Most shoe/boot trends last a few years — most often 3-7 — before fading or evolving. Micro-trends are shorter only popular for months, and other styles return every 20 years due to nostalgia cycles. But the oldest item of footwear I have in my closet is still popular today.
I bought my Ugg boots in 2007.
Funny how I can remember the day the stupid photo above was taken. Perry and I had taken Libby outside to play in the snow because she loved it so much. Eighteen years later, I still wear shorts in the wintertime — and I wore those same Ugg boots yesterday too.
Living in the little house fondly referred to as “the villa,” we had mice get inside from the surrounding fields every winter. One of those little shitters got in the closet and ate the fuzzy right off the top of the left boot. I remember being devastated because those tall Uggs were ($180.00) — and still are ($225.00) — expensive in my book!
Shortly after the day the photo above was taken, I gave those boots a haircut and you’d never even notice that they weren’t made like that on purpose. Probably. 🙂
How long have you had the oldest item of footwear you still have in your closet?
Now you know: Ugg boots have been part of mainstream fashion off and on since the early 2000s and remain relevant in 2025 — far longer than most ephemeral trends.
First of all, “swoopy” isn’t really a word so how am I supposed to take this survey thing seriously? What haircut should you actually have? Click away and fill in blanks, but please note — even if you prefer lunch with Lady Gaga over Oprah, you may not get the end result you expect.
Libby took the same test (indicating that her most satisfying “feel” was pooping) and her results were:
What Haircut Should You Actually Have? You got: a bowl cut. You’re eccentric and forever imbued with a childlike sense of wonder. Your friendly and adorable personality needs a haircut that’s just as cute to match.
While it’s true that Libby is imbued with a childlike sense of wonder and has an adorable and friendly personality, I personally don’t think the bowl cut is her best option.
Real photographers spend a ton of time post-processing photos before showing them to clients while others outsource the chore. Obviously, most everyone who takes pictures — either by phone or with a camera — want to do some post-processing too. I know this because of the vast number of phone apps created specifically for that purpose and because bajillions of people buy them. Why?
We want the memories we’ve captured to make others feel the way we did that very moment the shutter closed.
Following are 2 photos taken seconds apart:
In the first photo I used the natural light coming from a window and set the camera’s aperture wide open for the lens I was using (1.8 — to effect the blur and depth of field). I wanted to accentuate Libby the Diva’s softer, feminine (heh) side. Post-processing, I simply muted the color just a touch and added a slight vignette.
To create the second photo I pushed the aperture up allowing everything to be in focus and used almost direct flash. For post-processing, I ripped out all the color, bumped the contrast, and added a stark vignette. It’s definitely a more “artsy” look and the one I personally would choose to frame.
The end result is two dog portraits that look totally different even though both were shot at the same place and the same time — nothing more than my favorite hound dog resting on the kitchen floor. Anytime you’re capturing memories — just take two (like cookies… always take at least two).
