growing in the goo

I-66 left a comment on last night's mini-post asking (in horror, I believe) if I really have Uggs.

I have to confess that I do, and they are a recent purchase at that. I went to some outlets with my mom this weekend, and we found them on a table. So Soft. My Size. And $35. Begging to be tried on. I took them for a turn around the shop, and all the old ladies (probably plants) cooed over them.

To me, buying Uggs presented a serious dilemma. I HATE CONFORMING TO TRENDS. So much that I'll avoid certain things if they're trendy, and I become devastated if something I love becomes trendy, e.g., long skirts. I don't want to follow the crowd. I mean, I'm not going to make waves against it (I don't have oversized sunglasses burning parties or anything), but I don't want to buy something just because all of the "cool people" are doing it. (and in that vein, I had/have similar feelings about blogging. Everyone is doing it. Does it make it better that I had one after freshman yesr of college for about eight months?)

and if these Uggs had presented themselves to me six months ago, I probably would not have bought them. But I justified my purchase in several ways:

1) They're purple.
Everyone knows that the cool Uggs are tan and black. Purple is bargain basement fodder. Therefore, by wearing them, I am nonconforming in my conformity.

2) They were $35.
When I got home and showed them to my adorable fashion plate 12-year-old cousin, she ecstatically exclaimed that her friend Lauren just got the same pair. Only...she paid $160. I stuck it to the man!

3) Uggs have jumped the shark.
They really are no longer the epitome of cool. Really, only the untrendy or diehard fans are sporting them now. An indication of this is when you find pairs in an outlet frequented by housewives and grandmas, on the hunt for gardening clogs and miracle cloths.

So, yeah. It wasn't easy. I even called my younger brother (who scorns all that is cool) to see if it would be horrible for me to make the purchase, but I could tell he wasn't in the mood for discussion, since he said "Meghan. Just BUY them."

I proudly sport them, but hopefully with an air of irony. They're rather ugly (who am I kidding? They're full-out hideous), and they strongly resemble moon boots. But they're warm. And as a girl who is always cold, that is an invaluable commodity.

And I wore them to the bar, with a jean skirt. Would a trendsetter do that? I don't think so. Not on a Saturday night, anyhow.

Coming up in days to come: to tan or not to tan?

and PS - I brought my laptop to the Geek Squad at Best Buy, and I'm being charged $60 in order for them to figure out if something is wrong, and if so, what it is. A tad excessive, if you ask me. I turned it on before I left, to prove to myself that it's broken. It is. I bring it to the store, flirt with the guy who was working (he's either 19 or 24. C-note and I didn't quite catch that), and then when I go to turn the laptop on, the stupid thing works. Perfectly fine. When filling out the computer form, the guy said "Now, what should I say the problem is, since it seems to be working fine?" I responded "Hypochondria and a desperate need for attention." Sigh.