Ugg vindication! - YouLookFab Forum

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Ugg vindication!

Aziraphale

Veteran

Just read this on Jezebel, and it made me chuckle. I totally wear Uggs. The "ugly" kind, even (although I think they're actually sort of adorable).

http://jezebel.com/fashion-ico.....1522353442

Obviously I don't wear them if I'm trying to look particularly well put-together, but they're just the thing to slip on over your skinnies (or under bootcuts) if you've got to run your kids to martial arts or soccer after dinner. I used to only wear them in the house, but lately I'm throwing fashion to the wind and wearing them outside when I just wanna be comfy. And warm. It's been cold in Vancouver lately!

ETA I actually have no idea who Andre Leon Talley is.

Dressing

26 replies

Latest reply was from Elle

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Crocs are much worse than Uggs. If I were in Vancouver I would be wearing Uggs.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I really hate the Uggs and skinnies look, but it's all across campus here - makes me cringe. Especially if the Uggs are in poor upkeep and look like salt stained greyish sad sacks.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Oi! Lyn. You pierce my heart. My style mojo might never recover. (Although I could have guessed you'd hate Uggs). hehehe

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Oh...I am with lyn, I'm afraid. Maybe it's an inevitable attitude for those who live on a Canadian campus with slush, salt, and yuck. I keep thinking: GIRLS. LEGGINGS are NOT pants, and please wear your SLIPPERS in the house, not on the street.

Actually, at Queen's these days, Uggs are out and Sorels are in. Much more practical, I have to admit. So maybe my poison eye for Uggs will soften.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I find it funny the few comments I read were about it NOT BEING OKAY to wear Uggs. Okay according to whom?? I'm of the mind that it is all opinion and subjective. Some don't like the look. That's fine. Some do. That's fine. I don't buy into the dictates from above about what I should or shouldn't be wearing. (says the girl who's only ever had fake Uggs but wears them solely out of the house as boots and not as slippers :))

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Ha, cross posted Suz! I should add that mine have full ridged, light lug soles.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Those ones are marginally better, Mo.

But honestly. If you lived here, you'd know what I am talking about. The only thing less practical would be high heeled sandals.

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I am with lyn and Suz here: I guess it is OK to wear 'those" Uggs if you like the look but I personally find them very unattractive. They also look like there is not much foot support in them which may be fine for slippers but not for real boots.
I do have leather tall Ugg boots which keep me warm in our freezing North but they are of a regular boot style.

Thistle

Veteran

I am on board with Suz that leggings are not pants. I cringe when I see them worn that way. So hoping the fluid fit catches on soon!

As for UGGs, well, I am biased. I own the tall leather ones lined in shearling. Comfortable, warm, waterproof. Not giving them up.

As for the short kind. Well, I don't much like them but lots of girls do. Let 'me wear what they like! They are comfy and warm. Gotta say, they are far more practical right now that heels of any kind. Or most dress shoes.

catgirl

Veteran

Leggings are not pants but that is not the fault of the Uggs! I love mine in all the incarnations I own. Don't judge the shoe by its legging-impaired wearer!

Echo

Veteran

When a person lives in what is seeming like a permanent Arctic Blast, Uggs start to become mighty appealing. I haven't seen any serious outdoor boots that are fashionable; they just aren't. When there is snow and slush and the temperature is heading below zero F again, Uggs are about as good as it gets. Granted, they aren't as practical as gear as some other (ugly) boots, but they are worlds more comfortable!

Indeed, I've been pondering these in black: http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/ug.....?origin=ca

Aziraphale

Veteran

The topic of Uggs always gives rise to such passionate responses. I love how the normally diffident Lyn says, emphatically, "I really hate the Uggs and skinnies look, but it's all across campus here - makes me cringe." Let's try replacing that with something else...how about "I really hate the [fit-and-flare floral dress] look, but it's all across campus here - makes me cringe." That's not actually how I feel about all flowery print fit-and-flare dresses, but it's strong language!

I do agree that (a) leggings are not pants (not sure how Uggs got conflated with leggings-as-pants, but thanks for defending me, Mo and Una), and (b) traditional slipper Uggs are useless in the rain or snow because they get all wet and dirty. Mine are remarkably pristine because I only wear them in cold, dry weather (which we've been having a lot of, weirdly).

I also understand why lots of people don't love Uggs. They make your feet look like little fat boats. Yet I really do think they are sort of cute, albeit in a really dressed-down, I-don't-care kind of way.

Adelfa

Veteran

I wear mine 3-4 times a day to walk my dog, and they make me so happy! DD wears hers with mini skirts and I think she's adorable.

Gigi

Veteran

I think we all just enjoy giving Uggs a hard time. It's part of having fun with fashion, ha ha.

There's lots of snow here, and although I don't think I would wear Uggs, I see them around A LOT. So my eye has adjusted and it doesn't bother me. And I'm guessing that if I ever tried on a pair, I would probably become an Ugg convert, because I hear they are unbelievably warm and comfy. Comfy footwear can do strange things to a person's sense of what is stylish... :^)

catgirl

Veteran

I think of Uggs as the pugs of the winter boot world...

shoppingisfun

(website)

Veteran

I am not big on the look myself although depending on the rest of the outfit maybe they could work. I agree that they make feet look like "fat little boats". Really, I dislike most round toed shoes. However, sometimes comfort and practicality trump style! I almost never dress well when I am just running to the grocery store or something.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Uggs as Pugs! Love it!

Actually, Elisabeth, that was my fault - the conflation of leggings with Uggs. It's because that was the ubiquitous uniform for the Queen's students for about 6 years here -- as I said, now it has changed to Sorels or similar, which actually makes more sense.

I don't care about the "ug"lines of Uggs. I think they are completely fine as slippers or house shoes. And of course, not all Uggs are created equal -- lots of different styles -- so when I criticize I'm talking about the traditional slipper-like ones. And also, it goes without saying, I think anyone should wear what she likes!!

My problem is with how inappropriate they are as boots IN MY CLIMATE. They just get....disgusting. It's not like ordinary salt-stains on leather. It's....gross, what happens to that suede when it's been through an Eastern Ontario winter.

And, now that I think of it, this probably brings up a deeper issue of mine -- the people who wear them (or wore them) here on campus are thinking more about fitting in and being trendy than about what really works for their lives.
And I love fashion that actually works. You know? I don't mean we should never dress impractically or for fun -- obviously not!! But when conditions really call for practicality, I have a problem with bogus practicality. These are boots...but actually, not boots.

Well. Probably just the ranting of a crotchety older woman. Please ignore and wear away!! The truth is, I think they are fine for your climate unless the rain gets in. Truce?

Anonymous

Add me to the list of those who can't stand the slipper ones worn out in slush. They just turn into soggy suede foot bags with salt stains all over them. I am sure they feel gorgeous as slippers and maybe I will pick up a pair for that at some point but not as outside wear in our climate!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Thank you, Ceit.

Soggy suede foot bags. That is perfect.

Though to tell the truth, half of them aren't even the real thing so they are not real suede. They're some kind of ultra suede, which if anything, looks even worse when the weather here gets through with it.

shiny

Veteran

Uggs + Fashion do not belong in the same sentence, just as running sneakers + fashion don't either.

I wear Uggs, I have so for 20 years (long before it was a fashion statement), and you will have to pry them out of my cold dead hands. There is nothing warmer for your feet. The clunky size = greater stability in the snow & ice. Yes they get stained and yucky -- but better than staining my good shoes.

My local dry cleaner has an Ugg cleaning service and if you spray them with water repellant and give them a brush now and then it helps. But the whole point is I'm wearing them outside in the muck because I want my good boots - suede boots, leather boots, calf hair pumps - to last longer.

I do not wear them indoors. They are for transit only. I swap out my footwear when I arrive wherever I'm going. When I wear them, I'm not thinking about what "goes" with them (leggings vs skinnies etc). Because I'm not making a fashion statement. I wear them with everything from skirts to dresses to dress slacks tucked inside the Ugg. I don't care what it looks like because that is not the point. I am wearing them because it's freezing cold out, and I don't want my toes to fall off. I am wearing them because there's a ton of ice on the ground, and I don't want to slip and break my neck. It's purely a practical choice, not an aesthetic one.

I've owned many many snow boots over the years, fashionable and practical and none of them lived up to their claims. My toes would freeze no matter what socks were worn, sweaty feet = damp socks = cold and risk of frostbite. And many would leak, what is up with that?? Whereas my Uggs never leak, and my toes never freeze.

Aziraphale

Veteran

No worries, Suz. I promise you I don't leave the house without real pants on.

(Actually, on a side note, I gave up leggings entirely this year. I like the look with tunics and for several years I really tried to make it work, but on me they are SO UNCOMFORTABLE).

I totally agree that filthy Uggs are highly unappealing. But then, filthy anything is gross, no? It's just that most other clothes don't get filthy. Uggs have the kind of absorbent texture that gets dirty fast, and you wear them on the worst possible body parts -- your feet! -- for that to happen.

"Uggs are the pugs of the winter boot world" -- I love it! That's exactly right. So ugly that they're kind of cute.

The camps are amusingly divided. There are those who think they are a fashion crime, like Sveta and Suz; those who see them as a useful but unsightly item of gear, like Shiny; and those who see them as dressed-down cute, like me and Adelfa. BTW I also think young girls look sweet in a mini and (clean) Uggs, Adelfa. It doesn't work on grown women, though!

For me, the bottom line is that while Uggs are not the pinnacle of fashion, they have their place in my life, and they are a hell of a lot cuter than my running sneakers.

catgirl

Veteran

Totally agree that in wet slush the suede ones make no sense. I have boots for every weather variation though. So for cold but snowless days or dry powdery snow, Uggs are perfect. For visiting people, they are easy to get off and on when removing footwear. To go from car to cabin door or store, just fine.

Hiking? Snowshoeing? Rain? Melt? Nope.

shedev

Veteran

I never had a problem keeping my Uggs clean. I waterproof all my shoes and clean them when they get dirty. I really think those who are wearing dirty Uggs would be wearing dirty something else. Now I really want another pair.

ATLynn

Veteran

Not much snow here in the south (except this year) and during the 5-20 days a year when the high is below freezing, I am very grateful to put my knockoff shearling uggs on for my walking commute. I change when I get to the office. I've also been known to wear them to outdoor evening activities below 40F. I'll take some validation from ALT.

My ugg poison eye comes into play when southern or so cal women choose to wear them with shorts/short skirts. I don't get it.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

ATlynn, I saw the surfer boys wearing them in mid/late 80's to high school with shorts in L.A. I think it's a lot easier on the eyes to see girls wear them with shorts!

Elle

Veteran

Recently, I saw many cute hip girls in NYC wearing Uggs. So you are in good company. Enjoy them...