At 62, the cosy slippers that keep my feet warm and steady
At 62, the cosy slippers that keep my feet warm and steady
Six things the Lola gets right that 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 a pair of slippers in my life. What I have is a pair of feet that feel the cold first, and a hard tiled kitchen floor that left them aching and freezing by lunchtime, and flat little slippers that did nothing at all and slipped about on the smooth floor besides. So this is not a review. It is a woman who found a slipper that keeps her feet warm, cushioned and steady, saying why.
The pair I am writing about is called the Lola, from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly looking after women our age for a few years now. They are a proper cosy closed-back slipper, lined all through with soft fleece and set on a lovely thick cushioned sole, and mine are a soft sage green. 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.
I slipped them on that first cold morning, walked across the cold kitchen tiles to put the kettle on, and for the first time in years my feet were warm, cushioned and sure underneath me. That was the moment they won me over. Read on.
Here is the little misery every cold morning used to bring. My feet would hit that hard tiled floor and ache and freeze at once, my thin old slippers may as well not have been there, and on the smooth floor they would slide a little under me, so I went about carefully, cold and never quite steady. It is a small thing, but at my age feeling sure on your feet in your own kitchen is not a small thing at all.
My feet feel the cold first, and the hard kitchen floor left them aching. These wrap my feet in warmth, cushion every step, and hold me steady on the smooth floor.
The Lola is the first slipper I have owned that keeps my feet warm and cushioned and steady all at once, and having had them on every morning since, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The morning they arrived. Softer and thicker underfoot than I expected, and such a lovely colour.
WARM FLEECE THAT ENDS COLD FEET
This is the heart of it. The whole slipper is lined with a soft, deep fleece that wraps right around the foot, so from the moment I put them on my feet are warm, and they stay warm. No more cold feet padding about the house of a morning, no more that ache of cold in the toes. For feet like mine that feel every chill first, that warmth has been the loveliest relief.
The deep fleece lining and the thick cushioned sole. Warm right through, soft underfoot.
My feet are warm the moment I put them on and stay warm all morning. No more cold feet on the kitchen floor. Wonderful.
Christine B., West BridgfordA THICK CUSHIONED SOLE, KIND TO YOUR FEET
Under the foot is a thick, soft, cushioned sole, so it is like walking on a little cushion wherever you go. Our hard tiled floor used to ache through to my feet and up my legs by the end of the day, and now it simply does not, the cushioning takes it. If you have hard floors and feet or knees that feel them, this alone is worth it.
The sole is so cushioned, like walking on a pillow. My feet and knees do not ache on the hard floor any more. Bliss.
Margaret E., SouthwellA STURDY SOLE THAT KEEPS YOU STEADY
Here is the one I did not expect to care about as much as I do. The sole is sturdy and has a proper grip, so on the smooth kitchen and bathroom floors I feel steady and sure instead of sliding about carefully in thin slippers. Feeling steady on your feet in your own home matters more as the years go on, and these have quietly given me that back.
Cosy and full on the feet, and steady underneath you on the smooth floor.
I feel steady on my kitchen tiles at last, no more sliding about. Warm and sure on my feet. So pleased I found them.
Dorothy S., BeestonA CLOSED BACK THAT STAYS ON, NO DRAUGHT
Unlike the flat backless slippers that flap off your heel and let the draught in, the Lola has a closed back that covers the whole foot, so it stays on properly and keeps my heels and ankles cosy too. No shuffling to keep them on, no cold nipping at the back of the foot. They simply stay put and keep me warm all over.
The closed back means they stay on and my heels are warm too, not like the old ones that flapped off. So much cosier.
Pauline H., ArnoldEASY TO SLIP ON, AND NEAT ENOUGH FOR THE DOOR
They slip straight on, no bending and fiddling, which my back is grateful for first thing. And they are neat and tidy enough that I answer the door in them, or pop out to the bin or the doorstep for the milk, without a second thought. They look like proper cosy footwear, not something I have given up in. Comfortable, and presentable with it.
By the bed, ready to slip straight into first thing.
Straight on, no fuss, and smart enough that I answer the door in them. Cosy and presentable, which is just right.
Eileen T., NewarkSIX LOVELY COLOURS, AND A PROPER RANGE OF SIZES
They come in six lovely colours, my soft sage green and a pink, a grey, a brown, a blue and an orange, so there is a shade to suit everyone, and the sizes run honestly from a UK 2 all the way up to a UK 9. At half price they are the sort of small treat that quietly makes every cold morning better. I have ordered a second pair to keep upstairs.
Such a lovely choice of colours and they had my size. So cosy I have ordered a second pair for my mother. Wonderful value.
Maureen C., BinghamThe Lola, against the thin flat slippers you slide about in
You can have a pair of slippers by the bed and still spend the winter with cold, aching feet, sliding about on the kitchen floor. I know, because I did. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
No warmth, cold feet by lunchtime
No cushioning, hard floors ache through
Slide about on smooth floors
Backless, they flap off and let the draught in
Cold, and never quite steady
Deep fleece lining, warm feet all day
A thick cushioned sole, kind to feet and legs
A sturdy grippy sole, steady on smooth floors
A closed back that stays on, no draught
Warm, cushioned and sure on your feet
About the price
The Lola is £25.95 at the moment. It was £52.00.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that the popular sizes and colours are the first to go, and with the autumn sale on they are going quickly, so once a size or a colour 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 for a slipper this warm and this cushioned, I have found nothing wrong with it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered. 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.
Ready for the next cold morning that would rather have warm, steady feet than cold ones.
If your feet feel the cold first, and your floors are hard and smooth, this is the slipper I would hand you myself, while your size is still there. Stop dithering and go and have a look.
Caroline
LOLA | COSY HOUSE SLIPPERS
- Deep fleece lining, no more cold feet round the house
- A thick cushioned sole, kind to feet and legs on hard floors
- A sturdy grippy sole, steady on smooth kitchen floors
- A closed back that stays on and keeps the draught off
- Easy slip-on, neat enough to answer the door
- Six lovely colours, sizes UK 2 to 9
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
The autumn sale is on now. Popular sizes and colours go first.