A Girl in Sheep's Clothing

Lordy, winter has arrived. My feet were so cold by the time I got to work on Friday that it took about an hour to defrost them.

My colleagues are fans on the shearling boot and persuaded me (although, really, it didn't take that much) to get some. But I've never considered an Ugg to be my style. But the warmth... THE WARMTH! How could I not have that in my life? And when we got let out of work an hour early it really seemed like a sign as I would be able to make it to my favourite boutique, Lux, to have a look at their reduced Australian Luxe boots.

The pair above were ones that I lusted after a couple of months ago but their price was prohibitive. But at two thirds off now they didn't seem so bad. Now the question was, could I compromise my style for cosy toes? I put them on and while it was like sliding my feet into heaven I knew that they just weren't for me.

Fortunately they also had the Belstaff Jenn Gumlight boot. Sheepskin lined, but leather. A bit more practical, a bit cooler, and at the same price, it really wasn't too much to work out. Except that my bulky calves mean that I will have to make more holes in the straps. But that is a little niggle for a really perfect, and warm pair of boots. Here's to happy feet. Yay!

A Girl in Wolves' Clothing

(Images via Kurt Geiger, Ted Baker)

I love getting out of my outside shoes and getting in to slippers when I get home. But my slippers aren't very cosy. They are of the felt and rubber sole variety. Awfully comfortable and pleasant to pootle around in but not that warm. And with this weather what my feet were crying out for was some snugglebility.

So I looked desperately around and couldn't find anything that wasn't hideously grannified. So I did the unthinkable and considered by the Ugg slippers above. Gosh, my feet would be cosy in those. Hmmm. But fortunately the £100 price tag stopped me in my tracks.

Then I happened upon these treats. My little wolf or bear paws. Completely ridiculous, of course, but my feet have never been happier. The dog was a little perturbed, but once we had established that a couple of moggies hadn't snuck into the house he was happier, if still a little unsure. He keeps sniffing them. But he had better get used to them sharpish because they aren't coming off my feet any time soon.

Now, do you reckon I could get away with wearing them at work...?

An Ugg by Any Other Name

My one woman mission against the Ugg has been well documented (by me, at any road) so when I clapped eyes on this boot I should have shuddered in disgust. But actually I thought how lovely it looked. You can fold over the top and flop out a mass of really silky looking Mongolian wool. The strapping resembles the Vivienne Westwood pirate boot (hmmm, which I also hate, so I'm not sure why I'm so enamoured of these).

Can I fool myself that because these aren't Uggs, but are by Australian Luxe, that I am allowed to hanker after them free from accusations of hyprocrisy? But the reality is that if I ever see a woman in a similar looking boot I always assume Ugg and I always mentally raise my lip into a sneer, if not physically too. So surely other women would do the same.

 And I just can't be having that.

(Images via Australian Luxe)

Actually, honestly, what am I thinking? The worst thing about the Ugg is the schlep, schlep, schlep noise og an almost entirely unsupported foot being dragged along the pavement. Surely these would make the same noise as the structure looks basically the same. And if I did that I really couldn't look at myself in the mirror again with any respect.

So all in all it has to be a no. Phew! Another fashion dilemma solved.

No Cam Do

I read an article recently with Camille Bidault Waddington, the stylist, where she said the the least fashionable thing she wore was Uggs and how much she loved them and that people who were snobby about them were masochistic fools.


(Via Uggs Australia)

Hurumpf. Well, be that as it may... I have made my position very clear when it comes to the Ugg, and there can be no backing down. Ever.

But I see her point. When it is cold what could be more alluring than the thought of sinking your feet into a shearling boot?

So, instead of having to do the hugest backtrack in the history of all the world, I have decided to look at boots that have a similarity, but are not Uggs, or Kiwi Boots or whatever they're called, or any other copy cat alternative.

But what about the Quoddy boot?




Wouldn't they be warm and lovely? And would almost work with dresses. But are they significanlty different from the Ugg? Could I get away with them and not be laughed out of town by all those who have heard me go off on one a million times about how much I hate Uggs and how my feet will never be encased in them, and that I will never make that hateful dragging, schlepping sound that marks out the inflicted as they drag their sorry feet around?


(Via Net a Porter)

Am I taking this too seriously? Should I just say, hey, you know what? I like them, and to hell with what you all think?

I mean, in the nicest possible way, of course...!

A Flea in My Ear

If I have been consistently and blatantly rude about a brand, for argument's sake let's say, um, Uggs, it wouldn't be acceptable to say that I thought something they had produced was quite cute, would it? And warm and snuggly and lovely...?

No, no, thought as much.



Just a hypothetical question, you understand...

Fit as a Butcher's Dog

You know these new fangled shoes that are meant to work out your body as your walk? Do they actually do anything? And are they actually good for your body?



I walk into work every day, a fast 45 minutes to work and a fast 45 minutes home. Currently I am wearing an all terrain shoe. It isn't pretty. It doesn't necessarily go with my look. (It isn't a white trainer, let's not go nuts, but I'm pretty sure it is at the bottom end of the desirable footwear scale.) But it sure is comfortable and I can walk fast in them without hurting myself.



But when winter is upon us? And I need to keep my pinkies warm, what then? I need arch support and a softish sole. So my mind has wondered to the FitFlop boots.



They should be comfortable, shouldn't they? And warm. But are they cute?



Probably not these ones, though.


(Via FitFlop.com)

They look too much like Uggs and, as you are probably aware, I would rather die than have people think that I was wearing Uggs. Honestly. Literally die. I am not exaggerating in the slightest. Really. Not a jot.

U - G - L - Y! You Ain't Got No Alibi; You Uggly!

Hey! Guys! Check this out! Another really great reason to THROW YOUR UGG BOOTS AWAY AND NEVER RESURRECT THEM! EVER, EVER AGAIN!!

Just a friendly suggestion...

Hmm, whatever did happen to Daphne & Celeste...?

A Flip Flop in Sheep's Clothing

(Image via Kurt Geiger)

Surely even for someone who prefers the winter to the summer months there is one good thing about the increasing heat. That Uggs will finally be put into their boxes and laid to rest for a few months. I can heave a huge sigh of relief that I won't have to listen to the shhht, shhht, shhht that sounds out an Uggian, for once they are on the feet it seems nigh on impossible for the wearer to do anything but drag their feet along the pavement.

But what is this? A flip flop that has been accidentally dropped into the local funfair's candyfloss making machine? No. It is an Ugg flip flop. Because, after all, when our feet are hot and sweaty and need to be opened up to the elements, what they really need to aid their refreshment is a bloody great layer of sheepskin. Right, yeah, I am totally with you, uh-huh, entirely sold on that concept. Now, where's my wallet?...