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.
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 (me,
wife and 2 sons) 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!
Ugg
Boot Classic Short Women's
