UGG-ly Americans

“PLEASE!  Tell your American friends they are doing it all wrong!”

And with that exclamation, I bring you today’s blog post.

At my previous university, I used to take my students to New York City each November for the Hotel Show.  During those trips we stayed at The Wellington Hotel on 7th Ave, just south of Central Park.  Directly across the street from the hotel was an UGG store.  The first year I took students on this trip UGGs were becoming all the rage in the U.S.  My students went to the store, eager to make their overpriced purchases, and exited with their boots and the decision that is was “unfortunate that UGGs only come in two colours.  They should have more variety.”

Here’s the secret: there is a WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE variety of UGGs available here in Australia.  Purples and electric green.  Leopard prints and Swarovski crystals.  Open sling-back versions and knee high boots.  And everything in between.  However, they apparently don’t release all those styles overseas, particularly in the U.S., because as my colleagues proclaimed at dinner last night, “Americans are doing it all wrong!”

Shortly after arriving at my friend’s house for dinner, I realized the entire family had removed their shoes and were all wearing UGGs.  I didn’t mention it at first, but started to think about it, and soon realized that I had never seen anyone wearing UGGs outside or in public here in Australia.  I explained that in the U.S. people wear UGGs outside, to the store, or to class.  It’s not atypical to see young Americans wearing them in bad weather, sometimes even in the snow (often with short shorts).  You would have thought I had cursed in church!  “Oh no!  You don’t wear them in public!  They are house shoes!  Only bogans (the Australian form of rednecks) and uneducated foreigners wear UGGs outside the house!  PLEASE!  Tell your American friends they are doing it all wrong!”

And there we have it.  From the experts themselves.  So, to recap, this is wrong.  Kim Kardashian, you should know better!:

This is the correct way to wear your UGGs:

Here are the UGGs sold in the tourist shops:

And the UGGs sold in stores where only the locals shop:

In fact, I almost think it’s a super-secret club of some sort because the saleswoman in the “real” UGG shop told me I shouldn’t show any other Americans the “real” UGGs.