Lost dreams

Since humans first cultivated sheep, many ancient cultures have made soft sheepskin boots.Their popularity became obscured once leather tanning of more durable leather products like cowhide increased. Unlike cowhide, the sheepskin is soft and easily abraded, resulting in its usage historically reserved for non-taxing usage.In modern history, apparently sheepskin boots gained in popularity as a result of World War I and World War II, when they were popular with aviators because of the need to maintain warmth in non-pressurized planes at high altitudes.An exhibit of a WWI aviator’s outfit in the Canadian War Museum cites the term “fug” boots.Ugg boots have also been popular with surfers and competitive swimmers since at least the 1960s, for keeping warm while out of the water.Uggs became ubiquitous among Southern California surfers and Southern California downhill skiers, and from there, Uggs, which name comes from the Australian slang *UGH* for ugly and was thereafter used by everyone for the Aussie UGG boot, were popularized by Hollywood into the American mainstream and later the worldwide market.Since Ugg, by an American company and calling their label UGG@Australia, mass production moved to China in 2005, the Ugg has exploded onto the world market and gained in popularity. Uggs have been identified as a fashion trend for both sexes since the early 2000s.Like fashion throughout history, Uggs boots ride the vagaries of fashion trends, with a growth in popularity for men tied to increased celebrity usage (e.g., actor Leonardo DiCaprio in Uggs). Men and Women especially college age, teens, and tweens wear Uggs with jeans, dresses, shorts and long shirts or sweaters with leggings, footless tights, or knee socks and sometimes without any legwear. Or uggs are worn with jeans tucked in.