MORE than 7 million Oodies have been sold worldwide.
But some find the £65 garments slobbish and unsexy, as Lynsey Hope asks are wearable blankets toasty or just tacky?
Over seven million Oodies have been sold globally[/caption]
Oodies are wearable blankets used to stay warm indoors[/caption]
‘It’s like a big hug when I’m so cold I can’t feel my toes’
Says Suzanne Baum, 51, from North West London
LET me start by saying that I am one of those people who always feels cold.
And it doesn’t help that I’ve been married for 25 years to a man who is the complete opposite.
He is always warm, even on the coldest of days.
We are such opposites that most of our marital rows are over the thermostat.
I turn it up and he turns it down.
This has been a regular pattern throughout our marriage and our rows get pretty heated — literally — in the winter months, when I turn the radiators up to a point where he and our three adult sons say they are “melting”.
That was until things suddenly changed, last Christmas, when I discovered the Oodie.
I’d seen it advertised online, but always thought it was ridiculous and much too bulky-looking for me to wear.
The pink, fluffy number I reluctantly bought from the Online Home Shop is not an official one, but it has been one of my best-ever buys — and remarkably stopped all those temperature-related family arguments.
Now, whenever I feel cold, I just throw my Oodie over me and it’s like a huge, warm bear hug.
My husband may have tried over the years to warm me up with a human hug, but this is the one I need when I’m so cold I can’t feel my toes.
I don’t care if it’s not sexy to wear, either.
It’s comfy and has saved me money.
At just £7, it was a bargain and has helped enormously in keeping our heating bills down.
As the owner of two dogs, it helps that last year they sold matching Oodies for dogs.
OK, even I find that a bit ridiculous, but they work wonders for keeping them dry post-bath and after they’ve been rolling in the mud.
Suzanne Baum says her pink Oodie has been one of my best ever buys[/caption]
I love my Oodie so much, there have been times when I’ve jumped in the car with it on to get my son from a late-night football match.
As I’ve got older, I don’t care so much about people judging me, so if I’m seen in my car in my Oodie I really do not mind.
That said, I certainly wouldn’t go to the shops in it as it is so bulky and I’d find it hard to push a trolley down the aisle.
Mine is quite cumbersome to move around in, so not very practical for anything other than collapsing on the sofa at the end of a busy day.
My Oodie is a real working-from-home saviour
Suzanne
As for people who think they are for slobs, that’s ludicrous, I think they are a super-clever invention that help to keep the bills down as well as keeping women like me happy.
And my Oodie is a real working-from-home saviour.
My office is in our large dining room and is quite breezy, so instead of turning the heating up, I work in my Oodie.
An ode to my Oodie: I love you and you’ve been the best answer to my marital problem.
‘The ultimate ick, it could even end your relationship’
Says Samantha Rea, 42, from Soho, London
THERE is nothing in existence less stylish than an Oodie.
If you’re lucky enough to be unfamiliar with them, they’re like fleecy hooded blankets with arms and make the wearer look like an animated marshmallow.
And yet, as we head into winter, people are publicly wearing these monstrosities that make them look like Mr Blobby — out to the supermarket, on the school run and taking the dog for a walk.
Life is too short to spend it looking shapeless, especially in a synthetic fabric covered in the kind of garish prints that are better suited to a dog bed.
We all want to be warm and I hear that Oodies keep their wearers toasty.
But what’s wrong with a nice cashmere jumper in soft autumnal tones?
I’m astounded anyone would want to wear these out and about.
Why would anyone go out in public looking like a cartoon character?
Samantha Rea hates the fashion piece. She says: ‘Just wearing an Oodie and catching sight of myself in the mirror would kill my mojo’[/caption]
On what planet would anyone choose to be seen in an ’orrible Oodie instead of a classy coat.
To be honest, I don’t think anyone should wear them at all — not even in the privacy of their own home.
I don’t drag myself to the gym and put myself through the unpleasantness of walking lunges and kettlebell swings, only to come home and put on a garment that makes me look like a blancmange.
I train too hard for that.
Just wearing an Oodie and catching sight of myself in the mirror would kill my mojo.
When I wear something slinky and stylish, I feel like: “Bow-chick-a-wow-wow! I’m hot!”
And I think wearing an Oodie would be the opposite of that.
I’d feel about as attractive as a slug and I’d never be in the mood for sex again.
If I were in a relationship and I saw my boyfriend in an Oodie, I would never be able to go to bed with him again
Samantha
If a man saw me wearing one, I wouldn’t blame him for going off me, because an Oodie is the ultimate “ick”.
What man would be attracted to a woman who’s wearing what looks like a five-year-old’s duvet cover?
Oodies are a turn-off and it goes both ways.
I am single, but if I were in a relationship and I saw my boyfriend in an Oodie, I would never be able to go to bed with him again.
The ick would be so bad, it would be the end of our relationship.
I genuinely believe that wearing one would kill anyone’s sex drive.
In fact, I think Oodies literally suck the sexual urge out of people’s bodies.
They’re like the Dementors in Harry Potter, except the Dementors drain people of their happiness and Oodies drain people of sex appeal.
I can only imagine that Oodies are worn by sloth-like parents who shuffle to the school gates in their slippers and who wish they could still “super size” their McDonald’s orders before scoffing it in bed.
If all you do is sink into the sofa with yet another Deliveroo, shovelling in onion rings while you watch Homes Under The Hammer, maybe it doesn’t matter what you’re wearing.
After all, you will probably get ketchup on it anyway, along with greasy gherkin slices and bits of burger.
But I say, buck up, have a shower and get dressed — in proper clothes designed for adults, rather than a character on CBeebies.
Then look up your nearest fireworks display, head for the biggest bonfire you can find and throw your Oodie on it, as that’s the only place it should be seen.
Samantha reckons Oodies are huge turn offs and you can’t look sexy wearing one[/caption]
Suzanne loves how convenient and warm Oodies are[/caption]
