The economy might be depressed, but the British are still splashing out on wellies. One shoe company has reported sales of the boots are up 673% this year - they're selling 15 pairs a minute. They thank the snow for our enthusiastic welly-buying. It's true we have had a few cold winters in recent years, but our love of wellingtons probably has more to do with fashion sense than common sense.

Ten years ago, wellies came in black or dull green. Farmers wore them. But now shops are selling wellingtons of every colour, decorated with stripes, spots, flowers, animals and even fake diamonds.

That's because the Wellington boot has been fashionable since around 2004, when fashionistas in New York were spotted wearing them. British model Kate Moss made a splash in 2005 when she wore wellies to the Glastonbury Festival.

But the welly has been fashion-forward before. It began in 1817 when the Duke of Wellington started wearing a narrower, simpler boot. Being a famous war hero, men were quick to copy his style and the Wellington boot was soon all the rage. It went out of fashion at the end of the 19th century, but farmers, workers, dog walkers carried on wearing them.

So why have they become fashionable again? It's part of a general trend for big boots: biker boots, cowboy boots and Doc Martens are all popular. Wellies also benefit from music festival chic, with models and music stars being photographed in them at muddy outdoor events. But surely it's a class thing too. The British upper classes have an outdoorsy image – often seen with waterproof coats, dogs and wellington boots. This aristocratic connection gives wellies a certain social cachet which trainers will never have.

But retailers should enjoy the welly craze while they can. Wellington boots are probably at their peak now, and will soon start to lose favour. The last big boot fad was Ugg boots. Worn by the stars, they were soon so desirable that everyone had a pair – or a cheaper copycat version. And that was their downfall. Now everyone has them, they're not special anymore and sales have fallen by a third.