Of Uggs and Hunters

No, I wouldn't say that either Ugg Boots nor Hunter Wellies have ever been appropriate office footwear. Rather their common ground has been as ambassadors of leisure and 'the outdoors'..days off, chuck on, off we go! The former allegedly originally warmed up the feet of oh-so-wet-and-cold surfers after a good dive in the Australian sea; the latter have protected the landed gentry's feet during a good dive in the English mud since 1856. Still, the more striking distinction lies less within their function but more in terms of their wearer. Meanwhile both have of course become fashion items. Whereas Uggs have evolved as celebrity off-duty footwear ( as in 'popping down to the shops', frequently seen in 'Shock-Horror: Stars without make-up'- features), a 'look' readily adopted by Chavs and Scullies around the country, Hunters on the other hand were made more commercial through the likes of Kate Moss wearing them at Glastonbury and other summer festivals in the unpredictable English weather.
But up until recently they were still silently crying out the words 'middle class'..they were HUNTERS, not just any Wellies (those have been consigned to fashion's backwoods about 6 seasons ago, particularly the ones with nasty flowery patterns and worn on a sunny day).
So, I am unsure as to what exactly has happened, whether it was the change in Hunters' ownership (now an importer of Chinese boots) or Jimmy Choo's questionable snakeskin imprint Hunters edition that produced a more obvious deviation from its conservative path, but yesterday, for the first time I have indeed witnessed the shift with my own eyes: Liverpool Scully Girls have officially adopted the Hunter boot: Faux sheepskin waistcoat along with the usual other faux-ness (hair, tan, nails, eyelashes), miniskirt and Hunter boots! The two young girls even got the 'to the knee' socks, with only about an inch and a half of woolly material pocking out over the rim of the rubber absolutely spot on! It was magical, I should have really stopped them for a photograph.
Meanwhile on the Ugg-front... I used to think they were incredibly ugly and I could never understand why people end up walking on the inside of their boots rather than the actual sole. But somehow this season, with the notion of 'Ugg' having spread to just about any (flat) boot with a bit of sheepskin featured somewhere, I may as well admit to having caught myself eying up one or the other model. Worse even, I am, in all likelihood going to purchase a pair.

Skull scarf? You're still hanging round?

'OH..',

I thought to myself during a recent day trip:

'hello..you're still around? I haven't seen you in so long!'

as I spotted not one but three people having it draped around their necks

- the skull scarf!

With these women not appearing particularly fashion-forward to me, I immediately found myself hypothesising about the exact time it had taken for this catwalk trend to hit the high streets.
First shown so many seasons ago, of course it was Alexander McQueen.

But has it really taken over four years for this trend to be adopted by fashion laggards?

Yes and no.

No, because the scarves are back as we are paying tribute: Kyle is, Nicki Hilton is, of course Naomi is, and all other McQueen fans who are moaning the loss of a genius are. I suppose more than ever before this most iconic McQueen item appears to work particularly poignantly...as a memorial gesture.
You can get yours for £220 from his website.

Yes, because those three skull-scarf-featuring women may have heard of the name McQueen, but, that I dare to presume, they don't know what in the world his name would have to do with their scarves. They certainly aren't paying tribute.
You can get yours for £ 14 from Miss Selfridge.

Admittedly I never liked them in the first place.

But it's ok, Lee would understand, he certainly wouldn't wear one himself in 2010.

So, skull-scarf,

go away now,

would you!