"When I think of scaling down, I choose to 'share a pair' which is when I give a pair to someone else.

"And of course, sharing is caring. I love to see other people as happy to wear them as I am."

The mum matches her footwear with bright socks and said her children wear them too (Courtesy Rochelle Burke / SWNS)

Rochelle buys all of the collaboration pairs - such as the KFC crocs, Pleasures crocs and Balenciaga - and different styles but says that buying Crocs has become harder in recent times.

"They’ve become more popular and in demand so it's becoming a bit harder to collect as many," she said.

"Finding all of the pairs from international sites that aren't available in the US is like a job in itself.

"I've had to buy from Australia, Japan and the UK.

"I'm really grateful to have so many Croc friends who keep me in the loop for upcoming drops which is so hopeful. I really appreciate them.

"Friends who initially said they didn’t like them now have 10 pairs. They’ve become for everyone."

Rochelle loves collaboration Crocs but said they have become more difficult to find as they become more popular (Courtesy Rochelle Burke / SWNS)

Rochelle also has an annual tradition with her children when they all wear Crocs during festive holidays.

The price of Crocs has increased over the years, with a classic pair now priced at roughly $60.

"Back in the day, you could get them for $14", Rochelle said.

"They can vary in price - collaboration pairs can be more. The highest I've seen is $588 which is my most expensive pair - the Balenciaga Croc Boots."

Rochelle said she has lost count of how much she has spent on Crocs (Courtesy Rochelle Burke / SWNS)
She even has footwear for festive events (Courtesy Rochelle Burke / SWNS)

After buying so many pairs, Rochelle has lost count of how much she has spent on Crocs.

Having such a large collection means she also has to use 'lots' of shelves and hooks on the wall to store her beloved crocs.

Rochelle thinks part of the reason for Crocs' recent rise in popularity is down to so-called 'sneakerheads' - those who collect trainers.

"They've started to think that it may be just as cool to wear Crocs," she said.

Crocs were the only shoes that gave her "proper support" for her swollen joints (Courtesy Rochelle Burke / SWNS)

Although insistent she 'loves all her pairs', some of Rochelle's favourites include a collaboration pair with KFC which features a Croc with a fried chicken pattern and KFC chicken jibbitz - the removable adds on that go in the holes in the shoes.

As well as another collaboration between Crocs and the rock band Grateful Dead.

She also has some pairs that she hasn't worn because of how difficult they were to get hold of, and she doesn't want to have to replace them.

"One pair took me two years to find. It was a Japanese collaboration," she said.

Now she is enamoured with the brand and plans to keep expanding her collection (Courtesy Rochelle Burke / SWNS)

"They come with a visor on the top of them. I haven’t worn them yet because I know how hard it is to find the international collabs and I can't replace them.

"They are pairs that I truly love love love."

Rochelle added: "As of right now, I don't have any plans to stop collecting.

"I love that there are so many new Crocs and styles coming out, I just have to have them."

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