Tuesday, May 10, 2011

I love them and I'm not ashamed to say it.

It's my 300th post-a-rama! I'm posting everyday for the rest of May! Catch the fever, y'all.

Winters in Sydney don't usually go below freezing, but in a house without central heating, I've learned the importance of layering to stay warm! Last winter, I finally bought a pair of Ugg boots and basically never took them off until spring. Such warm, fleecy goodness. Like a hug for your feet. They complete me. If lovin' my Uggs is wrong...I don't wanna be right. Can I get a witness?

Anyway, it got chilly enough last week for me to start wearing them again. It's Ugg season, y'all! The most wonderful time of the year. Now, I'm hoping my Aussie friends and readers can chime in here. Even though Ugg boots are an Australian creation and of course you can buy them here, they're really not worn in public a whole lot. At least, here in the suburbs, I don't really see people wearing them out. From what I gather, Uggs are thought of more as "house shoes", maybe too ugly to wear out?

My neighbor and I were discussing this the other day. Jules is from the UK, and has recently tapped into the power of the Ugg. "Do you get the impression," I asked her, "that it's seen as strange to wear them out?" I told her how another friend of mine--an Aussie girl--had just bought some and was wearing them out to the shops one day when her husband teased her. "You're gonna turn into a bogan," he said.

Now if you're like me and not from these parts, you probably don't know what "bogan" means. Near as I can tell, it's kind of similar to a redneck, maybe? I'm sure my Aussie readers here will set me straight. From the inferences I can make when I hear the word used, "bogans" are considered to be tacky, without much class. So I guess maybe wearing your Uggs out in public here is analogous to a redneck going to Walmart in their bedroom slippers? (Which, if you go to the Walmart near where I grew up, this is pretty much the dress code. North Florida, represent!)

It's just so confusing. Jules and I were commiserating over our other potential cultural faux pas. We've both had the experience of shopping somewhere we really like and buying clothes there, only to find out later that "nobody" really shops there. Sigh. How are you supposed to just know these things? What's a bargain-hunting, fleecy-footed girl to do? They're just so cozy!

So I guess I'm bogan. There it is. Because Uggs, I just can't quit you. Not till September at least.

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Wanna read about more ways I've missed cultural cues and made an idiot of myself? Check here where I flashed a bunch of people, and here where I accidentally kissed a guy. From my church. Bridging those cultural gaps, one at a time.

6 comments:

  1. Totally unrelated, but I must start with this: I noticed something in your profile about Tim Tams. We just discovered them at the local grocery store a few weeks ago. There have been a few fights in our home because of them. I am not ashamed.

    Last summer, when we were doing our back to school shopping for Cal, I bought my first pair of Uggs in the kids section because they were so much cheaper there. my feet thank me on a daily basis. Apparently, I am years behind the trend because I don't see many people wearing them out, but no place is too fancy for my Uggs, I say. If it means I'm a redneck, then so be it. Just a little homage to my North Texas roots.

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  2. Aussie, no idea what Bogan is & don't care if being one means I wear my uggs in public places because I do. My little tootsies don't like being cold.

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  3. Well, you have my support. You know that the kids gather 'round for the ritual encasing of my feet in Uggs every November, and then their exhumation in April.

    I just reread those posts you linked. OMG THE EMBARRASSMENT.

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  4. I think bogans wear thongs in summer & Uggs in winter because they don't have the smarts to tie shoelaces.
    I don't think Uggs are meant to be street wear.
    You don't want to be a bogan, enjoy your Uggs in the privacy of your home

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  5. Every mom I know here in Michigan wears Uggs or some form of Ugg-like footwear through the entire 8 months of winter. Snow and all. And here we all are, blissfully ignorant of our boganism. (Boganness?)

    I say wear 'em if you got 'em.

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  6. Liz--yes, Tim Tams are divine! I'd heard that you can get them in the States now! We actually don't buy them often because when we do, I keep finding excuses to go into the pantry, accidentally eating one each time.

    Jo, you are hilarious! I just don't know if I can resist them, so I'll have to hope my other non-bogan qualities will compensate. Wait, I'll have to see if I have some of those. ;)

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