I bought my UGG Boots in mid 2004 when they were all the rage. I had a bunch of color choices but went with classic tan because … well … everyone else was. (Oh I sound shallow, I know.). At first I considered “Ugg look-alikes” but I wanted to try the real thing. A friend of mine who lives in Australia where these boots are supposedly made (Ugg is an Autralian company but the boots are made in China I found out later) convinced me that there are Uggs and there are all the fakers out there and nothing compares with the real thing.
So I shelled out way too much money UGG Classic Boots for boots that aren’t sleek, pretty, classy, or needed.
When I got them, I tore open the box and tried them on without socks. I had ordered size 8 which is my usual size and they were too big. Bummer. I later found out you should order a size down in Uggs so they fit very snugly and conform to your feet. I exchanged for a size 7 and they felt awesome. When I put the boots on, they felt amazing. I could see why so many people were choosing comfort over looks.
The boot is made of soft sheepskin with a rubber ridged bottom and sheepskin fleece inside. I am not a fan of fleece in general because usually it makes my feet too warm unless I am in very cold temperatures. But this fleece didn’t do UGG Ultra Boots that. It is the strangest thing. These boots know what the weather is and sort of adjust like a thermostat to your body temperature.
The stitching and soles are durable and the whole boot is very well constructed. These boots can be worn straight up or cuffed. I cuff mine because, well, you know why. Everyone else does! I sometimes wear them with the cuff up if I am wearing pants over them though. Either way they hug my calves and feel soft and comfortable.
The boot is lightweight. UGG Nightfall Boots They look heavy but they aren’t. They don’t feel like you have a heavy duty all weather boot on. They actually feel like slippers only they’re less floppy. These boots are meant to conform to each person’s individual feet and fit snugly, but not tightly. It took me about five wearings before I started to feel like these boots were exclusively mine as compared to just a pair of boots I pulled from a shelf in a shoe store. With each wearing, the boots seem to take on the shape of my feet more and more. Now, no one else could wear them because they are truly only for me.
As far as warmth goes, these are. I wore them last winter in the snow (with socks although they say you don’t need to wear socks with them) and my feet stayed quite warm. I did UGG Short waterproof them well before wearing them in the elements and they didn’t leak or cause my feet to get wet even in the rain. However, I stayed away from mud and other really wet or dirty areas because these boots cost too much to be stained and ruined. Waterproofing well and cleaning them as often as needed will extend the life of these boots by a lot.
In the warmer weather, I wore them without socks and they were not too warm that they made me uncomfortable. I never went so far as to wear them with a bathing suit (Even I have my standards!) or even in the summertime although I could have. I just didn’t see the sense in wearing sheepskin boots in 80-degree weather. Still, had I wanted to make a fashion statement, I could have without suffering sweating, overheated feet.
Since I bought these, I have tried on loads of Ugg look-alikes. None UGG Slippers are anywhere near as comfortable and none are made to be worn all year round. Sure, they’re cheaper, but the real things are just that. The real things.
I admit, I don’t think these boots are too pretty. They’re sort of the ugly ducklings of the boot world. But, in time, they grew on me and I felt much less like some copycat wanna be celebrity and much more like I was wearing a comfortable, warm, very well made pair of boots. And that I am as cool as Britney even if I am old enough to be her mother. Ha!
