UGG boots

I am sure most people have heard of or own a pair of UGG boots. These were superbly popular a few years ago and now are still very popular especially in North America. I have always looked at these boots and thought that they were very expensive in Canada and pretty impractical. The boots are suede with sheepskin lining the inside, there is no waterproof mechanism in them and in the snow they look terrible with the salt stains, so I have never bought a pair. However coming to Australia, I see them everywhere and some of them are very cheap so I thought I would check them out.

Reading a little bit about the UGG boots (amazing what wikipedia will tell you), these were made back in the 1920s for the shearers in Australia and New Zealand. They were used by the aviators in World War I to keep their feet warm. So these were worn way before the trend started in 2000. Ugg boots is actually a generic term used since 1970s, but in 1979 it was registered as a tradename by Brian Smith, a surfer. He then sold his company to Deckers and that's the company who makes the Uggs that is sold mostly worldwide. Deckers then told all the Australian companies that they can't use Uggs for their product. The Australian companies fought back and won in Australia, but not in the US / in Netherlands, so it is still a brand name in pretty much anywhere apart from Australia.

I thought I'll definitely be more interested in buying Uggs from an Australian company especially since this is where it started. Then the research into what different companies started and amazingly I was reading that there are now some Ugg boots made in China (What isn't made in China!) which would explain how there's some dirt cheap uggs in Chinatown.

Finally I picked out one pair (after trying a lot on) and it is now my souvenir from Australia, my chestnut long Ugg boots! Hopefully they'll keep me warm for the fall, the salesperson tells me I am supposed to wear them without socks!