Shoe condom, foreskin, whatever. At the end of the day, the Ugg Boot Guard is a piece of creative protection.
This week in microtrends, people are attaching an item lovingly referred to as a ‘shoe foreskin’ to their shoes – and it actually looks alright.
Ugg’s Boot Guard is designed to go over an Ugg boot, those hideous, suede, typically water-permeable pieces of (admittedly comfortable) footwear. Instead, a creative influencer on Instagram, used them to protect a pair of Salomon XT-6s, and the internet – well, first Instagram, and now TikTok – went mad.
Sneaker Freaker wrote an article about the whole endeavour poised around the question, is this techwear? which is an amusing notion, given that Ugg is essentially the opposite of tech, but the question and use of the Ugg Guard certainly elevates functional elements of the Salomon shoe.
The rubber wraparound adds a smooth dimension to the outside of the shoe, which, combined with the chestnut tone, almost gives the silhouette the feel of a Timberland boot. Or, something in between those solid Crocs that chefs wear and the toe end of a Wellington.
Still, there’s something nice about adding a modular addition to a shoe, especially given that it will ultimately protect and extend the lifespan of anything it’s over. It’s definitely better than taping plastic bags around your feet like in that scene in Snatch.
The initial pic was resposted on Hidden.NY’s insta, where it made movements as a divisive yet exciting talking point that’s been swiftly followed up on TikTok. Swarms of clips of people applying the guard to their shoes have appeared, covering everything from New Balance and Dunks to AF1s.
We’re undecided, but it’s 2022 and there’s no rules anymore. The prospect of an outfit featuring both Ugg and Stone Island isn’t out of the question – maybe pair the yellow guard with the classic yellow Tela Stella to really get some pulses racing.
