The Ugg Is Back — & It Changed One Former Hater’s Mind

There might not be a fashion item as controversial as the UGG boot. It's a shoe that'll give you serious up-downs in public, but anyone who's slipped into a pair knows why they've become so popular. But in the past few years, shearling boot lovers have been ditching the brand in droves and sales of the iconic American footwear have nosedived. The brand went back to the drawing board, reconstructed its signature shape, and got one mega babe (and loyalist) to front the brand. Yep, folks — the UGG is back, and a little more svelte than you remember. The Santa Barbara-based brand has updated their Classic boot, offering up a trimmed-down version that hugs your ankle like a merino wool-lined sock. Called the Classic Luxe, it had even a longtime naysayer like me second-guessing myself. It doesn't hurt that their campaign woman, supermodel Carolyn Murphy — who's walked every runway from Calvin Klein to Versace — is basically the female embodiment of all things fancy. "When we were in Virginia, my grandfather would slip his on to shovel the snow. They were to keep your feet warm," she says. "So cut to when I had my boots here in New York, and nobody was really wearing them back then in the late '80s, early ’90s. When I moved to California a few years later, they were the first thing I would put on after I went surfing in Malibu." Now, there will always be those who won't ever be down with an UGG, but for those of you with the capacity to reconsider, we think it's a good time to take another look. The Luxe collection is made entirely in Italy, and uses luxe materials like goat suede and Merino Twinface wool. If that doesn't sound like walking on air — suit yourself. But don't judge an UGG by its cover.