The Ugg Boot Craze of the Early 2000s, As Remembered by Vogue

There was a time when Ugg boots were cherished commodities. In the early 2000s, they were the fashion equivalents of Beanie Babies or Tickle Me Elmo in terms of fanatic following and record-setting sell-out rates. Preceding the designer Crocs and FitFlops deemed “cool” today, Uggs were both the most highly desired and highly derided shoe around during my early high school years. I remember seeing pre-TMZ paparazzi shots of Kate Hudson and Kate Moss wearing them, the former with a boho dress and the latter with jeans. It was one of those moments you say to yourself, “There is absolutely no logical reason why I love and need these, but I do, I really, really do.” For a split second, I remembered that giant pile of Beanie Babies stuffed in the guest room closet of our house. It was an ephemerally practical thought for a 15-year-old.

Not long after I discovered pictures of Paris Hilton and the Olsen sisters in Uggs, I coerced my mom into taking me to a small boutique on the North Side of Chicago—one of the only local stores that carried the brand before it hit big in the U.S. Her brow was raised the entire time, and she probably silently wondered why I wanted to put something on my feet that made me look like I raced sled dogs in Alaska. “Because they’re cool!” I spat back at her with the fire and fury of adolescence. She gave in, and out I walked with my first pair: the classic calf-length light tan Uggs with shearling trim on the outside. Kate Hudson had the exact same ones.

The next day I got dressed for school. I put on a pleated Burberry tartan skirt, a polo shirt, and my fresh-out-of-the-box Uggs, the boot rolled over at the top, just like Kate’s. Some mornings I’d slip them over awkwardly cut bootleg jeans or—like princess Paris—use them to accessorize my Juicy Couture tracksuit. This wardrobe cycle lasted for around a year or so until, as was inevitable, I grew out of my Ugg phase. Today, there’s a big, shiny stand-alone Ugg store across the street from where my mom lives, and the brand now offers bags, blankets, rugs, and apparel. The label has come a long way in the last decade, and though now I may think back on my brief teenage tryst with Ugg boots as just another encounter with a fad, I must admit that I kind of want a pair again. The terry-cloth sweatpants are long gone and so are the pleated miniskirts, but maybe I’ll give the fuzzy footwear another shot. And who knows, maybe the current ugly-chic shoe craze on the runway will give rise to Ugg revamps from brands like Balenciaga or Christopher Kane. I may not really, really need them like I used to, but there’s still that certain something about them that I want, rational or not.

Below, a few more Vogue staffers reminisce about their first encounters with an Ugg boot.

“I don’t remember my first pair, but I remember holding out against them for as long as I could. (I succumbed early to Juicy sweatpants and Soffe shorts with the waistbands turned down, but at Uggs I drew the line.) The first pair I remember clearly was at boarding school. Because it was New Hampshire and freezing—but that could be a fuzziness of memory—St. Paul’s was really more of a shearling-lined L.L.Bean boot place, as Uggs provided next to no traction on ice, and got wet and soggy in snow, and those were the conditions from November to April. I remember first getting the black ones, out of an urge to be different and less obviously ‘Ugg.’ Ironically, they got crusted with snow and salt and looked disgusting really fast, much faster than the normal chestnut color. I remember coveting my then-best friend’s shearling-trimmed pair, which she occasionally wore very cutely with the floppy skirts and tank tops of the era, but which just looked enormous when translated to my much larger feet, and in an effort to be different (again), went with the lightest color, which was another mistake. As I recall, I only really wore them to and from breakfast or the squash courts and when I was truly lazy (or very cold), which meant school-branded sweatpants and Patagonia fleeces, too. Sometimes I would wear them en route to seated meal, a school-mandated formal dinner that happened a couple times a week. We’d kick them off in the hall with our coats and switch into nice shoes for dinner.

I recently reinvested in a pair and wear them on early-morning dog runs. You’ll be relieved to know that this time around I went for the classic (tall, chestnut) variety. Sometimes something’s popular for a reason.” – Alessandra Codinha, Vogue Culture Editor

“I bought my first and only pair of Uggs the first winter I moved to New York, about 14 years ago. I was working at an indie magazine in Soho, and this one store on Spring Street was the only place that sold them at the time. They stocked all the SoCal denim that people were going wild for back then as well, including James Jeans and Hudson denim. I styled my hair in Farrah Fawcett–like waves and had these huge blingy earrings from Patricia Field, so the whole look was very Destiny’s Child. It was hard not to want to wear my Uggs every day—they were so comfortable, basically like house slippers. That was until the first snowstorm hit in January and I ended up sloshing to the subway after work with my brown suede boots soggy to the ankle. I’d never really experienced snow like this before, and I had no idea that Uggs weren’t really built for a blizzard. By the time I got home, I was so cold it took 30 minutes of sitting next to the radiator to warm up. Needless to say, I decided to hang up my salt-stained Ugg boots for good.” – Chioma Nnadi, Vogue Fashion News Director

“I got a pair of tan, tall Uggs as a present in seventh grade. When I wore them to school a boy immediately said, ‘Those are the ugliest shoes I’ve ever seen,’ before bursting into laughter. Needless to say, I never thought I’d be revisiting them after that experience, but this winter I would happily wear a short, black—slightly more discreet!—pair to trudge through the ice and snow.” – Zoe Ruffner, Vogue Beauty Associate

“My first pair of Uggs was the classic ‘tall’ in chocolate. I would wear them folded over with my rotation of Juicy Couture tracksuits (pink and teal were my favorites) and designer jeans like True Religion and Rock & Republic. Now I wear my classic short in chestnut and the classic slippers religiously when the temperature drops. They are perfect for pedicure runs, as well as glamping.” – Anny Choi, Vogue Market Editor

“I bought my first pair on a Chinese counterfeit market, alongside my first ‘Louis Vuiten’ and ‘Heremes.’ My school friends in the Netherlands, where I lived, did not know the difference, and the Chinese leopard-print Uggs made me feel, for a second, like I belonged.” – Mary Wang, Vogue Weekend Culture Editor

“When I was in middle school, Uggs became really popular, and so of course I needed to get them ASAP. I begged my parents to buy me a pair, but they were sold out everywhere. I had to put myself on a wait list—for the baby pink pair—at our local shoe store. Imagine a 12-year-old girl on a wait list for shoes like it was a Birkin bag or something. That’s how dire I felt it was to be part of the Ugg club.” – Alexandra Gurvitch, Vogue Associate Market Editor

“The Ugg craze hit Indianapolis in 2004, when I was in eighth grade. To say I freaked out would be an understatement. My mom got me a pair of short baby pink Uggs (which were impossible to find) at a local store, and I wore them with my dark green plaid uniform skirt all winter, even when there was snow on the ground. The only other option was khaki pants, which I loathed, and Uggs looked cute with bare legs!

That said, it was a small Catholic school, and at one point Uggs were actually banned. We were told they were too flashy and expensive, but I’d like to think I was pretty ballsy, because I kept wearing them. My argument was that they cost just as much as the Nike Shox sneakers all of the boys got for Christmas—and you can bet they weren’t scolded for wearing them. My parents agreed, too. So I have fond memories of Uggs and am all for bringing them back! I actually got a new pair of black ankle-length Uggs last winter—they’re the comfiest, warmest commuting shoes—but I’ll admit I always hid them under my desk so no one would notice.” – Emily Farra, Vogue Fashion News Writer

“Having grown up in snowy Buffalo, New York, Uggs were something of a wardrobe staple. But naturally, I resisted anything anyone else had, not to mention I despised how the boots looked when the street salt started inching its way up. But, believe it or not, my dad was the one to change my opinion. He had a pair of brown leather Uggs that he would wear on winter weekends, and I’d sneak my feet in them to walk the dog. Alas, I had my own pair under the Christmas tree the following winter. Ugg, Dad!” – Kirby Marzec, Vogue Senior Market Editor

“Weirdly, my mom introduced me to Uggs back in high school (she is very plugged in). She told me there was a chunky fur-lined boot that was ‘in’ at the moment. To her, it looked supremely comfortable and practical for winter, given that we lived in the Midwest at the time. I can’t imagine she thought they were cute.

The first set she bought for me was the standard chestnut suede. I thought they were hideous, but wore them anyway. I insisted on pairing them with boot-cut jeans; I also insisted on not tucking the jeans, but pulling them over the Ugg (what I was thinking, we’ll never know). Eventually, their grossly wide proportions grew on me. I bought a pair of black ones (more chic) and started to tuck skinny jeans into them. At first, I got a lot of flack about them at school, but eventually they caught on.

What I liked most about Uggs is I didn’t have to wear socks with them (my feet don’t sweat). I also hated yanking snow boots on and off, and these were a nice alternative. Uggs were my winter shoe through college. They were perfect for wading through knee-deep snow, and the salt stains and water damage were all right by me. When I started working in New York, they became deeply embarrassing and I got rid of them all. But there was always a tinge of regret—they were so easy—and I always slipped into my mom’s whenever I went out to run errands back home.

Would I wear them now? I might. Something about a chunky tan boot cropped to mid-calf and worn with an elegant ankle-length dress à la Loewe feels nice. While we’re busy revisiting all the noughties fashion mistakes, might as well give the Ugg another shot. Your feet, at least, will thank you.” – Monica Kim, Vogue Fashion News Editor

“I got my first pair of Uggs around age 14. The justification for the purchase was that I could wear them after dance practice, but they quickly became a regular at school, after school, on the weekends . . . pretty much all the time. The great perk of being a teen in the early aughts was that the rise of Uggs coincided with both the rise of boot-cut jeans and brightly colored slider phones. My trick was thus: Fold my jean cuffs into careful origami so they could be tucked into the Ugg boots and then insert my lime green Verizon chocolate phone into the inside of my right boot. When I crossed my legs right over left under my desk, I could slide out the top of my cell phone without anyone noticing and check my texts. I’d still use that move today, but it doesn’t work as seamlessly with an iPhone 8S.” – Steff Yotka, Vogue Fashion News and Emerging Platforms Editor