The UGG Boot: Reminiscence to Revival
From hot-pink Juicy Couture tracksuits to Lululemon leggings, the UGG boot has experienced many eras. It has been mocked, meme-ified, retired, resurrected—and now, once again, reborn. Against all social and fashion odds (and despite years of fashion discourse insisting otherwise), the UGG boot is back.
I remember being a growing, trend-loving girl in middle school, watching the social hierarchy of UGG styles shift in real time. First came the classic short, chestnut-brown boot. The popular girls strutted around with their Abercrombie & Fitch skinny jeans, PINK sweatshirts, and a Starbucks Frappuccino permanently glued to their hand. There was a coolness to their comfortability. God, I didn’t just want a pair. I needed a pair.
Then the height changed. Suddenly, the tall version reigned supreme, still in that unmistakable brown. Tall boots, in general, were becoming chic to us middle schoolers, and UGG was paying attention. Next came the black iteration, then a return to the short boot. And then—something right out of a fashion fairytale happened: UGGs got bows.
Silky ribbons laced delicately down the back, fluffy interior peeking out just enough. To a 12-year-old girl, this was luxury. This was high fashion. This was our own small taste of the Y2K dream.
After the 2014-2018 years, UGGs quietly dissolved into thin, past-trend air. They were deemed cheugy, dated, merely a fashion punchline. But UGGs are the boomerangs of fashion, they always come back. Now, the reboot is in full swing—led by a new hero silhouette: the ankle boot.
The modern UGG revival isn’t about recreating the past boot for boot. It’s about reinterpretation. The ankle-boot UGGs are now styled with yoga pants, mom jeans, even mini skirts—bringing an ease and effortlessness that feels distinctly current.
Celebrity co-signs have only cemented the shift. Kristin Davis recently confirmed that UGG-style boots and skinny jeans are once again a go-to combination—further evidence that we are firmly entering a new era of early-2000s resurgence. Bella Hadid, Dua Lipa, Hailey Bieber, and Keke Palmer have all spread the cozy-chic memo, stepping out in variations of the classic boot that feel intentional rather than ironic.
UGGs have always been divisive, and that’s part of their power. They toe the line between slipper and shoe, comfort and fashion, trend and anti-trend. Today’s iterations embrace that iconic characteristic. UGG clogs, Tazz slippers and the ultra-short Classic Micro all offer something slightly different, but equally wearable. Some styles now even feature sun embroidery—adding a touch of shine to otherwise dreary winter days.
At their core, UGGs remain what they’ve always been: reliable winter shoes. But now, they’re also a nostalgic anchor in our ever-modernizing world. They remind us of mall days and middle school dreams, of trends we loved before we learned to second-guess them.
Comfortable, classic, and quietly enduring, the UGG boot’s revival isn’t just about footwear. It’s about reclaiming the things we once loved unapologetically.