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UGG Flip-Flop Slippers

By Jesse Kornbluth
Published: Sep 28, 2009
Category: Clothing

At almost the same moment that our 7.5-year-old was jumping up and down in a shoe store because her mother had adopted my shopping philosophy — “Why wait? We’re here now” — I was opening the Yummy List e-mail from my pal Holly Gleason.

Describing Holly as a “country music publicist” is like calling Alison Krauss a good fiddler — you’re technically right and totally wrong. It was Holly who turned me on to the life-changing strut of C.C. Adcock. It was Holly who made the too-complex-for-Nashville Rodney Crowell call me. It was Holly who wrote the lyrics for the Kenny Chesney hit Better As A Memory (“My only friends are pirates/I’m better as a memory than as your man”).
 
Simply: She’s a force.
 
And, in this e-mail, the force was singing the praises of UGG flip-flop slippers.

I am not a fan of UGG boots. I understand they offer dimensions of comfort unavailable in any other footwear and, even in the coldest weather, make you feel as if you’re walking on South Beach sand at noon. But the women and girls who wear them in my ‘hood seem to also wear tight jeans and fringe suede jackets; when I see them coming my way, I think of … palominos. Yes, horses. Okay, ponies. If they opened their mouths and displayed serious chompers, I’d be unsurprised.
 
[Interviews with our daughter do not confirm my harsh opinion. Sure, she knows who else in her second grade class wears UGGs and how long each girl has owned them, but her vote — as it is so often — was for comfort. When I asked her why she wanted UGGs, she swooned. “Daddy, I feel like I’m walking in the clouds,” she said, and I promptly decided that $109 for her UGG boots was a bargain.]
 
Whatever my issues with UGG boots, I can get behind the flip flops, which are about warmth and comfort when you’re at home and there’s no fashion statement to be made. They’re like beach shoes, just retrofitted with sheepskin and fleece for cold weather. You could wear the traditionally-styled UGG Moccasins or the Crocs-like UGG Coquettes for homewear — these just have a touch of goofy humor about them. As the colors suggest: White, Black, Lilac and Baby Pink.
 
Winter. Rugged days. Home. Slip into UGGs flip-flops. I could see that commercial selling millions…..