Sheep-skin boots date back more than a century and according to the Australian Sheepskin Association were worn by pilots in open cockpit aeroplanes during the First World War. Trademark disputes with the US aside, where is our national pride for these woolly warmers?
You never hear about the Swiss shunning their watches. Or self-conscious Swedes faulting flat-pack furniture. Likewise, the Greeks would never disparage feta.
As a country that famously rode on the sheepβs back, why are we so sheepish about uggs? Theyβre a global icon. They are one of Oprahβs favourite things. But in Australia, winter chills or not, you get bogan-shamed the second you wear them out the front door.
Science has compelling reasons why outdoor uggs make sense. When exposed to the cold, our bodies prioritise maintaining core temperature by shifting blood flow from hands, feet, arms, and legs to our torso to protect our internal organs.
Typically, women feel the cold more acutely than men because they have a lower muscle mass for heat generation. So we have an even stronger case for ugging up.
For years, while working as a political reporter at federal parliament, I frequently suffered bouts of mild frostbite (chilblains) on my toes because I was compelled to stand outside the House of Representatives entrance during -4-degree Canberra mornings waiting to door-stop politicians about the issues of the day.
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At the time, I bought into ugg boot vilification; hence I was inappropriately dressed in leather boots. My poor little tootsies were always numb, and I would direct every fibre of my being to not topple over in front of TV cameras.
It took me years to shake off my aversion to uggs in public, but ultimately, it was a matter of staving off potential hypothermia in Washington DC. The US capital had served up a minus 8-degree morning (wind chill factor -15) to welcome then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, in town for talks with then-president Barack Obama. The January 2016 snowmageddon blizzard was en route.
I stupidly stood for hours in not-fit-for-purpose footwear, with stabbing pains and the worst pins and needles in my life, waiting to be sniffer dogged and for Turnbull and the US defence secretary to lay wreaths at the Arlington war cemetery.
In the afternoon, Turnbull ventured out into the blizzard conditions again to visit the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial on the public holiday held in his honour. I unashamedly donned my Australian-made ugg boots and wore them in front of an Australian prime minister. Warm feet and no regrets.
Lisa Martin is an Australian journalist in Copenhagen.
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