Slippers, these days come in all different shapes, sizes and styles. And from elegant leather moccasins to fuzzy, fluffy unicorns we all have our own style and our own preferences in slippers, whether we base those preferences on the look, the comfort, the durability or the price of the slippers.
But what slippers do celebrities wear? The simple answer is anything they want, they’re superstars. But one thing’s for sure, they, like the rest of us, have wildly varying tastes. And unlike us they often wear them out, so the paparazzi – and their legions of fans – can get a glimpse at their slipper preferences.
But what kinds of slippers do celebrities rock? Let’s take a look at some of the more notable examples of celebrities in slippers:
1. Lena Dunham’s Bunny Slides
If there is one thing that Girls star Lena Dunham is not afraid of it’s standing out, especially when it comes to her rather eclectic fashion choices. Therefore it was hardly a surprise when she showed up to the 2016 CFDA Fashion Awards in a pair of very cute bunny slippers from Streetzie.
These were not, however, the kind of bulky fuzzy slippers you might wear at home. These fuzzy fashion wonders featured 3 inch heels and a delicate faux fur trim along with stain bunny ears. So aside form the fact that the slippers were fashioned after a cute bunny rabbit they actually did not look too out of place on a red carpet filled with stars in stilettos (until you took a closer look that is)
2. Every It Girl’s Furry Gucci slides
Gucci have been offering elegant slipper options for years. And like everything the high fashion brand offers they are classically fashionable, beautifully crafted and, sadly for those of us on a budget, more than a little bit expensive.
Over the past few years one Gucci slipper has been standing out as a celebrity favorite though; the Gucci furry slide. These slippers boast the elegant profile of a standard Gucci loafer slipper in all of its fine leather glory but with a fun, fashionable twist; they are lined with colorful faux fur that peeks out all over.
Hollywood leading ladies who have been spotted rocking these furry slippers include Jennifer Aniston (with jeans) Gigi Hadid – whose pink furry Gucci slippers she matched with an equally striking pink coat – and Vanessa Hudgens, who chooses to wear them to the gym. And all of the Kardashians – Kris included – are huge fans of the look.
Fans of these slides are not limited to celebrity women though. Rappers A$AP Rocky and Wiz Khalifa are big fans of the Gucci furry slide slipper, and aspiring musician/civil activist/Will Smith’s son Jaden Smith has been spotted in them both on and off the runway. And though it may surprise you – because he is better known for his geek laced wit than his fashion sense – stand up comedian and Netflix star Aziz Ansari has been seen in both traditional leather Gucci slipper slides and the fuzzier fur version.
3. Miley Cyrus’ seeming slipper fetish
Another superstar who is known for her often eclectic – and certainly ever changing – fashion style is Disney actress turned musical superstar and new Mrs. Liam Hemsworth, Miley Cyrus. And ever since her Hannah Montana days she has never been afraid to rock her slippers for all her fans to see, whether relaxing at home and sharing via Instagram or headed to a talk show appearance.
Although she has worn all kinds of slippers in public over the years, some of Miley’s more memorable slipper choices include a giant pair of soft, cushy unicorn slippers (complete with horns), equally huge – and very furry – neon pink slippers, and, Miley being Miley, was even once photographed leaving the very swanky Sporting Club in Monte-Carlo, Monaco after an awards ceremony wearing standard issue white hotel slippers! Points off for style maybe, but lots of kudos for going for comfort over glamor!
4. The Duchess of Sussex’ Birdie slippers
Ever since she was first introduced to the world as Prince Harry’s fiance – back when she was just still Meghan Markle the actress – the now Duchess of Sussex has become known for her fondness of bending Royal fashion etiquette. And every time she does so, whatever she wears inevitably flies off the shelves all over the world.
Case in point, her Birdies slippers. A pregnant Duchess chose to swap uncomfortable heels during her tour of Australia with her husband in favor of a pair of very comfortable – but still very stylish,velvet Birdies Starling slippers.
The Duchess was spotted in the elegant slippers throughout the tour, but the fact is that Meghan has always been a fan, right back to her days as a struggling actress before she got her big break in Suits (and long before she met Prince Harry and swapped Hollywood for Windsor Castle).
In fact, knowing that Meghan was such a big fan of theirs, the company’s wedding gift to her was a pair of bridal Birdie slippers she was able to change into after all the pomp and ceremony of her fairytale Royal Wedding was done.
5. Kanye West’s wedding slides
Someone else known for his don’t care attitude and often unusual and irreverent style is rapper and fashion designer Kanye West. He has long been a fan of various styles of Gucci slippers – especially the jeweled loafer styles – so when he added a pair of slipper slides to his Yeezy fashion collection no one was too surprised.
What did surprise people however was that he chose to wear his own slipper creation to the very fancy wedding of fellow rapper 2 Chainz – at the very elegant Versace Mansion in Miami – with his formal suit (although he did omit a shirt as well.) Even more puzzling though was why he seemed to be wearing slippers that were a couple of sizes too small.
Never a man who’s lost for words Kanye had an explanation for his choice though. He tweeted that he chose to wear slippers ‘the Japanese way’ and, upon further investigation by the media it seemed he was both being serious and was quite correct.
As it turned out, it is a Japanese slipper ‘hack’ to prevent blistering when wearing slide style slippers without socks. By wearing the slippers so that an inch or two of your heel protrudes from the back of the slide it’s claimed you not only help prevent blisters but improve your balance when walking as well. Who knew? (and we really don’t know whether it works or not. Yeezys are a little too expensive for us to experiment with.)
6. The golden age of Hollywood slippers
Although, as we have now seen, many celebrities do still love to wear slippers – in private and in public – their real heyday, as far as being celebrity fashion items – was decades ago in what many refer to as the Golden era of Hollywood.
It might surprise you to learn that one of the biggest stars of the Fifties – who remains an icon to this day – the immortal Marilyn Monroe, was actually a big slipper fan and she was often photographed in them too. A very early publicity image shows the then brunette Marilyn in the classic combo of a babydoll nightie and furry slide slippers and there are countless backstage shots of Marilyn wearing high heeled feathered slippers that were perhaps a little too glamorous to be truly comfortable, but slippers nevertheless.
In fact, that style of slipper is itself a mark of true ‘Old Hollywood’ fashion. Countless boudoir and bedroom scenes featuring the likes of Rita Hayworth, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and even Grace Kelly saw the leading ladies of Hollywood done those oh so glamorous slippers.
Oddly enough, once she became Princess Grace of Monaco, Grace Kelly was a fashion prerunner of the Duchess of Sussex, as she too had no problem resorting to slippers in public whatever royal etiquette might decree (the fact that she often wore flip flops was rather groundbreaking too, although she did live in one of the most beautiful coastal cities in the world)
The gentlemen of Old Hollywood were also slipper style icons. Along with smoking jackets
real, velveted slippers were made popular by the likes of Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier and even tough guy Spencer.
Where can you buy celebrity style slippers?
Although some of the slippers worn by celebrities are rather expensive – Gucci fur slide slippers, for example retail for around $500 – there are some styles that are more in reach of the average pocket book. Meghan Markle’s Birdie slippers retail online for $80-$100, which is comparable with other higher end slippers and Miley Cyrus’ unicorn slippers are around $20. You can pick up Marilyn style feathered slipper heels inexpensively almost anywhere fashion slippers are sold.
References:
(1) https://www.yournextshoes.com/lena-dunham-bunny-slippers/
(2) https://blogs.nordstrom.com/fashion/rap-dad-essentials-gucci-loafers-and-sandals/
(3) https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/miley-cyrus-shares-intimate-photo-6118549, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3318454/Miley-Cyrus-hits-dressing-box-continues-provocative-run-suggestive-selfies-raunchy-photo-shoot.html
(4) https://people.com/style/meghan-markle-birdies-slippers-nordstrom/
(5) https://www.buzzfeed.com/benhenry/kanye-west-trolled-us-over-those-slippers-that-are-too-small
(6) https://footwearnews.com/2016/influencers/celebrity-style/marilyn-monroe-shoe-style-film-stills-288529/