Lower legs like a yeti? Shampoo and brush them

A goat isn't just for Christmas. And neither, for that matter, is a pair of goatskin boots. Instead, they are something of a commitment, as it turns out.

Of course, all things shaggy are fashionable just now: chubby furs, Mongolian lamb collars, fluffy snoods and yeti boots, the latter most high profile at Chanel, where they appeared complete with a Perspex heel, adding length to madam's (big hairy) legs – and reaching to just below the knee.

In a corner of West London, Mou – purveyor of shearling-lined footwear that gives the ubiquitous Ugg a run for its money because, though equally warm and fluffy, it's just that little bit prettier – yeti boots have been on the agenda for almost five years now. Mou's big shaggy boots are made of goat hair (Macedonian goat hair, to be precise), a by-product like leather, sheep and ponyskin, but more, well, more hairy, so evoking a certain amount of curiosity on the Independent fashion desk and beyond.

They're black, white or brown, mid-calf height, lined in ultra-soft shearling and have no hidden heel, which is surely a relief for anyone other than Nicolas Sarkozy. Also incontrovertible: the sheer size of them has the effect of making legs seem slender by comparison.

But do the long flowing locks drag in the street, picking up unattractive debris as you go? Do they become matted? And can you curl and/or plait your boots like you might your wig, say?

Shelley Tichborne, creative director of Mou, is on hand to advise. "You need to think of it as a bit like your own hair," she says which is pragmatic though perhaps faintly disturbing. Should you find, given metropolitan life, your boots become dirty, you simply shampoo (and condition?) them. They also benefit from a quick going-over with a hairbrush. My dog, who only last season formed an intense attachment to a Prada shearling handbag (and not, without putting too fine a point on it, because it is fashionable), is head-over-heels in love with these too. Warm feet and a house positively bristling with romance. Who could wish for anything more?