Manolo’s Shoe Blog

Manolo says, accept no substitutes, even for your ridiculous Ugg boots.

But medical experts have warned that the trend for cheap Ugg boots is a price too high to pay.

They have said that knock-off versions of the designer boots are crippling a generation of young women, ‘literally breaking’ their feet.

With just six months of wear women could saddle themselves with a lifetime of foot deformities, backache and pain in their feet.

And a phrase has even been coined for the gait of devoted wearers – the Ugg ’shuffle’ – which describes the lopsided, pigeon-toed way in which cheap versions of the boots force women to walk.
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But low-cost imitations often provide inadequate foot support.

With each step the wearer’s feet slide around. This can cause the feet to splay which flattens the foot arch and leads to wear and tear on the joints in the feet, knees, hips and back.

As a result leading podiatrist and chiropodists have seen a stark rise in the number of women suffering toe deformities, backache and pain in their feet.

It is so true!

One minute you are shambling along in your fake Uggs…

And the next…

(more…)

Manolo says, here is the Manolo’s latest column for the Express of the Washington Post.

Dear Manolo,

At Christmas, I broke down and bought my 16-year-old daughter a pair of Classic Ugg boots, and now she wears them everywhere. And I have to admit, she looks super cute in them. Which has got me to thinking, perhaps I should buy myself a pair, they look so warm and toasty. What’s your opinion?

Rachel

Manolo says, the Manolo’s opinion of the Classic Ugg boot has always been the same: if you are sixteen and super cute, then the Classic Uggs are “da bomb”. You may wear them everywhere (even with your sweat pants) and people will still think you are the cutesy cute cutey.

If , however, you are the forty-two year old woman of sophistication, then the Classic Ugg boots look silly with almost everything you try on.

Sweat pants? Sloppy!

Faded blue jeans? Trying too hard!

Shortish skirt? Trashy!

The truth is, the Ugg Classic boots, like the dirty ripped blue jeans and the whale-tail thong, are the young person’s fashion. They were designed by the youthful Australian surfers for wearing after the energetically youthful day at the beach, not for women of the certain age to slip on for the day on the town.

Happily, there are the Ugg models which can be worn by elegant ladies. For the example, here is the Gissella, the casual, wedge-heel ankle boot with the Aussie flair.