Nation Barfs Over Miss Aussie Costume

The first problem: High-heeled Uggs. The second: Everything else. The outfit designed to represent Australia at next month's Miss Universe competition in Las Vegas is being blasted as "a travesty" and "a national joke," reports the Telegraph. The ensemble combines Ugg heels with a one-piece bathing suit, a multi-colored flamenco-inspired skirt, and a lamb's wool shrug. The skirt "looks like it was made from discount fabric bin scraps," says one fashion editor.

Miss Universe hopeful Jesinta Campbell, 18, defended the costume. "An Aboriginal artist hand-painted my swimsuit, which is the base of the outfit, which is very special," she says, adding that the bulky shrug is "very Australian—very Outback." The overall look, she says, is "incredible." Incredible, eh?
(More fashion stories.)