Aussie Fashion Icon

If let me use some words to describe Aussie; my answer will be “laid-back”, “relax”, “sporty”, “nurture”, “eco”, “organic” and so on. And I find all those elements are infused in Aussie’s fashion.

“Comfortable” is the key to the fashionable style here. This is so different from Asian culture; especially comparing with where I was from, Shanghai. With the metropolitan life style in Shanghai, inattentive dressing could be stereotyped as impolite, uneducated or clodhopper. Girls could scarify the feet comfort to suffer a pair of high hill. Yes, high hills are so vital for Shanghainese girls, I have strong feeling of my hills as well. So I came to Melbourne with my 25 pairs of hills together back 2007. Because the culture difference, I found I was bit of over-dressed at beginning of my uni-live. Of course, I have given up wearing my hills daily for long time.

The fashion strategy for footwear in Australian must be Thongs and UGG boots.

1.Thongs: Anywhere, Anytime

In China, we call thongs as slippers. Slippers were worn at home or backyard, so wearing slippers was not proper to go to the public such as shopping mart, cinema, or restaurant. I guess the Aussie fashion has been influencing Chinese as well; it’s not that strict rule about wearing slippers nowadays. But it’s still not suitable to school or office. Students probably would be prohibited to getting in school, because wearing slippers is recognize as inappropriate grooming. 

In Australia, thongs are not only the comfortable footwear, but also an icon for Aussie’s fashion. Girls wear thongs and hot pats with nice tan skin they just get from sun-bake at beach. Thongs imply the beach, sports, and fun.

With these implications, Aussie has the reasons to wear thongs anywhere at anytime.

At the station

with suits

 @ wedding

The Thong (the new Australian national anthem?)

2.UGG Boots

I assume you probably have the same idea pop up in your mind; the icon of Aussie fashion must be UGG Australian Boots. Bingo! UGG Australian Boots are so popular these days. When I back my home town, I often get the enquiry of UGG Australian from my girlfriends. It looks you must have a pair of UGGs if you think you haven’t been OUT!! 

The commercial branding strategy is quite successful for UGG Australian. But do you know the brand of UGG Australian boots are not from Australia? Do you know the boots couldn’t be called UGG outside of OZ and Kiwi? Do you the history of UGG boots?

*Ugg Boots Made in Australia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF_bR8o4ohE

UGG boots were worn at rural area back 1920s in Australia, then adopted to surf activity in 1950s. The wife of one of sheepskin boots manufacture owner who commented the boots were ugly, then the owner named it as UGG boots. In early 1970s, an Australian went to US, and sold the boots and brand to the American company. This company registered “UGG Australian” as trademark in more than 140 counties. It was also not allowed to use “UGG Boots” in Australia until the Australian government set UGG as a craft process for the boots. 

For more information of the history could check following URL:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugg_boots