Boots with the Fur (with the Fur)

Today it's going to be hard for me to write with my typical "serious educator" tone, (which I'm sure you have all grown to love) given the topic. I fear that by the time I reach the end of the next paragraph I will have already devolved into some sort of Lewis Black-type angry comic. Still, I must give it a shot, because this new information I have learned is too mind-blowing to keep to myself.

By now, I am sure most of you are familiar with "Ugg" boots (aptly named, in my opinion). They're those massive boots, usually covered in fur, that are obscenely popular for no apparent reason. Often they are worn together with a mini-skirt, creating a half sunny Californian, half eskimo look that is likely the most ridiculous thing to happen to the fashion world since 1997. There are facebook groups, other blogs, and just about every other form of internet protest ranting against this trend. But like the protagonist in a movie with a big, predictable plot twist, I didn't realize just how serious this problem is.

Last weekend, as you know if you read my last post, I went to Times Square for New Year's eve. While there, my friend and I met a couple who managed to entertain us for a good five of the hours we were standing there. The young woman, however, dropped a truth bomb on me that shook my very core.

"I was going to wear my designer Uggs, but Randy said it was going to be cold and wet, so I wore these sneakers instead."

Let that sink in for a moment. It was going to be cold, so rather than wear the massive boots with more fur than Tom Selleck, she wore her Nike low tops. Even Gerard Butler would have to agree that this is madness.

Actually, I suppose you could make the argument that it makes more sense for them not to be warm. At least that way I can understand (temperature wise, that is) wearing them with a mini-skirt. Really, I suppose all I've proved is that I do not understand fashion, and coming from a guy who spends most of his life in a t-shirt and jeans, (and now shoes... curse you New York weather!) this should not be a surprise.

But then again, the title of the blog is things I have learned in New York, not things you have learned from me while I'm in New York, so you don't have to learn anything. So there.