Uggs: Are They Back?
Are Uggs back in style?
February 25, 2022
Picture this: It’s fall 2011. There is a line around the corner at Starbucks. What are they waiting for? The new Pumpkin Spice Latte. What’s on their feet? UGGS, of course. After around 2016, people would not be caught dead wearing UGGS. They became the most out-of-style, out-of-date shoes. It was embarrassing to wear UGGS. And so, all the girls retired their cashew-colored booties to the deepest depths of their storage closets. Flash forward six years and it’s hard to find someone roaming the halls not wearing these fleece-lined boots. They have become a staple of everyday life, courtesy of their easy-on slipper fit and warm snug insides. Fashion trends have been recycling for years, and this one is the latest.
Ugg boots, also just called UGGS, are an Australian footwear brand. According to Wikipedia.org, Ugg boots were originally worn in the ‘70s by surfers. They became an intrinsic part of the US and UK surfer and hippie culture. That’s pretty rad. The brand itself comes from California, made by the Australian surfers Brian Smith and Doug Jensen. The name itself seems pretty obscure. Ugg. What in the world does that mean? Ugg is derived from the shoes “fug boots,” worn by the RAF (Royal Air Force) during WWI, according to Melbourne Business Awards.
These popular boots have become increasingly popular in the past couple of months, being worn by huge celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid. For a boot that was so ostracized from the fashion community for so long, it sure knows how to make an comeback. Emma Chamberlain, a popular YouTuber and influencer, recently posted a video titled, “Ugg Season.” With so many young girls watching her videos, it’s sure to make a big impact in the online world as well. Elle Magazine came out with an article titled, “Why Is Everyone Obsessed with Uggs All over Again?” In this piece, author Clementina Jackson targets the comfort of UGGS over the style. “This new-found obsession with UGGS is, in fact, all about comfort––and more specifically, sartorial defiance in the face of being told constantly that this is the time that we should be ‘going out-out’ and ‘dressing up-up’,” she wrote.
Even CNN is hopping on the UGG bandwagon with an article titled “We’re Wearing Ugg Boots…Again?” We think all of this attention on UGG boots is great, especially for us students constantly on-the-go. They are easy to slip on and comfy to walk in. A Glamour article talks about “Ugg-fluencers,” aka the OG’s of UGG-wearing. People like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Nicole Richie, early 2000 fashion icons, helped put UGGs on the map.
Now that these comfortable shoes have become the retro fashion trend, we can not only dress comfortably but with style too. Fashion is constantly changing and recycled. From ‘70s bell bottoms, to the ‘90s slip dress, and now 2000’s UGGS all coming back, who knows what trend will be next? Whatever that item is, we sure hope it’s as comfortable as these slides.
