Mother is a saint putting up with me. Last time when I was home, we did yet another “wardrobe cleansing” to bring back her Mother Couture. Followed by a shopping tutorial on layering. This has been going on for years. Once I even threw her slippers in the trailer because they didn’t coordinate with her lounging-at-home wear. How she found them again is beyond me. To solve Slippergate once and for all, I’ve sent Mother these heavenly felt slippers from Daylesford’s beautiful design store, Topham Trading.
People are a little too Carpe Diem with their slippers for my liking, throwing on any old thing to potter around the house. Let’s be clear… rubber massaging slip-ons and Crocs are NOT slippers. Anything fluffy, pink or with dusters on the bottom is just wrong! Such sacrilege needs divine intervention. Or in this instance, felt slippers. Legend has it that during The Middle Ages, St Clement, the patron saint of hatters, was doing some serious power walking with St Christopher (patron saint of travelers). Fleeing persecution is hard work on the tootsies, so Christopher and Clement packed sheep’s fleece into their sandals, cushioning the holy footsies against potential blisters. At the end of their journey, the movement and sweat had turned the wool into felt slipper liners. The first ever record of Heaven-sent fashion.
A few centuries later, we are blessed with these felted floral loop, limited edition slippers, each individually hand cut and sewn using 100% (super thermal) wool and soft leather soles. T
he creator of couture slipper heaven, Kirsty Powell, designs and releases a new "flower" every season from her London atelier. It's difficult to decide whether slipper couture fits best in the fashion industry or homewares, as they seem to straddles both beautifully. After graduating from one of the world's most famous fashion schools, Central St Martin's, Kirsty launched her first wearable art collection in 2004, at the Paris Maison et Objet homewares Exhibition. Where she took home the award for ‘Best Newcomer in Textiles. Fast forward a few years and Kirsty's sculptured textiles, including these adorable slippers, are in the spotlight at Selfridges, Conran Shop, Barney's New York… and Topham Trading in Daylesford (handy for those who don’t have a visit to London or New York diarised in for the near future). The saints must have been keeping a watchful eye over Kirsty.
I've loved slippers ever since my early fashionista days. Almost every childhood photos of me features pom poms and slippers
(that's me on the far left). The sheepskin and felt always seemed so much more glamorous than shoes! A phone call from Mother jolts me out of slipper reverie; she's received her Kirsty Powell's and finally admits that slippers are a fashion accessory. Promising to never again deviate from slipper couture. I'll sleep easier tonight knowing this. Although am a little concerned that Mother's going to start wearing her slippers out to the supermarket.
(Slipper Couture is dedicated to Granma Managh, who today slipped away peacefully in her sleep. May she rest in peace in Heaven. With Love xx)
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