Unless you've just beamed down from outer space, have
been living in a hole in the ground for the last few years or are a hermit
of some considerable standing and ascetism you'll already know what Ugg
Boots are.
So I won't bother to explain that Ugg boots are soft comfortable
boots made out of genuine sheepskin / shearling, and that they were invented
in Australia somewhere in the "Mists of Time" - commonly thought to be between
Donkey's Years ago and the 1950's. In the 1960's they were taken to the
USA by a genuine "Australian-Surfer-Dude" and became popular for posing
in and warming up the feet after a hard day's defying watery death and posing.
Then in the late 1990's and early 2000's (naughties?)
they started to been seen more and more often until finally reaching the
ultimate Nirvana of any commercial product, they entered the hallowed realms
of "Celebrity Endorsement". In previous generations only Royalty
or such like could make an impact on the hoi polloi and cause such a fashion
commotion. Remember King George V and his brown suede shoes for day wear
in 1910? No - oh, well, take my word for it, it was a real sensation at
the time.
Mentioning the celebrities involved would be to involve
myself too fully in the murky world of the well-known-for-being-well-known,
so I shall remain aloof.
Anyway, Australians have vast quantities of sheep
and so if you're going to make some comfy boots, it makes sense to use what
you've got. No-one is too fussy about fashion in the outback (that part
of Australia where kangaroos, wombats, goannas and other unlikely looking
and named animals live) and so style and care in construction wasn't paramount
in the early versions whereas comfort and durability were.
Legend has it that "Ugg" is short for "Ugly" though this
is often denied by Ugg boot manufacturers and retailers - ask them what
it does stand for though and there will be a mysterious silence. Their original
use was as boots to do the chores in and for slobbing about, there are still
people in Australia who are as shocked to see them on the streets as your
grandmother would be to see you wearing flip-flops to work (actually I think
that's pretty bad too, but that's another story....).
The name Ugg in Australia therefore became part of
the language for a generic object - like sneakers or wellingtons. So
when an American company called Deckers registered the name as a trademark
and proceeded to stop makers of what must now be called "sheepskin",
"shearling" or "Ugg-style" boots from calling their product "Ugg boots"
the Australians weren't very happy.
It should be said however that if Deckers
hadn't ploughed vast amounts of money into publicizing the product also
gaining <start heavenly music> Celebrity
Endorsement </end heavenly music> in the
process, then the world would probably still be as unimpressed with Uggs
as it is with that other piece of archetypal Australiana - Vegemite - what?
- well, exactly.
Realistically though, it's a bit like if Levis or Wrangler
managed to acquire sole use of the word "Jeans" and stopped anyone else
from using it. "Jeans-style leg wear" maybe?
So what's so great about Uggs? Well they're soft,
hardwearing, supremely comfortable and look - different. You may think that
the "different" that Ugg boots look is a bad different, you might think
it's a good different, but whatever you think, they ARE very comfortable
and wearing a pair, even of the relatively stiffer tanned leather outer
styles is like being given permission to walk around in your slippers all
day.
One of the things with Uggs is
that you're supposed not to wear socks with them and that you
can wear them in all temperatures from sub-zero to sub-tropical. Well the
no-sock thing does work, but as for higher temperatures? Maybe you've someone
else to sweat for you while you remain cool and odourless from the foot
area, but if you've a more normal mammalian constitution, I'd recommend
sandals for the height of summer instead.
Ugg boots have always been a bit on the baggy side
fit-wise (unless you have large calves I guess) and so they have acquired
a reputation amongst those who don't like them for being rather frumpy.
This years Ugg range (as in Ugg Australia - the company owned by Deckers
who bought the "Ugg" name) have a number of more fitted styles with zippers
so extending their range to new looks and hopefully in their case a new
category of Ugg wearers. Colors are changed too, from the pale pastel pink
and blue at the height of the Ugg craze, to a more sophisticated range of
deeper colors and earth tones, with some patterning and more detailing appearing
on some Ugg boots.
At the last count my immediate family (wife, 2 sons and
I) had 8 pairs of Uggs between us and wouldn't be without them in the colder
times of the year, so I do practise what I preach - if you're interested.
Uggs - Enjoy!
Women's Uggs by size
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12
Women's
Uggs
by
color
beige / sand |
black |
blue |
brown / chestnut |
green |
natural |
olive |
orange |
pink |
purple / lilac |
red / ruby |
tan |
white
Ugg
Boot Classic Short Women's
