A TikToker has shared a hack for purchasing less expensive Uggs and other shoes, but revealed there’s a price you have to pay when using the money-saving tactic.
Lifestyle and beauty influencer Juliana, who goes by the username @juli._.77, took to TikTok to encourage her followers to follow suit with the savvy shoe-shopping technique she wishes she knew sooner. Baffled and amazed, Juliana told her audience that they could find lower priced Uggs if they search for their size in the kids’ section.
“Why does nobody tell you this about Uggs?” the famed influencer asked in her 13 September video.
Juliana had wanted a pair of the fluffy slippers for her birthday as the cold-weather season was fast approaching. Rather than buying the pair of Uggs she wanted in her typical women’s size, she looked at her options in the children’s division.
“Because it’s cheaper and it’s the same size,” she clarified. Juliana’s not wrong. All you have to do to figure out what size to get in the children’s department is take your size and subtract one and a half. If you’re an eight in women’s, you’re likely a 6.5 in kids. Obviously, not all companies offer a wide range of size options for their children’s shoes, but Uggs offer up to a six in kids, starting from their lowest, 13.
Thinking she’d beaten the system, Julianna requested that her birthday present be a pair of Uggs for children. But upon opening the box, she’d realised the pair looked different than the women’s option.
“I didn’t realise that they were different,” Juliana confessed. “So this is what nobody tells you.”
In the video, Juliana held up the chestnut-coloured Kids’ Classic II Mini boots. To her, the sole of the shoe was noticeably different from that of the adult version. “The sole is like... not, not too much, but it’s like a little bit thinner,” she said.
“I compared these to my other ones that I have and it’s like a good like this much,” she continued, holding up her finger to mimic the one-inch difference. “And it kind of makes a difference once it’s on.”
While the design discrepancy bothered her a bit, Juliana said she wasn’t going to return or exchange the boots because of it.
She remarked: “I still like them, but like nobody tells you this. And I feel like this applies to all the kids’ sizes, like they are smaller. Maybe I’m just the one who didn’t think it through.” Juliana didn’t notice the difference when she was clicking through the website.
“Still love them, though,” she added.
One candid viewer offered an explanation for the difference in design. “I think kids’ sizes are generally lesser in quality since kids grow out of sizes kinds quickly, so they’re not made to last as much,” they pointed out.
“As someone who buys both kids and women’s shoes, I can say most brand’s kids’ shoes are made slightly different,” another viewer agreed.
The Independent has contacted Juliana for comment.
