Ugg Boots

Slideshow

The American made UGG boot that my wife wears everywhere!

Ugg boots are sold and worn just about everywhere here and they have all different brands, shapes, colors, and sizes.  The term “ugg boots” is Aussie slang for these really comfy, warm, sheepskin lined boots.   Such a combination has the ability to keep your feet warm in the winter, but yet cool in the summer.  It was all too much for my wife to handle, as she gave into the whole ugg boot craze and bought her first official pair. 

However, this all came with some twists and turns.

My wife really wanted a pair of uggs made by the company who made them so popular in the U.S. Ya know… the ones all the celebrities are wearing… and she just couldn’t seem to find them.

After many hours of research she found that there is only one store in all of Perth that sells the UGG brand boots that people know and love in America. So she ventured to the Wombat Lounge to purchase her beloved uggs and couldn’t wait to wear them. She’s hooked and swears they are the most comfortable shoes she has ever worn.

Watching her strut around in her boots started to make me wonder why only one store in the entire city and surrounding suburbs of Perth sells these authentic UGG boots that are all the craze in America.  Why aren’t they any cheaper here than in the U.S.? Why are there so many other brands of ugg boots everywhere else? Why do my wife’s boots have a big stamp on the bottom that reads ‘made in China’ if they are supposed to be authentic Australian ugg boots? And why do they call them ugg boots in the first place?

I decided to do some investigating when I came across a documentary titled, “The Good, the Bad, & the Ugg Boot”. I knew it would hold all the answers to my questions. So I popped it into the DVD player and watched my wife’s face crumble as the story of her beloved ugg boots unfolded.

I’ll start with the origin of the ugg boot, which is considered an Australian icon and has been for over 100 years. There are heaps of different theories as to their creation and name so I thought I’d highlight a few:   

• The ugg boots originated from the WWI aviators. They claim that they needed something to keep their feet warm so they wore these sheepskin boots and called them fugg boots, which later was abbreviated into ugg boots.
• The surfers increased their popularity when a big name surfer in the 70’s started making them and wearing them to the beach. A comment was made along the lines of, “What are those ugly boots you are wearing?”, and it evolved into the term ugg boots.
• The caveman wore them to keep his feet warm and the only words he could say to describe his boots were “UGG” and it stuck (editors note: I think it was a long lost relative of mine)

Whatever the origin of these boots may be, they are an Australian icon and have been worn by Aussies for many years. 

We continued to watch hoping we could figure out why my wife’s boots are made in China, and not Australia as the brand name would imply.  

Here’s the story according to the ugg boot documentary.

An American company noticed the increased popularity of the of ugg boot in the United States. Being a savvy company they swooped in and trademarked the name UGG Australia.  They then saturated the market with advertisement of this shoe, found a company in China to make them, and started making a fortune off the ever so popular ugg boot. Then they began to sue all the Australian companies who have been making ugg boots for years for infringing on their copyright…which certainly didn’t help the typical American stereotype some people have.

Basically, they claimed to have the right to the word ugg boot, even though it is a generic term used to describe the style of shoe. It would be like me telling you that you are not allowed to call a sneaker, a sneaker, anymore.

Well, did that ever irritate the Aussies! They decided to put their ugg wearing foot down!  The ugg boot belongs to Australia and they weren’t going to let an American company take it away. The story unfolded with the owners of a small ugg boot shop who decided to stand up to this lawsuit. They put everything they had on the line, and spent countless hours doing research, to prove that the ugg boot has been around for many decades in Australia. They wanted to prove you couldn’t trademark a commonly used word and then tell people they can’t use it. 

The story turned out as we hoped…they fought hard and in the end they won. It all makes sense now why you can’t find UGG Australia boots around town. It makes sense why they aren’t any cheaper here; they are shipped from America and China. My wife now wishes she bought a more authentic pair of local ugg boots and has carefully packed hers away until we return to the states, where she will proudly wear them again...ugg!

http://www.marcom.com.au/product_details.php?prod=5ABGBUB : info on the documentary

http://www.uggs-n-rugs.com.au/ : this is the company who won the lawsuit

http://www.uggaustralia.com/index.aspx : Check out the picture of Mr. and Mrs. Brandolino sporting our UGG boots!