sheepskin boots

{{Short description|Footwear made of sheepskin}}

File:Meylus I.I. 5.jpg. ]]

Sheepskin boots are boots made from sheepskin. The wool on sheepskin has good insulating properties{{cite book |author1=Cleland, Liza |author2=Davies, Glenys |author3=Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd |title=Greek and Roman dress from A to Z |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-415-22661-5 |pages=168–169 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qZICSBOz3TwC&pg=PA168}} and so such boots are commonly worn when it is cold.

Sheepskin boots have been worn and used in colder climates since at least 500 B.C. as a Mummy in Subashi, China, has been uncovered wearing a pair.{{cite journal | last = Hadingham | first = Evan | date = April 1994 | title = The Mummies of Xinjiang | journal = Discover Magazine | url = http://discovermagazine.com/1994/apr/themummiesofxinj359 | accessdate = 6 May 2011 }} In ancient Greece, Plato wrote that most people would wrap their feet in warm felt and sheepskin during the hard winters in Potidaea.{{citation |page=244 |chapter=Archaic and Classical Greece |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-521-78273-9 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |title=The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare}} In the 19th century, traveller William Knight observed sheepskin boots being worn by the people of Tibet. Women dancers wore boots of variegated colours while male horsemen wore large boots along with heavy sheepskin trousers and coats.{{citation |title=Diary of a pedestrian in Cashmere and Thibet |author=William Henry Knight |publisher=R. Bentley |year=1863 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eoVCAAAAIAAJ}} The Inuit of the Arctic use sheepskin to make warm boots which have names such as kamipak or marnguaq.{{citation |title=Sinews of survival: the living legacy of Inuit clothing |author=Betty Issenman |page=51 |isbn=978-0-7748-0596-4 |year=1997|publisher=UBC Press }} These are oiled to make them waterproof.{{citation |title=Alaska Eskimo Footwear |page=59 |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-60223-006-4|last1=Oakes |first1=Jill |last2=Riewe |first2=Rick |publisher=University of Alaska Press }} In the Russian winter, the peasants often wore high boots lined with sheepskin to stay warm.{{cite book |author1=Dickens, Charles |author2=Ainsworth, William Harrison |author3=Smith, Albert |title=Bentley's miscellany |volume=37 |location=London |publisher=Richard Bentley |year=1855 |page=54 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oOERAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA54}}

Sheepskin boots were made in Glastonbury by the Quaker firm of Morlands. These were popular and successful in the early days of motoring, as open-topped vehicles were cold and windy. Morland boots were used by the expedition of Sir Edmund Hillary which was the first to climb Mount Everest in 1953. The boots were not used for climbing but for warmth when the climbers were resting.{{citation |title=West Country History: Somerset |author=Muriel Searle |chapter=Saints and Sheepskin Boots |isbn=978-1-84150-802-3 |year=2002}}

Aviators need warm clothing if their aircraft are unpressurised and the heating is inadequate. Sheepskin jackets, helmets and boots were commonly used for this purpose in the 20th century.{{citation |title=Experimenting with Physics |author=John Farndon |page=80 |isbn=978-0-7614-3929-5 |year=2008|publisher=Marshall Cavendish Benchmark }} During World War I, Major Lanoe Hawker designed thigh-length sheepskin flying boots which were made for him by Harrods. These became popular in the Royal Flying Corps where they were known as fug boots.{{cite book|author1=Andrew Cormack|author2=Ron Volstad|title=The Royal Air Force 1939-45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHzWAjDrlb0C&pg=PA39|accessdate=31 January 2012|date=20 April 2010|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-0-85045-966-1|pages=39–}}{{citation |title=The British Army in World War I |volume=1 The Western Front 1914-16 |author=Mike Chappell |page=47 |isbn=978-1-84176-399-6 |year=2003|publisher=Bloomsbury USA }} These were superseded by the 1930 and 1936 Pattern boot followed by the introduction of the Sidcot suit and more ordinary knee-length fleece-lined boots were then used.{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLHoAAAAMAAJ |title=Flying clothing |author1=Louise Greer |author2=Anthony Harold |publisher=Airlife Publications |year=1979|isbn=9780950454375 }} Arctic pilots needed especially warm wear and continued to use heavy suspender boots of sheepskin in place of trousers.{{citation |journal=Popular Mechanics |date=May 1940 |title=Parkas and Sheepskin Boots Keep Arctic Pilots Warm |page=647}} Both clothing and boots were electrically heated as the technology for this became available.

In Australia, a soft, slip-on sheepskin boot was developed which were known as ugg boots[http://magazine.wsj.com/features/behind-the-brand/the-golden-fleece/ Behind the Brand: The Golden Fleece] Wall Street Journal September 9, 2010 (There are a number or derivations given for this name, including a cartoon character, shorthand for "ugly", and the "fug" boots worn in World War I).{{citation |title=Oxford English Dictionary |chapter-url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/243103 |chapter=Ugh |date=March 2011 |quote=Probably < the name Ugh of a series of cartoon characters}}{{Cite journal| title = Where's the Beef? Why Burger King Is Hungry Jack's in Australia and Other Complications in Building a Global Franchise Brand | last1 = Terry | first1 = Andrew | last2 = Forrest | first2 = Heather | journal = Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business, 2008 | volume = 28 | issue = 2 | page = 188 | issn = 0196-3228 | year = 2008 }}{{cite news | date = 9 March 2004 | title = What's in a name? | work = Central Coast Express | page = 20 }}{{citation |title=Alphabetical Index Constituent Particulars of Trade Marks 1966 |year=1967 |volume=IX |page=73}} This became popular with surfers for warming their feet after surfing in the cold winter sea.{{citation |journal=Surfing World |volume=XII |issue=2 |page=25 |year=1969}} The UGG Australia brand was imported to the USA where they were sold in speciality retailers such as surf shops. They then became popular with actors, actresses and influential celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Leonardo DiCaprio and Oprah Winfrey so sales boomed. There is fierce competition for this market with rival brands such as EMU Australia.{{citation |url=http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG8283572/The-story-of-Ugg.html |journal=The Daily Telegraph |title=The story of Ugg |author=Emily Cronin | date=30 January 2011}}

Sheepskin boots are used in nursing for bedridden patients to prevent bedsores, especially at the heel.{{citation |title=Fundamental nursing care |author1=Roberta Pavy Ramont |author2=Dolores Maldonado Niedringhaus |publisher=Pearson/Prentice Hall |year=2004 |page=232 |isbn=978-0-13-094156-5}}