An Uggly Winter

I’m a late adaptor when it comes to technology and even fashion. About the time everyone else has moved on to the next Big Thing, I’m just getting around to giving the last Big Thing a try. I still don’t have an iPod, I was slow to move to flare jeans, and I didn’t get a laptop or digital camera until fairly recently.

So it’s no surprise that a year or more after the Hollywood Ugg craze peaked, I got my first pair. For those of you who are even more out of touch than I am, Uggs are the bulky, fleecy shearling boots made famous by celebrities like Britney Spears (pre-Kevin), Kate Hudson, Courtney Cox, Sienna Miller, and others who sported them with everything from jeans (thumbs up) to shorts and miniskirts (puh-leese!). Uggs are an Australian classic that became a California fashion statement among the young and hip about two years ago.

Now that they’re off Hollywood’s radar, people like me, the old and not so hip, can wear them without seeming like a Wannabe. While boots spearheaded Uggs expansion into U.S. markets, I started my Ugg collection with a pair of black suede clogs embroidered with a starburst pattern and lined with fluffy sheeps’ wool. They looked comfortable and cozy in the catalog online, so I pointed and clicked and had them delivered to my door in October. While I loved them, they weren’t conducive to quick sprints or long walks to catch the bus or Metro, so I didn’t wear them as often as I’d planned.

While the clogs were a successful purchase, it was the E-Man who sent me into full blown Ugg-stasy. While in Australia in November, he bought me a pair of Ugg slippers, not because he was familiar with the Ugg brand but simply because he thought they looked like something I’d like. OMG—from the moment I slid my feet into the dense plush interior, I was a goner. I looked up at E and said, “I never ever want to leave the house again if it means I have to take off these slippers.”

I’m wearing them as I write this. Can you feel my deep contentment and hear my happy sighs echoing over the Internet? It’s less than 30 degree outside, the sun is faint, the ground covered with a heavy frost, and the ceramic tile floors in my house are delivering a big chill—to everyone but me. Ah! Ah! And “Ah!” again.

To pry me out of my slippers and get me out of the house, Santa delivered Ugg boots on Christmas. Not just any Ugg boots, no a special limited-edition design called the Rock Star. Sounds so me, doesn’t it? (In my wildest dreams!) These brown suede beauties are lined from top to bottom in the same plush fleece sheepskin that made Uggs famous, and the shaft is decorated with bronze studs (or as my son says, “Your boots have a thumb tack tattoo.”).

How could something so warm be so cool?

I never dreamed I’d love being an Uggly Grrrl.

© 2006 Veronica McCabe Deschambault. All rights reserved.

January 4, 2006

Comments

[TB]

I seriously considered getting a pair of Uggs or similarly warm, toasty boots to be worn in the snow, but I kept telling myself we were going to be moving to Florida and what would I do with them down there? Ditto for a new winter coat.

[V]

Heehee....I'm still pretending I'm too cool for them....or was that too broke? I can never remember! But yeah....if I ever need staying power...I just think of Ugg's and minis. EECK! Stop trying to tempt me. The shoe problem is bad enough already!
But I'm glad your feet are warm. :)

[Mignon]

I have some Ugg slippers. It was like a big O when I put them on! I wear them so much the fluffy inside is either matted down in spots or completely rubbed off. It's more like I'm standing on the skin of a sheared sheep now, but I still never take them off.

[VS]

I too am wearing my Ugg slippers as I read your article. I'm one of those California folks who's had them a couple of years - I love them but I DO NOT wear them with mini skirts. But they are the first thing on in the mornings and the last thing off at night (not a good visual of a middle aged mom).