Josh Greschner“They’re so comfortable and easy, but they look so shitty,” says third-year Biological Science major MacKenzie Leland.* “Quality pillow sacks? I don’t know.”
Every year during Edmonton’s six to eight month-long winter, the University of Alberta campus is flooded with students wearing clunky pillow-like sheepskin boots. UGGs are about as flattering as rubber boots, and instantly bring down the wearers sex-appeal level to a can of beans. However, since the majority of the academic year is damn cold, people will gladly disregard aesthetics in exchange for comfort, because let’s face it — UGGs are like wearing blankets on your feet.
In the history of fashion, sheepskin boots have been around for thousands of years, but where exactly did this pillow-like hybrid come from?
Multiple people have claimed to have invented the boot, however the UGG brand we know and love/hate was founded in 1978 by Australian surfers. The boots boomed as an anti-fashion statement and everyone realizing how goddamn comfy they are. From surfers, to the 1994 U.S. Olympic team, even celebrities like Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio stopped giving a shit. The worldwide phenomenon of wearing slippers in public was born.
Today, the company makes over $1 billion in sales annually making UGGs a heavyweight in the global footwear industry. Subsequently, its wearers are primarily categorized as suburban middle to upper middle class females aged 15-26ish. This demographic is mocked and labelled as “basic” or “basic bitches.” Wearers are often stereotyped as “ditzy” individuals who enjoy the fine pleasures of complicated Starbucks orders, This month’s fitness fad, and being too lazy, so they’re just having a comfy day, okay? It is often said that these are the women who “literally cannot.” Though it is extremely unfair to categorize women who wear these boots as unintelligent, fashion backward individuals, the stigma unfortunately remains in our society.
UGGs are without a doubt one of fashion’s biggest faux pas; however, it’s unlikely they’ll fall off anytime soon. So you might as well buckle up buckaroo and go get yourself a damn pair like everyone else.
*Names have been changed to protect interviewee from “sounding like an airhead.”
