I haven’t bought a pair of proper slippers since I was about 12, and then my mum bought them for me. They were made from felted acrylic in turquoise floraI with a strip of nylon fluff as a trim. And this is back in the day before micro fibres went all Issey Miyake and got cool and edgy. I always associated slippers with age, a bit like bi-focals, comfy cardigans and padded waistcoats, something you only wear when you are sensibly grown up and have nothing more exciting to do than shuffle into a comfy armchair and read Woman’s Weekly. No one who was doing anything interesting ever wore slippers in my mind. Slippers were for when you STOPPED and I was always busy moving about.
And then there’s that whole novelty slipper enthusiasm that seems on a par with a Onesie as something to avoid at all costs…..In my mind, slippers have been a style free zone for decades.
So why am I now hankering after a pair of smart, comfy warm ones of my own? It might be because now snuggling in front of the fire as the days draw in is my default setting. Hanging about the house, watch Getting On and Homeland seems so much more preferable to heading out into the night to the newest over-priced bar or super-cool restaurant. And my feet need warming up….while the rest of me blows menopausal hot and cold, my feet remain blocks of ice.
Recently I’ve seen some nice ones. Proper gorgeous i-don’t-mind-being-spotted-wearing-those ones. Not that many mind, but enough to get me interested.
Above are my aspirational slippers from Emma Hope, the Albert Slipper at £289, stupidly expensive but would work for when I move into Great Dixter and need to up my Downtown-wannabe look. Much more practical are the Alloway Slippers at £70 from Ugg, which are structured like shoes but are lined in sheepskin. I have always found Ugg boots much too hot to wear around the house, but these look perfect, if only they didn’t have that logo detail on the front. Perhaps I could buy a couple of glittery brooches and pin them over the offending adverts?
And then I saw these smart Turkish Kilim carpet slippers at one of our favourite shoe stores F Troupe, where owner and designer Mick Hoyle agreed that the slipper was definitely ‘having a moment’. Are his kilim carpet shoes -which come in lots of wonderful colour-ways and cost £85-too posh to be classed as real slippers I asked him? ‘Depends on how posh your house is’ he replied. …
These snugly looking ones from Cash Ca at Selfridges, for £78 also look tempting, not as smart but since they are made from merino and cashmere I know they’d be warm. Sadly due to the Moth Issues I have, I would worry about their chances of survival here…
I’m also very taken with these tweed ones from Toast, for £55 lined in cotton and smart enough to nip to the post box in.
For a touch of glamour I might consider these rather beautiful Cassady ones from Kate Spade, which come in their own be-ribboned satin bag. Nothing dull could happen to you while wearing these, could it? Even plumping sofa cushions would feel more exciting in these, I’m sure.
But what I shall probably end up buying is this pair below, the Ainsley sliipper from Ugg at £80, which might not be the most stylish, but come in an assortment of fabulously uplifting colours and are almost logo free. They look robust enough to do the school run but don’t have that sloppy-slipper look moccasins sometimes have.
What about you, what are you wearing about the house this autumn?
Plenty of woolly jumpers; in a bid to stave off bankruptcy we try to not switch the heating on too often.I love my Haflinger felted wool clogs (bright green) with a cork and rubber sole.They make me feel a bit like a House elf, but they are warm.Definitely need to check out the Toast tweed slippers above.They look very nice.(They don’t look very warm, but GAP has some very reasonably priced slippers in ponyskin at the moment that you could wear outside).
House Elf Slippers…love it Sue!. Ax
Oh god now I feel really old as I have a whole range of slippers!! A towelling pair I slip on when I get out of the shower, a sheepskin pair for when I need to feel cosy and a pair of Birkenstock grey felt clogs just to wear around the house! I am always looking for what I think my dear old Ma used to call house shoes and I used to sneer at the very thought and that of course now seem a terribly good idea!! It is that thing of not wanting to wear shoes or boots around the house but not wanting to look like a slob in a pair of moccasins!!
I think you may have opened a slipper shaped can of worms here. I have always hated slippers (and socks for that matter, don’t even get me started on tights). However our kitchen floor is tiled and therefore freezing, so slippers it is. My favourite ever were a felted pair, similar to those described by Sue. My current pair are like knitted, furry boots and came from Tesco – not on trend, not even beautiful but mighty warm (I would truly prefer the Emma Hope ones). Mr K has spent a lifetime wearing espadrilles as slippers and was delighted when they hit the shops a couple of years ago.
Amanda you must have self-insulating feet not to have succumbed before now! xx
£80 for slippers! How cool is that! I have to say I am very impressed!
Mine from Lidl – Ladies Slippers £5.99
Hard-wearing felt fabric upper and warm fabric lining with lightweight soles.
Available in many colours.
Made in Italy.
http://lidl.co.uk/static_content/lidl_uk/images/UK/UK_73833_01_b.jpg
My current pair are a pair of dark brown leather Moroccan babouches which I bought in a market in France. They fulfil all the criteria for me: solid soles for feeding the chickens/going to the post/slipping down to the pub on summer evenings; good with dresses and tights; perfect with ancient much-darned Toast linen djellaba; not too embarrassing when someone comes round. Not v warm of course, but can be accessorized with fluffy socks on a cold winter’s morning. I’m already worrying about how to replace them when they wear out…
Illuminata -I’m liking the sound of your Moroccan inspired look and I think Gillian, we may have invented a new shoes category of House Shoes.
Lara I know these are expensive but they are aspirational….I’m sure you can do the look for less but since I assume slippers last a long time I want to invest in good ones although I can always be tempted by a Lidl bargain….
Anna I am not sure how I’ve not got around not buying any before now, as I do get cold feet but I’m sure once I get a air of slippers I’ll never want to be without them. Ax
I bought my husband some slippers for xmas a few years ago (mainly to stop him trailing mud around the house on his dirty trainers that he never takes off – they were super trendy slippers from Camper =- honestly, he has never forgiven me. I don’t think I’ll live it down if i live to be a hundred. He says i might as well have given him a pension book and a lifetime supply of viagra. So he still trails mud around the house and I’m all clean and cosy with my sheepskin slippers.
Since you asked, I have now learned that the Only Slipper I Feel Sexy In is called the O’Tricia. And mostly bought by John Lewis customers in their 40’s/50’s for their mums. Don’t feel so sexy now, do I?
http://www.johnlewis.com/11644/Product.aspx
Esmerelda that’s a hoot, altho I reckon just being CALLED Esmerelda sounds secy enough to carry off a gran slipper…A
Can I raise a related issue to this article on slippers? Has anyone else noticed the steady disappearance of half sizes in shoes? Those of us who are a half size ( I’m 6 1/2) find the nearest full size either too big or too small. Result, wearing uncomfortable shoes and possible visits to podiatrists to sort out foot problems in the future. My other shoe niggle refers to width fittings. The older one becomes one’s foot spreads, traditional D widths are very uncomfortable. I love the idea of patent brogues, but can I find such a thing in my half size or wide fit? Come on, shoe designers/manufacturers feet do not come in standard sizes to suit your manufacturing costs, your customers would be loyal and pay the extra to the brand who realises this fact and produces stylish shoes to fit everyone’s tootsies!
I use a tip I read (here I think!) that Jane Birkin shared, sheepskin insoles where toastiness is needed.