Mukluks or Kamik boots are soft boots traditionally made of reindeer skin or sealskin and were originally worn by Arctic natives, including the Inuit and Yupik. The term mukluk is often used for any soft boot designed for cold weather and modern designs are often similar to high-top athletic shoes. The word “mukluk” is of Yupik origin, from maklak, the Bearded Seal, while “kamik” is an Inuit word. In the Inupiaq language the “u” makes an “oo” sound, and so the spelling “maklak” is used with the same pronunciation.

Mukluks do not weigh much and allow hunters to move very quietly. They may be decorated with beads or pompons and are sometimes lined with furs such as rabbit, fox or raccoon.

Mukluks are used to keep feet warm and toes intact during even the coldest days of an arctic winter, Native Americans long ago invented mukluks, soft-soled insulated boots that are like moccasins with risers. In the Yupik Eskimo communities of the north, mukluks were traditionally soled with seal-skin, and that is where they got their name, from the Yupik word for a seal. The earliest record of the word in English is from mountaineer Frederick Whymper’s 1868 Travel and Adventure in the Territory of Alaska: “Their boots vary in length, and in the material used for the sides, but all have soles of ‘maclock,’ or sealskin, with the hair removed.”

Modern mukluks are based on traditional design and have become an up-market fashion item in the United States and Europe. Notable wearers of mukluks or women’s fur boots include supermodel Kate Moss, movie actress Gwyneth Paltrow and celebrity Paris Hilton.

Another type of mukluk is knitted with a soft leather sole, which are worn primarily by ballet dancers in place of leg/foot warmers.it’s

Tags: fur boots, Mukluk boots, womens fur boots

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 9:14 am and is filed under Fashion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.