The Ugg Story
W hether you swear by them or cringe at the first sight of sheepskin, there’s no denying the insane popularity of the Ugg boot. We reckon three out of every four young women in the UK has a pair* and they’re flogged in every clothing and shoe shop on the high street and beyond. They come in many forms – lace-ups, slippers, metallic-colours – and can cost you anything from £150 to a fiver. But like bell-bottoms and pet rocks, Uggs are a fad and in a few years, people will probably look back at them and scratch their heads. But we can’t blame the boot – a long time ago, there was just one type of Ugg, and a very humble boot it was.
Ugg is for ugly
We thought we were being original, but the name ‘Ugg’ (also spelled ‘Ugh’ – there goes another one of our jokes) comes from the Australian slang for ‘ugly.’ It was a suitable name, as the early models were just two pieces of sheepskin slapped together and sewn up the middle. Without an actual sole, they were more like bulky socks than boots, and became misshapen with use. Aussies reckon that the Ugg has been around for 200 years, but were popularised in the 1960s by surfers who liked to tramp around the beach with them. You’re probably wondering why anyone would want to wear a winter boot on the beach, but sheep’s wool is a very curious material. In the cold, it traps your body’s warmth, but in the heat, the natural fibres in the fleece have a cooling effect by pulling away perspiration. They’re actually quite sensible. Soon, Ugg manufacturers began to spread across Western Australia. Innovators tried to remove some of the ‘ugly’ by getting rid of the middle seam and adding a decent sole so the shoe would retain its shape. This was the birth of the classic design that has been copied over and over again.
Surf style
While Uggs were as common as meat pies in Australia, their rise to celebrity in the rest of the world began in the late ’70s, when a young Aussie surfer named Brian Smith brought a few pairs with him to southern California. They became all the rage among American surfers, and so he started selling them. In the 90s, a big company caught wind of their popularity and started the official ‘Ugg’ brand. Through marketing, publicity and other big corporation tactics, they turned the boots into a high-end luxury product, which is how they ended up on the feet of every celebrity. If this hadn’t happened, than we’d most likely be living in an Ugg-less society today.
Battle of the Ugg
There are still some small manufacturers of Ugg boots in Australia, but they find it harder and harder to survive with so many competitors and knock-offs. There are still disputes over who makes the most authentic Ugg boot and who has the right to the name. With all their money, big companies insist that they own the name and are the most authentic, even though their boots are made in places like China. But the Ugg craze has come so far that most people really don’t care whether their boots are made from an Australian or American sheep – neither do they care if they’re wearing pyjamas, mini-skirts or suits with them. You can bet there’s a bunch of old Aussie surfers somewhere, shaking their heads in disbelief.
*Statistical data compiled on a Saturday afternoon in the Leeds shopping area – may not be entirely reliable, but you get the idea...
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