Ugg-ly Duckly

Even though it’s only the beginning of October, it’s pretty cold already. I see people wearing all kinds of jackets, parkas or some (never quite understood that kind) just sweaters. People don’t mind if you have a warm cardigan on, or if you’re sleeveless jacket kind of type. People don’t even mind if you bring your old Toper jacket out of your closet. Yeaaah, you remember them dontcha?

Hell, some may even say that you’re cool with your old-school vintage look. But it’s a given fact that they will most definitely mind you wearing Uggs.

So what is it with these boots? Are they so ridiculously uncomfortable so you have to mock every girl you see them wearing? I doubt that. Are they truly so unbelievably gruesome that your eyes suffer when looking at them so you have to turn away? I don’t think so. So what is it with Uggs?

First of all, I would like to make one thing straight. When I speak of Uggs, I do mean Ugg ®. If you didn’t know, ‘uggs’ in general mean Australian boots made of sheep skin. Not defining a label. But as far as I know, only Ugg, the brand, made the worldwide phenomenon. That is way today I’m talking about Uggs and not uggs.

As I was saying people like to hate Uggs. Sometimes it seems like only people who like Uggs are their owners. How come? I’ve been doing quite a little research on this topic for quite some time now. I found many, many forums that debate about Uggs. I saw that you can simply divide all opinions on two views:

a)      I loooooove Uggs. I bought/got them ?? time ago and ever since I’m in love with them. They’re warm, never too hot, the most comfortable shoes I ever owned. They get little dirty, have to admit that.

b)      I haaaaaaate Ugg. Aren’t you aware how stupid you look? You shouldn’t wear them with your skirt, with your sweat pants, your pj’s…. And you’re a complete idiot because you paid so much for them.

Ok, so I want to focus on a) a bit. They’re warm. Being made of sheep skin I have absolutely no doubt they are really warm and fuzzy. Never too hot? According to Ugg brand, the sheep skin works as an insulation and as they are keeping you warm in winter, you should have your feet temperature nicely balanced even in warmer days (summer). Right. Summer. Really? Who would want to wear Uggs in summer (except for Pam Anderson, who is obviously a fan). 

Wow, she really went out of her way with this picture. I mean Uggs on beach? What the hell? Well.. if you were to learn about the origins of these boots, you would find that Ugg boots were primarily worn by Australian surfers, and only when their American stoner friends came to get ‘some really nice waves, dude’ to Australia, they found out the practical use of Uggs. So, Pam on Baywatch really isn’t overdoing her wardrobe. She kinda is ‘theshit’. I think that this also proves them being comfortable, because I seriously can’t imagine a stoned surfer wearing come pain-in-the-ass, hot-as-hell boots. But they do get a bit dirty. Can’t argue with that.

That leaves us with b) clan. Looking stupid? I find that kind of comment on the third grade level, when you get to school looking a bit nervous because you’re wearing Beatles t-shirt your sister gave you for your b-day and the class bully wannabe Barbie says you’re stupid because you don’t have Justin Bieber T. Right. I think this analogy works just fine.

The reason I wrote ‘u shouldn’t wear them with whatever’ is because few weeks ago I watch this video on YouTube. There was this absolutely insignificantly styled generic girl, with no personality (except annoying) who was telling us how not to wear Uggs. Apparently you can’t wear them with skirts. Or your sweat pants. Or your pjs. Actually the only way you can wear them is with skinny jeans tucked in. 

wrong

wrong

wrong

ok, i guess

All of this is so wrong I don’t even know where to start. Skirts. To be quite honest I don’t really see the problem here. Especially if we’re talking about younger girls. I think they are adorable in short wavy skirts and Uggs. But that’s just me. But if we’re talking about young adults (I’m gonna go crazy here and say 15-30) it depends on a skirt. If you pair them up with a fancy elegant skirt, well you probably don’t have much of a fashion sense anyway and Uggs really aren’t the problem here. If you’re 28 and have a hot pink ruffle skirt paired with idunno, baby blue Uggs.. then I think it’s more of ‘age appropriate’ type of question. Everything between, I don’t see why not. If you’re still not convinced how about this: can you honestly tell that Uggs+skirt is in any way more wrong than cowboy boots+skirt? And I don’t hear any cowboy boots fans complaining.

Sweat pants and pjs. To be quite honest I can’t really imagine more comfortable combination to wear on a cold day at park than sweatpants and Uggs. I may be wrong but that’s how I feel. Of course this is not a look for work or even school. But to go to the store? Sure. I really don’t see the difference in that or just sweatpants and sneakers. If your problem is sweatpants, than it will be your problem with any type of shoes. Similar goes for pjs. If you see a poor soul walking around in her pjs does it make a difference what is she wearing for shoes? I don’t think so.

I think I looked on these problems as fairly and objectively as I could. So I think group a) holds better grounds then b). The thing I find really funny is that group b) almost never mention the cleaning problem. Which apparently is the only rational problem in group a). Yes, cleaning and the price. I didn’t mention the price before because I’ve come to a conclusion which may upset some. Given recent arguments that prove team b) to be wrong, it is the only logical explanation why would somebody care how much money do you spent on your shoes. Envy.

The thing I personally find troublesome with Uggs is their genuineness. Usually Uggs can get a bit expensive. It is just ridiculous how much more do they cost here in Slovenia than US.  So let’s order them on net. Here’s the problem. Most, and I do, mean most of the pages are counterfeit. Which causes more problems than you can think of at first. Sure there is whole ‘respect the real label’ thing. But the thing is those counterfeit pages are really good. You can’t always know they are fake. At the beginning you were able to follow your gut with ‘if it’s so cheap that it almost isn’t true, then probably it isn’t’. Now these companies got smart. The prices aren’t so low so you almost pay full price for a fake. And a fake won’t last that long, trust me. And I don’t even want to think about hygiene. It may sound funny but I know you ladies. I know these boots were made to be worn bare feet. But if you buy some cheap poly-something imitation, god knows what kind of steamy funky smells your-otherwise clean and flowery-feet will be producing. Not to mention athlete’s foot. Ok, I don’t know if you can actually get an athlete’s foot, I’m not a biologist or a doctor, but I bet it can get nasty.

What I’m trying to say I guess is wear them! Or don’t. Either way, don’t pick on someone who has them just because you don’t like them. Or if you see someone wearing them in their pjs.. try to take them home (not your home!). Or to the nearest hospital, coz I know they aint right ;)))

And if you do buy online check for genuineness of the page. You can do so right here. And if you are wondering whether you bought real or fake here are some clues.

And most of all.. if you do decide to wear them.. make it fashionably!!

Love,

AjoLina