The Return of the Ugg Boot

The sheepskin Ugg is back in favor with the high-fashion set. So, what’s the new-found appeal?

Shhhhh...The Ugg boot is back in the high-fashion fold, say Vogue's Laura Weir and Julia Hobbs

In the last month how many times have you declined to step into your razzle-dazzle heels and opted for a pair of Uggs instead?  Once? Twice? Or perhaps like fashion's coterie of Ugg revivalists, which includes Pixie Geldof, Ashley Williams (and some of the Vogue team), you didn't take yours off once over the Christmas break. Isn't it time that we embraced our guiltiest fashion pleasure?

The sheepskin Ugg is no longer the preserve of a hungover milk run, or the yummy mummy. Instead, a new generation of style stars have appropriated the ultra-comfortable boot. "I wear mine with hand painted Aries jeans, a Moschino tote, Palace Skateboards hoodie and Meadham Kirchhoff star hair clips." says designer Ashley Williams. "It was my first outfit of 2015 - Uggs are the marmite of the foot wear world, they're so comfortable. I love them."

Last summer marked our reintroduction to the ugly shoe - the Birkenstock, the heavyweight flatform and the cumbersome trainer all made their wicked way into our wardrobes and offered a devil-may-care kind of glamour. Perhaps, then, it is only natural that the Ugg boot make a return.

"Of course there is the comfort factor too," says Vogue's sittings editor Nura Khan. "They are just so cosy. Carrie Bradshaw wore them the best with painted boyfriend jeans and a sheepskin jacket - think throwback, grungy San Francisco style."

The Ugg boot had its first heyday on the feet of Sienna Miller in her breakout bohemian summer of 2004. The look was about a bare face, sun-kissed hair and endless tanned legs - think Gisele fresh from the Brazilian surf and what's not to love about that?

Fast-forward to now and autumn's take on traditional knitwear, plush sheepskin and a looming summer season obsessed with a bohemian spirit, is paving the way for an Ugg comeback.

This time around there's a five-rule definitive style code on how to pull them off. Embrace your guilty pleasure - the Ugg boot is back. 

1.     Wear with no make-up

2.     Tracksuit bottoms are off the menu

3.      Be clever (or sexy - try fishnets) - this is all about subverting the yummy-mummy expectations

4.      They look great with a vintage dress and chunky knit. "That's how I wore mine in the South of France last summer," says Vogue's Laura Weir. "Spend three weeks in a camper van hopping from the surf to beach BBQs, and they're the only thing you want on your feet."

5.     A long white tunic or tux shirt, bare legs and the black Ugg mini is a strong transitional look.