UGG started in 1978, when Brian Smith, an Australian surfer living in Santa Monica, noticed that the sheepskin boots every surfer wore at home after a cold morning in the water were almost unknown in California. He and his friend Doug Jensen registered the name, family friends invested, and in the first season they sold 28 pairs. Smith sold them out of the back of his van at Malibu.

 

The boots spread through surf shops along the coast, then the US team wore them at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Deckers bought the company in 1995, and in 2003 the Classic boot was one of Oprah's Favorite Things. Plenty of us wore a pair of Classic Shorts in chestnut until the heels went flat.

 

What changed is the shape. The boot most people want right now is the Ultra Mini, and UGG has spent the last few winters putting the same sheepskin on platforms, lug soles, laces and leather. I pulled 60 pairs from UGG, Nordstrom, Zappos and Revolve and sorted them by height and shape, so you can go straight to the one you actually want.

 

Care tip: treat suede with a protector spray before the first wear, and if they get wet, blot them and let them dry away from a radiator.

The Classic Ultra Mini is the Classic boot cut down to just above the ankle, and it is the pair I see everywhere from October to March. It sits low enough to wear with leggings, flares or straight jeans without the hem bunching on top.

 

The plain suede version is here in chestnut and black from UGG, grey from Zappos, and sand and caribou from Revolve, which are the two softest neutrals. Then come the twists: the Ultra Mini Bailey Bow with ribbon bows down the back, the Spotted in a chestnut animal print, the Crinkle in a glossy dark caramel, the Plains in leopard, and the Fluffed, which turns the sheepskin to the outside, in light bronze and black. The Maxi Curly in black has a curly sheepskin collar.

 

Tip: the chestnut is the easiest colour to wear with everything, and black hides salt marks best. What I would skip: a sand or caribou pair as your only winter boot if your sidewalks get salted, because pale suede shows every mark.

Before the Ultra Mini there was the Classic Mini, and before that the Classic Short, the mid-calf boot that most of us first owned. These are the heights between a slipper and a tall boot.

 

The Classic Micro is the lowest, with a collar that sits right at the ankle bone. The Classic Mini II comes in chestnut and black from UGG and a dusted cocoa from Zappos, and the Mini Bailey Bow II adds two ribbon bows at the back, in black and chestnut. The Classic Mini Heritage has a wide sheepskin cuff with a leather trim. The Classic Short II is the original mid-calf shape, here in chestnut, grey and a pale sky blue, and the Bailey Bow II is the same height with bows running down the back, in black and chestnut.

 

Tip: the Short looks best with slim jeans tucked in or with a skirt and thick tights. What I would skip: tucking wide-leg jeans into a Short, because the denim bunches over the top.

The tall UGG is the early 2000s boot, the one you remember from paparazzi photos of that decade, worn with a mini skirt. It is back, and it looks better now with a long skirt or straight jeans tucked in.

 

The Classic Tall II is the plain one, in chestnut and black, and the Classic Ultra Tall goes even higher up the leg. The Sunburst Tall, first released in 2016, has sheepskin spill seams running down the boot and a collar you can cuff, here in grey and chestnut. The Bailey Bow Tall II in black has three bows down the back, the Classic Tall Whipstitch Knit swaps suede for a charcoal knit, and the Classic Tall Western has a hand-painted calf hair shaft with buckles that comes off to show a plain Classic boot underneath.

 

Tip: fold the top of a Sunburst or a Classic Tall down for a slouchier boot that shows the sheepskin. What I would skip: boot-cut or wide jeans over a tall boot, because the shaft disappears and you lose the reason you bought it.

The platform Ultra Mini took the bestseller and put it on a thick sole, and it is the version that fills my Pinterest boards. It adds height without a heel, which is why it works with longer trousers.

 

The Classic Ultra Mini Platform is here in chestnut from UGG, black from Nordstrom, sand from Revolve and light bronze from Zappos. The Ultra Mini New Heights and the Classic Short New Heights sit on an even chunkier sole, both in chestnut. The Classic Mini Dipper in pink comes with a knit leg warmer attached, and the Classic Tread Fluffed in moonlight has a lug tread, laces and a sheepskin collar.

 

Tip: with a platform, let your trousers be an inch longer than usual so the hem breaks over the boot. What I would skip: a platform with cropped trousers, because the sole looks heavy with bare ankles.

Classic sheepskin is not built for slush, and UGG knows it. The Adirondack has been its snow boot for 25 years, which is what the XXV in the name stands for.

 

The Adirondack Boot XXV, in black and chestnut, is made of waterproof leather and suede and is rated warm down to minus 32 degrees Celsius, with a Vibram sole. The Adirondack Boot Tall XXV and the Adirondack Tall Boot III are the higher versions in chestnut, and the Adirondack Meridian Hiker in light bronze is lighter and looks more like a hiking boot. The MetroTrek in black is a waterproof hiking boot, the Classic Tread puts laces and a lug sole on a sheepskin boot, and the Neumel is a low suede lace-up chukka.

 

Tip: for real snow, pick one of the waterproof styles and keep the suede Classics for dry cold days. What I would skip: the Neumel for deep snow, because it is cut low at the ankle.

These are the UGG boots that do not look like UGG, and they are the ones I would wear to an office or to dinner.

 

The Moxy Chelsea is a lug-sole Chelsea boot, here in black from UGG, chestnut from Nordstrom and dark toffee from Revolve, and the Moxy Pull-on is the same idea in chestnut. The Moxy Knee-High has a block heel, in black and a dusted cocoa. The Uptowner Short comes in light bronze and black leather, the Uptowner Biker in dark brown has a buckle strap, and the Uptowner Tall is a deep navy. The Bucked is a slouchy suede boot in chestnut, and the Classic Ultra Mini Western puts western stitching on the low Ultra Mini.

 

Tip: the Moxy Knee-High is the one to wear with a midi skirt, because the heel keeps the line long. What I would skip: buying the Moxy Chelsea in all three colours. Pick black or dark toffee and wear it everywhere.

If I could only buy one pair, it would be the Classic Ultra Mini in chestnut, because it goes with almost everything I own. If you live somewhere with real winters, add the Adirondack Boot XXV for snow days, and a Moxy Chelsea for rain.

 

Brian Smith sold 28 pairs in his first season because almost nobody in California knew what a sheepskin boot was. The boots in this edit are proof that the idea worked, and the best ones are still the simplest. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Ugg Boots Dupe and Chanel Boots, From Quilted Combat Shapes to Tall Two-Tone Lines.