What is an Ugg?
In recent years ugg boots have made a splash on
the western fashion world, but this practical and
fashionable footwear has been leaving footprints on
the Australian landscape for decades. Uggs offer
wearers the opportunity to combine comfort and style
and enjoy versatile footwear suitable for any
occasion.
What is an Ugg?
An ugg is the Australian solution to the need for
lightweight comfortable, insulated footwear that
doesn ’t
leave the wearer feeling as though they are wearing
their grandfather’s
shoes.
Authentic Australian uggs are made from the
finest in Australian sheepskin encased in leather,
suede or kangaroo hide.
The origin of this Australian tradition has come
under fire lately as western manufacturer Decker
Outdoor Corporation has attempted to use their
patent on the use of
“ugg”
as a brand name to shut down international
production of what they consider to be
“their”
product. In Australia the term ugg is actually a
generic one, much like “sneaker”
in the US. It’s
said that the use of the word
“ugg”
to describe these boots actually comes from the word
“ugly”,
since the first uggs were little more than two
pieces of sheepskin attached in the front and a soft
sole-hardly the fashionable footwear marketed by
Australian ugg manufacturers today.
Australian history says that these boots were
worn by pilots during World War I, earning them the
name of “Fug
Boots”
among the natives. (Flying uggs.) In the 1930s Blue
Mountain Ugg Boots were worn by sheep shearers
overtop of their regular shoes for extra warmth, and
by the 1960s Australian surfers had discovered the
versatility of an ugg and adapted their own version
to keep their feet warm in the frigid Australian
water.
Over time the ugg has evolved to become one of
the most popular styles of footwear in the world,
with major markets in Australia, the United States
and western Europe. Later designers replaced the
centre seam with a pattern braid down the back, and
a fully molded heel was added to more efficiently
protect the wearer ’s
foot from the elements. The evolution of the ugg is
a testament to the statement that necessity is the
mother of invention, as the ugg was reinvented over
and over again to meet the needs of its wearers
until it became the boot that it is today.
The Ugg Controversy
The existence of the ugg has come under fire in
recent years as western manufacturer Ugg Holdings,
Inc. has attempted to use its patent on the use of
the term
“ugg”
as a brand name to shut down its competition on the
world market. Regardless of what these corporate
giants may say, however, the ugg was and always will
be an Australian tradition.
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