We might be tempted to think, in this day and age, that a move as stupid as this one could not happen in our enlightened business world. However, the CEO of American Apparel (AMEX: APP), seems to think otherwise.

According to a story provided by Gawker.com; "American Apparel's ... madman CEO, Dov Charney is demanding the firing of employees he deems unattractive and thus detrimental to the "AA aesthetic."

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that people (especially in America) are ultra sensitive to negative comments about appearance. It also does not take a great deal of intelligence to recognize that the firing of employees based on their looks is a stupidly discriminatory practice. So, being that this project is being undertaken at the sole direction of CEO Charney, one does not have to spend much time analyzing exactly who is the stupid one over there.

All my friends and their children are wearing Crocs to the playground, Crocs to the birthday party, Crocs to the coffee shop. All my colleagues are raving about Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) stock -- Georges Yared even says Crocs is the next Nike. But: Crocs are just ugly. I finally gave in to my husband's plea and bought colorful knockoffs for the garden (on the family plan no less), but still, I refuse to wear them around the neighborhood and the $30-$40 price tag for the real deal has me recoiling with sticker shock.

Deidre Woollard, my buddy at Styledash, agrees that she won't wear them outside the comfort of her own home, either, but admires Mario Batali for making orange Crocs look good. He's put his endorsement behind the launch of a new line of "Bistro" Crocs (selling at $39.95 apiece) and he certainly wears them, on the set, on the red carpet, on the town.

Will Mario's embracement of Crocs help me -- or you -- overcome their ugliness? I certainly am not rushing out to slap down my debit card for a pair (although I love the orange, actually), but every time I see someone like Mario actually using them I inch a little closer to a purchase. After all, my knockoffs are great for the pocketbook but they do give me blisters once I've been in the garden for a couple of hours... are they really that great?

I keep trying to decide if CROX is the "next Nike." But the thing is this: Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) has always been about design; form has always gone hand-in-hand with function and sometimes form trumps function (thus we have people running around in shoes designed for the basketball court, or hiking the stairs at high school in shoes designed for the trail). Nike is cool first and good second -- and Nike is good. I'll happily plunk down $80 for a pair I know will keep me from getting shin splints or instep cramps when I'm running a road race.

I'm not writing Crocs off yet, but it's going to take a bunch more notable indications of their comfort and utility to get me over the ugly hump. How about you?