We love reader emails at Phillyist. They keep us from having to think up topics ourselves. Keep ‘em coming, folks!

This one’s from Phillyist reader Marianna.

Question: UGGs. They're comfortable, warm, practical -- but aesthetically I'm torn.
Do practical comfort and warmth win over appearance (as in worn with a miniskirt)? Discuss, please.

Good topic, Marianna. This question has two parts. 1. To UGG or not to UGG, and the more philosophical, 2. Should function ever win over style?

Let’s begin with the first part. We’ve all seen UGGs by now. They were all over in the fall, with the trendsters sporting the largest, most moon-boot-like versions they could find. Phillyist will make no bones about it – UGGs fly in the face of all we hold dear about fashion. They are not graceful. They are not interesting. They are not anything. You might as well wrap your feet in seal pelts, and stuff them with cotton for that “inflated” look. In fact, Phillyist’s personal belief is that they got their name from the sound the marketing folk made while wrinkling their noses at the original boot prototypes.

Ok, yeah, they’re warm and supposedly comfortable – but you know what? So are the Merrell hikers we own, which are also waterproof, have great traction, and cost a heck of a lot less.

This leads us to our second point – our Merrell hikers, are they fashionable? Well, um, no. Not really. Ok, ok, not at all. But when it’s raining, or snowing, or otherwise obnoxiously precipitating, you’d better believe we’re darn happy to have them.

Yes, there are times when practicality wins in the cage match against style. We live in Philadelphia. The weather is not always cooperative; any fool who wears Manolo Blahniks in a February storm is certifiable. Phillyist is a firm believer in keeping at least one pair of “weather” shoes on-hand at all times. In addition, some days, we just can’t bear to put on uncomfortable shoes. It is ok. We all have jeans-and-tshirt days where the practical shoes would not look out of place.

However – and now we jump back once again to our main topic – Phillyist doesn’t see any reason why functional shoes must be both so godawful ugly AND expensive as UGGs are. No matter whether you pair them with jeans or a tiny skirt, they are still going to look like bedroom slippers with gigantism syndrome.

So, Marianna, now that I’ve ranted fully, I hope you will agree: Just say NO to UGGs.

Disagree? Or perhaps you have your own gripe to share? Write us!

Image courtesy of Zappo’s.