EMU Australia Boots instead of UGGs?

[robinb]

OK ... I was all ready to cave in and buy my 10-year old DD a pair of real UGGs this year. She had a pair of Bear Paws last year that she literally wore into the ground. She wore them every single day and they were trashed within months. So, I thought I would buy her the real deal which would last the year. She wanted a pair of Classic Talls and I started to re-think my plan when it looked like it was going to be $120 to get a pair delivered. Now ... I wouldn't mind paying that if I knew she would get more than one season out of them, but she's only 10 and is sure to be in a bigger shoe size next year.

Someone on another thread said that they bought EMUs and they were almost as good as UGGs. I can find a pair of EMU Stinger Tall boot (with sheepskin, just like the UGGs) for a whole lot less than $120. Does anyone have experience with the EMUs? Did they hold up well? Were they comfy? True to size?

 

[princessfionasmom]

I got EMU's for my DD(6) last year and she loves them. I found that the ran big and her feet were swimming in them. She said they are very comfortable and she will be wearing them again this year. She is very rough on shoes so I'm surprised they have lasted. They are right up there with UGG's and generally priced about the same but I seem to be able to find EMU's on sale more often than UGG's. I bought DD hers on amazon for $29.99, discontinued color last year.

 

[debbi801]

My DD and I both have EMUs. definitely buy a half size down. I have 2 pairs, and they've both lasted through 2 winters. I paid less for the 2 pairs than I would have for one pair of UGGs.

 

[robinb]

Hmmm ... I measured my DD's feet and they are about 8 3/4" (22 cm) long. She wears between a 3 and a 4 in children's sizing.

According to a sizing chart I found a 3 = 21.2 cm, a 4 = 22 cm. A women's 5 = 21.6 and a 6 is 22.4. I was going to get her a kid's 4 or a women's 6 but there is a good deal on the women's 5 in dark brown ($56). Do you think the size 5 would be OK since they run big?

 

[LanaJae]

I have bought both and the EMU were made better and lasted longer.

I had been buying UGGs since 1994, but since they became popular, the quality slipped in the regular boots (IMO). All my old UGGs were made in New Zealand and they are still as nice as the day I bought them.

 

[semo233]

I just wanted to add that the first year I bought EMU's when my DD12 was 10. She was very dissapointed. She did not want UGG-like boots. She wanted UGGs.
If you daughter is at all name conscious, EMU's may not work for her.

 

[robinb]

I just wanted to add that the first year I bought EMU's when my DD12 was 10. She was very dissapointed. She did not want UGG-like boots. She wanted UGGs.
If you daughter is at all name conscious, EMU's may not work for her.

Yeah ... my DD's kinda spoiled like that . She really wants UGGs. The local Boston Store carries the EMU Stirling Hi in stock in a size 5. I figure we'll swing by there for a fit check ... but they want $150 for them . Um ... no way. The Journey Shoes in the same mall is getting a shipment of UGGs in for fitting if the EMUs don't pass muster.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Isn't the Emu brand the first one, before Uggs got popular? Or was it that the Emu brand was made first and there was a copyright or some other issue?

I seem to think that the Emu is Uggs, but with less marketing.

Let me Google to see if I am crazy.

Here is an interesting article: http://emu-ugg-boots.blogspot.com/2008/11/ugg-boots-their-history-and-origins.html

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

My mom bought my DD (5) a pair of UGG boots last year and she wore them virtually every day, everywhere. She loved them. They look just as good as the day my mom bought them for her.

I have a pair too, same with mine. Great condition. Also love them. They are like walking on clouds. So so comfortable.

My mom bought DD a new pair for her birthday this year also. We waterproofed them with the stuff that UGG sells and they look so much better than my cousins who didn't treat hers.

And I agree with a PP. If your daughter , is into names the Emu's will not cut it. My son is 11 and even boys his age are starting to notice name brands. I don't like it, but its a fact.

 

[Melmac]

My friend has a pair of EMUs and likes them a lot more than her Uggs. She said they held up better and are more comfortable. However, as others pointed out, Uggs are the popular brand and some kids will not be happy with another brand.

Funny how when I was in Australia, nobody there wears Uggs and it was hard to find them in the stores. EMUs were everywhere though! My cousin who lives there said that people buy EMUs because they are made in Australia by an Australian company and Uggs are made in China.

 

[EMom]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Uggs are fashionable. I lived in Australia in 1984 and most of the youngish people I knew had a pair. But they were considered utilitarian and practical, not fashionable. More like Crocs. (Yes, I know some people think Crocs are fashionable. ) If they were going to work in muck, they'd put on the Uggs. Didn't want to mess up their good trainers? Put on the Uggs. They joked that they were called Uggs because they were so ugly. I'm glad DD has never wanted a pair, because I don't think I could part with the cash, when my brain won't stop thinking, "Uggs, as in ugly."

 

[mareeld86]

Just a little not UGG's were made in Australia and then an American company bought them and the Australian makers were not allowed to call them UGG's any more so they changed the name to EMU.
So in actuall face EMU boots are the proper UGG's.

 

[qcmommy]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Uggs are fashionable. I lived in Australia in 1984 and most of the youngish people I knew had a pair. But they were considered utilitarian and practical, not fashionable. More like Crocs. (Yes, I know some people think Crocs are fashionable. ) If they were going to work in muck, they'd put on the Uggs. Didn't want to mess up their good trainers? Put on the Uggs. They joked that they were called Uggs because they were so ugly. I'm glad DD has never wanted a pair, because I don't think I could part with the cash, when my brain won't stop thinking, "Uggs, as in ugly."

This is so true, I live in the US now but was born and bred in Australia We had UGGs that we threw on to go too and from dance class and would throw on to take the trash out. They were kind of winter flip flops.

 

[HALEYSMOMMOM]

LOL, my "Ugg" boots were bought at target for 14.99 and my dd9s were too but hers were clearance for less than 10$. Im feeling cheap

 

[luvmy3]

Check 6pm.com for Uggs. They recently had a huge sale and they keep getting things back in stock. I think alot of the kids boots are 30% off.

 

[Green Tea]

Costco has their sheepskin boots now. They are identical to Uggs except for no Ugg tag on the back. They are so soft and warm. I have a 2 year old pair, a 1 year old pair and DD has a year old pair. They have all been worn often and all look great. They are $34.99 a pair and have chestnut, chocolate and black.

She had a Bearpaw pair the first year and the sole wore out very quickly.

 

[robinb]

Costco has their sheepskin boots now. They are identical to Uggs except for no Ugg tag on the back. They are so soft and warm. I have a 2 year old pair, a 1 year old pair and DD has a year old pair. They have all been worn often and all look great. They are $34.99 a pair and have chestnut, chocolate and black.

She had a Bearpaw pair the first year and the sole wore out very quickly.

Thanks! I have read about the Costco UGG knock-offs. We have a Costco on the other side of town but we're not members. Maybe I'll swing by there too on my "fitting tour", LOL.

 

[EMom]

This is so true, I live in the US now but was born and bred in Australia We had UGGs that we threw on to go too and from dance class and would throw on to take the trash out. They were kind of winter flip flops.

That is the PERFECT way to describe the attitude toward them. I may have been the only one in the dorm who didn't own a pair. But I was going home to Texas and there's not much call for those things here unless you work in the freezer section of a supermarket. If it was rainy and muddy out, the other students would opt for Uggs rather than risk ruining a "good" pair of shoes. Most of theirs had been battered and beaten and showed the abuse, but I must say, they lasted for years and years.

That reminds me.......Once I got to Australia, I needed to buy a pair of flip flops so I could shower in the coed dorm shower without getting the heebie jeebies. (I'm a germaphobe and just KNEW athlete's foot would attack me the second I entered that shower. ) I saw a pair from some Asian country advertised as having a "lifetime guarantee" so I bought those. I just needed them to last until I got home. Sonofagun, those things NEVER fell apart. Not one blowout at all. I had them for over 20 years. I finally threw them out when the bottoms became so smooth that they posed a slipping danger. All the traction was worn away. They just looked like regular cheap flip flops, but they were miracles.

 

[robinb]

I just wanted to come back to this thread and tell people what we decided. I bought my DD UGG Classic Short boots in chocolate. A local store had them for $95 which was a buy price once I convinced her that she didn't need or want the more expensive Talls. I could have saved only $20 tops on Emu Strikers. I bought her a size bigger than she usually wears so maybe (fingers crossed) she will be able to wear them next year too. She rarely takes them off her feet and fell asleep in them the first two nights she had them .

Oh, and now I want a pair too!

 

[ceecee]

They're my dog walking boots!!! I don't wear them out in public. Luckily they aren't big in this area, so DD hates them.