I dare you to walk outside and look around. What do you see? Students trekking to class sporting knee high Uggs, kids running around the union wearing sequin covered Uggs, even frat boys walking down the street with their feet encased in fur lined slippers. You can stop counting after you get to pair 20. Trying to count how many people are wearing Uggs outside is like trying to count how many stars are in the sky. It is not going to happen.
Uggs are the shoes that everyone hates to love. They started out as a guilty pleasure, sentenced to keep your feet warm and comfortable around the house, not to be warn outside. But it has been six years since the Ugg bomb has gone off, and it has come far, to say the least. If you’re a woman, man, baby, or dog, chances are you have worn a pair of Uggs at least once in your life.
No one knows exactly how Uggs came to be. Legend has it that Australian surfer, Brian Smith, dragged a couple dozen pairs of Uggs to sunny California in 1978. Surfers used the boots to keep their feet warm after catching a few waves. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that actresses started wearing them to keep their feet comfortable during long days on set. They made their way out onto the streets when models like Kate Moss and actresses like Sarah Jessica Parker bravely strutted down the streets of New York and L.A. in the cold winter season, sporting the infamous shoe. Thus the fascination began.
Leaders of fashion scoffed at sight of Uggs instantly. Lets face the facts; they are clumpy looking, oversized, and look like giant pillows strapped to your feet. But once you slip your tootsies into them, it is likely that your opinion will change.
I asked a couple of people around campus what they think of Uggs. Business junior, Liza Levin said, “I thought Uggs were really ugly when they first came out, but the second I tried them on I died because they were so comfy”. When I asked her if she thinks they are stylish now, she replied with amusement tinting her voice, “No, but I think they are comfy and go with everything, so I wear them anyways.” I then asked her to comment on men wearing Uggs, (commonly referred to as Man-Uggs), and she burst out laughing. “Man-Uggs just need to go away, because no actual guy in their right mind should wear them,” she said.
Okay, I thought. Well that is a woman’s opinion; I wonder what a guy would say.
After asking management information systems freshman, Tom Peres what he thinks about the dominating trend. He replied that Uggs look good on girls. “I don’t know how they can stand to wear them in the heat like they do cause they’re fur lined and everything, but they are hot,” he said. But on guys? That’s just not right, he jokingly added. “It’s kind of like seeing a guy wear a purse.”
After a while, it seems that everyone’s skepticism’s of Uggs fizzles out (at least on women). It is true that in my closet stand three pairs of Uggs that I am ecstatic to break out every winter. Comfy Uggs mean no more strappy sandals that strangle your feet into submission, or stilettos that blister your toes to the point of numbness. It means walking around with your feet encased in clouds and a smile permanently plastered on your face. Ugg Boots are a trend that I do not see absconding in the near future.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Arizona chapter.