Ugg boots are back – but not as you know them
Despite the relatively balmy high temperatures of 6 or 7 degrees this week, the pavements are very much still frozen over. Historically, this has been a time when many of us have turned to our trusty Wellington boots. After all, they’re ideal for stomping about on black ice, right? The only problem being that unless you’re wearing approximately five pairs of thick socks, you’re more likely to fall over because you can’t feel your feet at all.
Why not then take a leaf out of Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Lawrence, Chloe Sevigny and Selena Gomez’s books, and instead opt for a pair of deliciously warming albeit truly ugly Ugg boots? Although originally designed to be worn as an indoor slipper (really) these sheepskin stompers became part of every woman’s off-duty wardrobe in the 2000s, and were ubiquitous at red brick universities up and down the country for a time.
Now seemingly back in favour alongside all other things Y2K, the A-list have once again been seen wearing them in the cold weather, with the new platform heeled mid-calf style being particularly popular (this follows on from the platform cut-off style, which was big in 2022). They even make an appearance in Nicole Kidman’s dom-com, Babygirl, as her character Romy is seen wearing them to the office at the beginning of the film, before changing into heels. Customer searches for “Ugg” increased by 420 per cent in the last three months on NET-A-PORTER. Shearling boot searches increased by 821 per cent on site in the same period.
They are far from the only “ugly” shoe that the style set is loving at the moment for their practicality. Take the controversial New Balance “snoafer” for example, a sneaker and loafer hybrid dad shoe which sold out after its Paris Fashion Week debut. Or Sneex, the heeled sneaker by Spanx creator Sara Blakely, which were popularised by Jane Fonda waxing lyrical about their orthopedic benefits on Instagram, but have since been seen on the feet of Reese Witherspoon and Kathy Bates, with the latter even wearing them to the Golden Globes.
There’s no denying that we are living in the age of the ugly shoe. In fact, it’s one of the most enduring fashion trends of the past decade. Just look at the meteoric PR campaign that Crocs and Birkenstocks have been on, for example. The former were once associated with workmen, the latter hippies. And yet somehow both have now become style staples for modern women of all ages, with designer collaborations from the likes of Christopher Kane, Simone Rocha and Fendi. Then there is the shoe that launched a thousand copycats in summer 2024, the Alaia mesh ballet flat, seen on everyone from Jennifer Lawrence to Dua Lipa. And let us not forget the incredible rise and rise of trainers – once seen as frumpy on women, they’re now at the cutting edge of cool.
“Ugly shoes have been around for most of this century,” explains stylist Alexandra Fullerton. “There’s always a version of something clunky, chunky and weird if you look hard enough. There is always a brand or designer pushing boundaries and doing something that makes the wearer feel more unshackled from societal norms. I think people have turned to ugly shoes less for their stylistic versatility (some are incredibly limiting in their design) but more for the message they send out, which is ‘I don’t care what you think of me – or my taste in shoes’.”
Self-confessed Ugg-wearer and stylist Florrie Thomas thinks a lot of the popularity of the ugly shoe comes down to comfort, as well as their ability to bring irreverence to a look. “They are great for dressing something a little more feminine down, like a pretty summer dress with Birkenstocks, for example,” she says. “There’s an irreverence to juxtaposing two clashing styles like this, it makes the whole look feel fresher and more now.”
Another Ugg fan, jewellery PR Rosie Lillis, says she first started wearing hers in the Noughties and has never taken them off. “They were glued to me while I was pregnant and I now wear them with a nightie when I’m chasing my feral children around the kitchen or at work with a pair of jeans and a cashmere jumper,” she says. “They are also incredibly hard wearing and can withstand pretty much anything you throw at them – from gravy to red wine to baby sick. I clean mine with a bit of soapy water and they always come up really well.”
According to Reuters, Ugg sales surpassed expectations by 14 per cent in 2024, with parent company Deckers reporting that retailers like US department store Nordstrom had seen an increase in demand. With the fashion for Uggs going nowhere in 2025, is it time you see what all the ugly shoe fuss is about?
