Shoe tattoos and ballet ribbons: Why Crocs is embracing more ‘elevated’ accessories
If you’re a Crocs lover, you’re likely familiar with Jibbitz, the colorful 3D charms that pop into the shoes’ perforated holes. But what about temporary shoe tattoos, attachable ballet ribbons or clip-on sandal charms?
Those items, along with a host of other accessories, are becoming mainstays at Crocs as the brand branches out even further into personalization and prepares for its 25th birthday in 2027. The sandal charms and shoe tattoos, initially rolled out in limited runs, are gearing up for even bigger launches in the future, President Anne Mehlman told Modern Retail. What’s more, in September, Crocs opened its first store dedicated entirely to personalization, called Crocs by You, in China. Crocs will take learnings from that location to decide whether to expand the concept to other markets.
Personalization has been a consistent part of the Crocs playbook for years, Mehlman said. Today, customers who personalize their shoes have a higher lifetime value than those who don’t, she said.
But, she explained, the brand is now seeing a new trend of “elevated personalization.” Shoppers of all ages are increasingly looking to wear their Crocs to parties or other occasions. And they want fancier charms and personalized elements to show off. Among the shoe accessories they’re nabbing: gold chains, metallic hearts, white pearls and rainbow studs.
“Personalization, when we first started out, was kids-focused,” Mehlman explained. “It was more licensed, like Disney, and now, that’s a big part of the business. … What we’re seeing from a trending perspective is really what we call ‘shoelry [shoe jewelry].’ It’s about those more elevated Jibbitz, and [exploring] how you actually make your shoe very beautiful.”
Jibbitz, which Crocs acquired in 2006 for $10 million in cash, have become a big part of the company’s business. In 2024, sales of Jibbitz surpassed $270 million, making up around 8% of Crocs’ total revenue. In July, Crocs, Inc. announced that the Crocs brand had surpassed $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time ever.
But Crocs’ personalization play goes beyond its hundreds of Jibbitz. Recently, the brand launched sandal charms that clip onto the shoes’ straps and come in designs like seashells, strawberries and sailboats. They’ve been a popular way to customize the new Miami sandal, which has been a “massive hit” for the brand, Mehlman said.
The sandal charms debuted in a smaller assortment but “blew out,” so they’ll be a bigger focus in the future, Mehlman said. Online, several designs — including a pearl, purple heart gem and pink flower — are already sold out.
Crocs’ new shoe tattoos are also gaining traction. These are press-on icons, akin to temporary tattoos, and can go on all parts of the shoe, not just the Jibbitz holes. “Those live in a small way on our website, so we’re testing different mediums to see what the consumer wants, what the consumer reacts to,” Mehlman said.
Then, there’s Crocs by You, an experiential store concept that’s live in Wuhan and took five months to materialize. There, shoppers can choose among a limited assortment of best-selling shoes, bags and accessories to customize. They can also get inspiration from a “Hall of Fame” installation of past collaborations and limited-edition partnerships. They then work with a stylist who’s a local art and design student to add Jibbitz unique to that store, do shoe treatments and make one-of-one products.
Lori Foglia, Crocs’ chief product officer, told Modern Retail that Crocs by You is about how “you can’t buy a shoe without personalizing it.”
“It is putting personalization at the center,” she said, adding that the concept has become key in the retail industry. Nike, for instance, has a Nike By You platform for 3D sneaker design and custom tailoring. Tecovas has in-store stations for complimentary boot branding, boot stretching and boot painting.
Crocs has done more in the last few years to make personalization a key part of its stores. In July 2025, it opened a New York City store with a fire escape motif in the front window as a nod to the surrounding buildings. It launched a few styles of seafoam green Crocs unique to that location, as well as New York City-specific Jibbitz (like a $1.50 pizza slice) and a Crocs “bodega” with higher-end Jibbitz selling for up to $850.
“When we think about building out an experience and giving people reasons to come in, we think about personalization as that reason,” Mehlman said. The brand’s Jibbitz bars, for instance, are popular among kids and adults at Crocs’ store locations. With the new Crocs by You concept, Mehlman asked, “What can we learn from having an experience [that’s] 100% built around personalization, that we can bring to the rest of our retail fleet?”
At Crocs, personalization guides other departments, too. For instance, the brand customizes content for text messages and platforms like Instagram. Feliz Papich, vp of digital technology, experience and insights at Crocs, previously told Modern Retail and Glossy that everything boils down to “removing friction.”
“The No. 1 goal is [giving] customers exactly what they’re looking for, as fast as possible,” Papich said. “We think of it from the product line, with Jibbitz, to customer segmentation and personalized marketing. We try to personalize our SMS, our emails, even the content people see on social channels. It’s a lot of factors, but it comes down to reducing how hard it is to find what you need.”