There are only so many ways to wear a solid plastic shoe. I can't really see the common woman (or man) replace a significant part of her wardrobe with this printer.
Crocs built a billion dollar company on plastic shoes. I think they are actually a foam resin, so you are right about rigid plastic shoes, but a slightly softer more flexible 3d printable material would be practical and useful.
Yeah, even non-exotic 3D printers like the RepRap I have (cost: $650) will print things like nylon and ninjaflex (which is quite flexible after printing). As others have mentioned, this is still the early days and things are moving very quickly.
I think these would have been a huge hit in the 90s.
Sounded crazy until I realized most of the world wears sandals. The proposition makes less sense for northern climates.
And yet lots of people use crocs everyday.
texture and feeling are not only material properties, but design properties. a soft plastic isn't required for a wearable shoe, it just makes the design require less effort.