UGG Sneakers: The Surf Boot That Learned to Lace Up

In 1978, an Australian surfer named Brian Smith was living in Santa Monica and studying at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. The story goes that after a chilly surf in Malibu he pulled on a pair of sheepskin boots from home and realized you could not get them in the U.S. So he decided to import them. That is the whole origin of a brand that now makes UGG sneakers, and I find it oddly comforting.

Smith and his partner Doug Jensen first tried to distribute another maker's boots, did not love the brand, and trademarked UGG instead. Their first season came to 28 pairs. In 1995 Deckers Brands bought the business, and it grew far past the surf crowd. I like that the sneakers still read as the same idea: something warm you can step into without thinking.

The Lowmel is the one to know, and it is where I would begin. It is built on the Neumel chukka boot and was relaunched for fall 2024 as a sneaker meets boot hybrid. Every pair here has the chunky suede and mesh upper, oversized flat laces, a padded collar and a plush lining on a platform SugarSole outsole. The Lowmel in chestnut is the easy neutral, and the black one goes with everything in a fall closet. Dusty orchid is the one I would pick if you want a color that still behaves like a neutral, while sand and dusted cocoa suit cream knits and straight jeans. Dense smoke is the quiet gray option.

Try them with a slightly cropped jean so the oversized tongue shows. If you size between halves, remember the plush lining takes up room, so go with the snugger one.

The Lowmel has a lower sibling, and it is the one I would hand to anyone who finds the original a lot of shoe. The Lo Lowmel keeps the suede and the wide laces but drops the profile, and the same Neumel boot sits behind both. The sneakerjagers write-up notes you can wear Lowmels with loose laces or pulled tight, and the same goes here.

I would pick the Lo Lowmel in chestnut for jeans, the artichoke green for a gray wool coat, and the jasmine cream for pale denim. Muted brass has two-tone laces that do half the styling for you. Horizon pink is the soft one, lovely against an oatmeal sweater in October. The Biarritz in mustard seed adds geometric yellow laces to a sage and tan suede platform, which is the most playful pair of the lot.

Then there are the two Felicity leopard pairs. One is a chunky calf hair lace-up on a tan platform sole, the other a low-profile cow hair and suede version with oversized cream laces. Treat leopard like a neutral: black tights, a camel coat, done.

For a fitting room test, press your thumb into the suede and check the lace holes sit flat. What I would skip: leopard with a printed skirt, because the two patterns fight.

In 1994 the U.S. Olympic team turned up in Lillehammer wearing UGG boots, and that is how a California surf label got international attention. The sneaker side today is about the same cold-weather comfort, only lower to the ground.

The Sungazer is a platform sneaker with a suede and mesh upper, a cozy lined collar and a lugged sole. I would take it in sand for a clean fall look with wide trousers, dark brown with a long skirt and tights, and peach if you want one pop of color near the face of a navy coat. They come in women's sizes 6 to 11.

The Zilo is the slip-on, with elastic gussets and a white flatform sole, in off white and black. It is the pair for airport mornings and school runs. Black with straight leg jeans, off white with a gray sweatsuit.

The Lowmel shearling lined lace-up mule is the cozy wild card: genuine shearling lining, a sneaker sole, dual laces and an internally secured tongue. Moonlight is soft against winter white, black and chestnut do the work with wool socks.

Check the gusset on the Zilo by pulling it open with a finger, since you want it to spring back. What I would skip: the white sole for muddy weekends.

After Deckers bought the brand, the plan was to reach beyond the surf community, and the Quill family is a neat example of how far that has gone. These are sneakers that borrow from ballet flats and Mary Janes, in smooth suede instead of mesh.

The Quill slip-on in chestnut has kid suede, a moc-stitched toe and a bow lace with a plush lining, and I would wear it with cropped trousers and a fine knit. The Quill Mary Jane sneaker comes in sand castle, dusty orchid and black, with a ballet-inspired strap, stitched seaming and a soft shearling footbed. Black is the one for work trousers, sand castle for ivory tights and a short skirt.

The Quill ballet sneaker is a lace-up ballet flat with sneaker comfort and shearling-lined smooth suede. High voltage blue is the loud one, mustard seed is the warm one, and chestnut and sand is the one I would reach for first.

For a fitting room test, run your hand along the stitched seaming and check it lies flat, and look at the strap sitting snug across the instep. These shoes also ask for a suede brush now and then. What I would skip: wet pavement in light colors, because suede marks easily.

Smith sold only 28 pairs in the first season, and now the brand has room for a technical ballet sneaker. That says a lot about how far one surf boot traveled.

The Retrofi laces up like a trainer but is cut like a ballet flat, in suede and ripstop with reflective accents, a molded foam footbed and a flex-grooved sole. The lace-up in black is the pair for rainy commutes with a trench, dusty orchid is a sweet match for gray and burgundy, and jasmine on its gum-brown lugged sole looks great with cream trousers. The Retrofi Low ballet sneaker in jasmine, black and dusty orchid keeps the look but sits lower, with a padded tongue and footbed. The black one has black and white speckled laces, which I love with plain socks.

The Minimel is the simplest of the lot, a low-profile suede and mixed-media sneaker with wide laces and a light sugarcane sole. Black is the one for dark denim and dense smoke is for gray flannel trousers.

Test the flex by bending the sole at the ball of the foot, and see whether the heel stays put when you walk. What I would skip: the reflective ones with a formal skirt, since the tech details can feel loud.

I would decide by outfit before color. If your fall is jeans and knit sweaters, the Lowmel in chestnut or black is the answer. If you wear skirts and tights, the Quill Mary Jane or the Retrofi is the better fit.

Then check how the pair closes, since the slip-on, the ballet lace-up and the chunky laces each suit a different morning. A suede brush keeps all of them looking good.

Brian Smith wanted something warm for after the surf, and these UGG sneakers are the same idea, now with laces.