Back in the day, I myself voiced my opinion against Ugg Australia boots because they are made of genuine fur. But now Pamela Anderson, who’s worn Uggs for years and has been “blamed” for starting their craze, but is also a PETA member, recently spoke out against the boots because she just now realized they’re actual sheepskin.

I’m not sure if this is Pam’s blondness popping up, or if I should blame her for never knowing (after all, I have the blessing of shopping through Zappos.com, perhaps she doesn’t know anything about her shoe shopping choices).

But I’ve recently learned more about lambs and sheep and their fur, and I have a changed my mind on wearing it. Someone in blogging needs to speak against her famed accusations, and stand up for Ugg Australia. The company’s spokesman said it best, “sheepskin is a natural byproduct of the food industry. There is no animal abuse in our production.”

So don’t throw our your Uggs just yet for that reason, we don’t want to waste parts of the animal, after all.

*Photo credit*

Manolo Blahnik made a western-style boot exclusively for Neiman Marcus .com, and now it’s on sale for $525 from $1,050! With a more Manolo thinner high heel, the calfskin boot is tooled and detailed with western-influenced design. For cowgirls or just trendy fashionistas, the Cowbotta has several sizes left.

Sure, I make some money, but until I sell more things on eBay, my bills are making this month look pretty scary to me. I only plan on buying one handbag, too! At the moment, I’m all for saving my money and not having new purses, except I’m somehow still broke. Not fair!

But I do have to shop for my Spring Break trip (and those tickets cost me a few hundred, themselves). And I like to be able to get new things, even if they’re not expensive. Much better that way, I’m now thinking. A shopaholic needs little special treats to fill her need.

So I scouted some finds at my favorite big style, little pricetags store; Forever 21. Enjoy!

Items, Forever21.com: Necklace, Headband, Blouse, Shorts. A whole stylish shopping spree that will ring you in under $60!!

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Shortly off the heels of last year’s news that real fur was being labeled as faux and sold at Burlington Coat Factory, the sick story gets worse.

The Humane Society of the United States started an investigation after a tip came from a consumer that her purchased “faux”-fur-trimmed coat felt like it had genuine animal hair. Kristin Leppert, the head of HSUS’s Fur Free campaign, and her team then bought faux-fur-labeled items from large retailers and had the fur tested through a process called “mass spectrometry”. It measures protein mass and sequences to determine which species the fur belongs to.

“Of the 25 coats tested, 24 were mislabeled or misadvertised.”

All suspect products had fur actually from dogs; yes canines: domestic dogs, raccoon dogs and 1 wolf.

Contaminated brands manufacturing the coats were Tommy Hilfiger and Andrew Marc New York (which both had domestic dogs as victims) - and last year raccoon dog fur was found in coats labeled “raccoon” at J.C. Penney and, at Macy*s: in the brand name of - you ready? - Sean John. Typically it appears the lower “designer” names—or higher end “brand” names—more of which you can find in the linked article, including Oscar by Oscar de la Renta—are guilty of dealing with inexpensive goods produced in China, trying to cut corners to make a profit. I say if you want faux fur, stick to the bargain stores like Forever 21 and if you want real fur, and of course don’t want dog in that either, go real luxury high end. How about Fendi? The masters of fine fur, as some preach.

Certainly do not buy fur from any company you know or discover has any sort of manufacturing in China (including oh say COACH fur-trimmed handbags). China is poor at fighting animal cruelty and they have a large underbelly of thoughtless criminals mass producing quality fake products of all kinds. Now it seems they fake faux fur, as well, and from the worst source: domestic (yes, pet) dogs. (FYI, you may not know, but the breed of dog that is consumed in China is a short-haired dog, more similar to a Greyhound, and not suitable for producing fur — so what type of dog does that leave?)

What can be done? Action has been taken to get these products off store racks, off of online stores, and out of consumer’s hands in the form of refunds. Andrew Marc still insist their products are labeled correctly. (Read the linked article for more information on how the other companies responded to the claim.)

More help might come in the future, as politicians fight harder for woman’s best friends.

[Currently] mislabeling fur is a misdemeanor punishable by a $5,000 fine or a year in prison. Fur valued at less than $150 is not required to be labeled. A bill introduced by Reps. Jim Moran, a Virginia Democrat, and Mike Ferguson, a New Jersey Republican, would close that loophole by requiring labels for all fur regardless of its value. It also would ban fur from raccoon dogs.

“Americans don’t want Lassie turned into a fur coat,” Moran said. “In the U.S., we treat cats and dogs as pets, not trimmings for the latest fashion wear.”

But what more can we as concerned citizens do? First of all, urge your local representative to support the above bill. One obvious choice is to avoid all fur products, along with following tips I’ve put above. Another important facet of being humans who care is that we can donate to organizations aiding the fight in such causes, like the Humane Society of the United States, which ran this investigation with the help of public funding. You can also use your wallet as a bargaining point with retailers. Write letters, get your voice out. Yes, don’t overlook the importance of blogging for the cause, such as I am doing now. Pass on the word to fellow previously-uninformed fashionistas and animal lovers, who will love to unite for two of women’s biggest loves.

To read more, including harsher details of the story, visit KDKA.com CBS Channel 2 - Humane Society: Some ‘Faux Fur’ is Dog Hair.

*Update* See a Canned Ham comic: Poop Daddy

Abigail Breslin, the star of Little Miss Sunshine, is young yet but has had some trouble with style choices in the past. Eclectic, quirky and colourful, awkward; all yes, but she also likes to wear some funky boots. (Why yes, that does help.)

What I see is that she plays with clothing, and as soon as the larger than her young life pieces are grown into, I think she has potential. And just look at those cute kitty-face shoes!

I predict Breslin will take a cue from this year’s Golden Globes and go for an “elegant” girl’s gown, but dress it up somewhat more. And girl, you deserve to wear a tiara!!

Check out some more photos below, via Yahoo! Movies.

I personally have loved red for winter, ever since around the time I sketched out a red wool bag design. Of course that fueled the love for a red winter bag, but I didn’t have one until recently. Just as I gratefully received my perfect winter red bag, red had become red hot for Spring!

I don’t know how or why this happened, but fashionistas now like a more mature palette for the light & airy months normally reserved for Easter pastels. Red and navy are of the most popular Spring 2007 shades. I applaud our tastes! And I’m so happy about it.

See some great picks for this colour. Clockwise from top left: Louis Vuitton Vernis Reade PM (eLuxury); Christian Louboutin Satin D’Orsay (Neiman Marcus); Forever 21 Ramie Knit Top; Dooney & Bourke Large Flap Bag; Fitzwell Lana II Pumps (Zappos.com); Forever 21 Lock Pendant Necklace; Giorgio Armani Plastic Wrap Sunglasses (Neiman Marcus); Coach Signature Hearts Oblong Scarf.

If, like I, you find yourself panicking oh-so late as it is into the season, because of these nasty snowstorms, realizing you need better winter boots, but can’t find any and have also realized you need Uggs (fashion pundits be damned) - only to find those are all out in your size, style, colour or all of the above - look no further on eBay.

Sorry, but Ugg brand products are faked. These are designer-quality, expensive and still really popular shoes, so of course they’re counterfeited. I’d love to trust my eyes, intuition and the tools available and purchase - but there are no resources nor any intelligence on the web on telling real Uggs from illegal replicas. Some say there really is no difference to be told.

If you’re just looking for a bargain, remember you might just get what you pay for (and in this modern world of illegal copies, less than what you pay for).

I’m sure you can find a suitable brand with ugg styled boots or Fugg (copycat ugg boots) boots to tide you over in these short weeks ’til Punxsutawney Phil predicted winter’s end. The weathermen even hint it’ll be milder already. Just remember, by next November snatch up your perfect boots before this raw, messy weather barrels down upon us as it is bound to. Duh to us stupid people, especially those also like I who had fugg boots and gave them away when those fashionista pundits declared uggs long over. Face it, the appeals of the toasty cushiness on frigid nights beats back the arguments on style, especially with the pretty cute Sunburst version, pictured, doing the talking and walking!

If you have tips on spotting fake Ugg boots, I ask that you please post on this forum thread: Ugg Boots Authenticity Guides.