At 62, the slippers that keep my feet warm without cooking them
At 62, the slippers that keep my feet warm without cooking them
Six things the Candace gets right that ordinary slippers get wrong, from a woman who is not a fashion writer.
Caroline Richards · Customer · Nottinghamshire · 5 min read
Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Caroline, I am 62, I live in Nottinghamshire, and I have never once sat down to write about slippers. What I have done, every winter for about thirty years, is buy a pair of proper closed slippers in October, wear them happily until about four in the afternoon, and then kick them off because my feet have got too hot, after which I pad about the kitchen in my socks with cold feet. So this is not a review. It is a woman who finally worked out what was wrong, saying so.
The pair I am writing about are called the Candace, from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. Soft fluffy slippers in a lovely soft khaki, with two wide furry bands crossing over the foot and the toes left out. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
Slippers with your toes out, in October. I know. Read on.
Here is the thing nobody warns you about with slippers. The warmth is not the problem. The problem is that once the heating goes on, a closed slipper has nowhere to send the heat, and your feet end up hot and stuffy and faintly damp, which is a horrible feeling and the reason half of us end up barefoot on a cold floor by teatime. I had put up with that for years and assumed it was simply what slippers were.
I thought my choice was hot feet or cold feet. It had not occurred to me that a slipper could do both ends of the job at once.
The Candace is the first pair I have owned that gets it right, and having worn mine every evening since they arrived, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The morning they came. Fluffier than I expected out of the box.
WARM ON TOP, FREE AT THE TOES
This is the whole idea. Two wide bands of soft fur cross over the top of your foot, which is where you actually feel the cold, and your toes are out in the open air at the front. So your feet are warm and they can breathe at the same time. I have not once taken these off because my feet were too hot, which after thirty years of doing exactly that is quite the novelty.
The two bands crossing over, and the toes left out. That is all there is to it.
I have hot feet and I have finally found slippers I can keep on all evening. The open toe makes all the difference.
Marion T., BeestonTHEY STAY ON YOUR FEET
Most open slippers are the sort that flap about and end up halfway down the hall. Because these bands cross right over the foot, they sit where they should and come with you, which means I can carry a cup of tea through to the front room without shuffling like a penguin to keep them on.
They stay on properly, which my old mules never did. No more leaving one behind on the stairs.
Pauline R., HucknallYOU STEP STRAIGHT INTO THEM
No backs to fight with, no bending down, no hooking a finger round the heel. You step in and off you go, which at our age is worth more than it sounds, particularly first thing in the morning when bending down to anything is not top of the list.
Where they live, which is next to the bed. First thing my feet find in the morning.
I can step into them without bending, which matters to me more than it used to. On and off in a second.
Eileen M., SouthwellA SOLE WITH SOME GRIP TO IT
The sole is thick and flat with a bit of texture on the underside, so it has some grip on kitchen tiles and wooden floors rather than sliding about like a pair of socks. It is also deep enough that you are not feeling every cold tile through it, which I notice in our kitchen at this time of year.
The underside. A bit of texture, which I appreciate on our kitchen floor.
Nice thick sole with some grip to it. Much better on our tiles than my old fabric ones.
Sheila W., BinghamTHEY GO FROM THE BEDROOM TO THE KITCHEN
They are smart enough that I do not mind them being seen, so they get worn all through the house rather than just upstairs. Bedroom first thing, kitchen while the kettle goes on, front room in the evening with my feet up. One pair, all day, which is more than I can say for the last lot.
Feet up of an evening. This is the bit I look forward to.
I wear them from morning to bedtime now. They look tidy enough that I am not embarrassed if somebody calls round.
Brenda K., ArnoldEIGHT COLOURS, AND HONEST SIZES
There are eight to choose from, my soft khaki and a grey, a black, a white, a coffee brown, a purple, a rose red and a leopard print for the braver among us. The sizes run from a UK 1 right up to a UK 8.5, which is a wider run than most slippers bother with. My friend Sue has ordered the leopard, which tells you everything about Sue.
Ordered the grey and then went back for the leopard print. True to size and so soft.
Jean C., CarltonThe Candace, against the slippers you have been buying
You can buy a pair of slippers for a tenner anywhere at this time of year. I know, because I have done it most Octobers of my adult life. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Hot and stuffy once the heating is on
Kicked off by teatime, then cold feet
Backless ones flap and get left behind
Thin soles you feel the tiles through
Often a narrow run of sizes
Fur over the foot, toes out in the air
Stay on all evening without overheating
Crossed bands hold them on your feet
A thick sole with some texture for grip
Eight colours, UK 1 to UK 8.5
About the price
The Candace is £24.95 at the moment. It was £50.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that the middle sizes go first and once the autumn stock has gone it can be a wait for it to come back. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that half price is usually where I start asking what is wrong with a thing, and a few weeks of wearing them every evening, I have not found it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered a second pair. Just over three hundred of them, sitting at 4.2 stars, which sounded like real women rather than robots, so I read on. The same six things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women's words.
Kettle on, feet warm, toes out. This is most evenings now.
If you are forever putting slippers on and kicking them off again an hour later, I would start here. It is a small thing, a pair of slippers. But the small daily annoyances are the ones that wear you down, and this one turned out to have a very simple answer. Go and have a look while your size is still there.
Caroline
CANDACE | House Slippers
- Soft faux-fur bands crossing over the foot
- Open toe, so your feet do not overheat
- Easy to step into, no backs to fight with
- Thick sole with a textured tread for grip
- For the bedroom, the lounge or the kitchen
- Eight colours · UK 1 (EU 34) to UK 8.5 (EU 43)
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now, half price. The middle sizes go first.