Whooga Ugg Boots

I received an email not so long ago offering me the chance to review a pair of Whooga ugg boots. Whooga ugg boots? Never heard of them… so I naturally had a look into them and discovered that they are one of a seemingly large number of companies making the popular Australian ugg style boots. So I said yes, and received a pair of “classic tall” boots in chestnut in double quick time direct from Australia.

As you can see the boots really only just fit my larger than average calf size. As such they are a little squished around the ankle. I am sad to say I’ve always had big calf muscles, it used to be because I was a hockey player and triple jumper as a teenager but it’s no longer muscle that causes the problem! But these are not uncomfortable and I think I just about get away with them. If I had bought my own I think, I know, I would have gone for the shorts to be on the safe side – I would hate to have to send something back because my legs were too fat!!

Apart from the narrowness of the boots the fit is great. I ordered my actual size and they are perfect, there was no need to go up or down.

Whooga say right from the off on the home page of their website that there are a lot of misconceptions about ugg boots and which are “real” and what are “fake”. Much of that is marketing talk, of course, but they make some valid points, and it’s sad they feel they have to in order not to be considered as fakes. Whooga uggs boots are of course the real thing – they are not “fuggs”, they are not rip off UGG Australia boots as the term “ugg” refers to a style of sheepskin boot not a brand, and you get the impression from the Whooga website that they feel very strongly about that! EMU and other brands are in the same position, and actually I reckon I’ve seen loads of other brands become better known – still top end prices and good quality products, but not the market leading brand.

Anyway… Whooga ugg boots are made with a thick inner fleece which wrap and blanket your feet in clouds of warm air. They work by trapping and circulating air in amongst the fibres, keeping feet warm in winter and cool in summer. Obviously I’ve only done the winter bit at the moment, and I can definitely testify to them being warm. These boots are made from twin faced leathers and are hand stitched and very light.

They seem to be made really well. The stitching is sound, the uppers are brushed evenly, and the thick liner is plush and soft and goes all the way down to the toe end of the boot. Whooga recommend you wear these with no socks – I tried them on with socks straight from the box but since then have happily gone bare foot when wearing them. It’s something to do with the thick shearling and how it traps the air, and the fleece does feel nice!

Now I admit that the only other pair of ugg style boots I own is a £30 pair I bought from River Island a couple of years ago. And I love those. They are shorts and are nice and wide – I wear them a fair amount under and over jeans. Like those, I would never wear these in the rain and definitely never in the snow. Those are thin though, not furry inside like these; these are much more cosy on the feet and while I will happily wear these with no socks, the River Island ones definitely require a pair between my toes and the inners.  But I can’t compare these to the infamous UGG Australia boots that appear to be the market leader. For one I would never be able to spend £180 or there abouts on a pair of boots that you can’t go out in the rain in – not when I live in the UK!

The thing with this style of boots is the sole. My husband commented that you see girls wandering around walking on the side of the boot. He’s right – it looks terrible and must be awful for their feet. They are designed with soft uppers and light soles and as such collapse after not very much wear really. So far so good with these ones, and I would always be careful to walk properly anyway. The sole does seem pretty solid and has some grip on the bottom. I’ll let you know.

To be completely honest the jury is still out on whether I consider these fashionable or not. Ok so a lot of the fashion magazines say they are, but I wonder if that’s more to do with label rather than style. I don’t know. I mean, I’m no fashionista.  But I do know that these are comfortable and very warm and that is what counts most of the time, and for that reason I’m giving these a virtual thumbs up. I shan’t be power walking miles in them but they are great for putting on after a long walk for my feet to relax in for sure. I like them.

These classic tall Whooga ugg boots come in at £89 (half the price of an equivalent UGG Australia boot).