Fuzzy /cozy house slippers with support

December 22, 2020 5:28 AM

I (size 8 womens, wide front/narrow heel) need some slippers to keep my feet warm when I'm in the house, but most of what I see online is either unlined/not the cozy winter gear I want or seems like it won't have any support (I see a lot of memory foam.) I tend toward plantar fasciitis so I want something with more structure. Suggestions? Especially inexpensive - I will be ordering online and I'd like something cheap enough that I will feel fine keeping even if it's not 100% perfect.
posted by needs more cowbell to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (29 answers total)

Response by poster: To expand on the inexpensive thing: ordering online or doing curbside pickup & then potentially returning/exchanging/etc might take a while. In a different world I'd shop around and be open to spending more but if I can spend $20 for something OK enough to keep and have warm feet within the next week or two vs perfect slippers in late February that would probably be smartest.
posted by needs more cowbell at 5:32 AM on December 22, 2020

Birkenstock makes shearling lined clogs. Doesn't meet your cheap wish though. I have an old pair of Birks that I wear fuzzy socks with. But there are tons of cork based slippers.

These are Canadian, and don't meet your price point but I have had really good luck with SoftMoc brand

Link 1, Link 2.
posted by Ftsqg at 6:00 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

You are going to have an extremely difficult time matching your budget to your desires. My mom who has similar foot pain issues to you loves her LL Bean wicked good moccasins, which run about $80.

As a stop gap alternative, have you considered wearing the coziest socks you have with a pair of croc slides or similar house sandal?
posted by Mizu at 6:20 AM on December 22, 2020 [5 favorites]

I have some Minnetonka slippers that I love and have had for years that have support in the form of a structured sole, and lately I've been seeing Minnetonkas at TJ Maxx and those types of places. TJ Maxx has slippers online and some of the Minnetonkas/Clarks are around $20-25 and look like they have a more structured footbed and cozy lining.
posted by jabes at 6:22 AM on December 22, 2020

I have plantar fasciitis issues, and my slippers are a big reason why. We were at a local shoe store recently to buy my kids shoes, and my wife asked the salesman for a recommendation. He recommended Stegmann clogs, which have a cork footbed and seem pretty similar to Birkenstocks. They're pretty expensive, but I think pretty much anything you'd find with actual support is going to be fairly expensive. I've taken to wearing an old pair of shoes around the house instead of slippers, and that's been a slight improvement.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:29 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

I wear gel supportive insoles inside my slippers if you don't find something in your budget, no links as I bought mine from France but I searched on Amazon.
posted by ellieBOA at 6:37 AM on December 22, 2020

A friend and I have, between us, maybe 7 major foot issues (including plantar fasciitis) and we both swear by our Halfinger slippers. My foot shape is more like yours and I prefer the booties. But they’re not cheap: sales can sometimes get you down around $50 a pair, but average price is more like $100.
posted by minervous at 7:02 AM on December 22, 2020 [2 favorites]

I also have PF, which I've made worse by walking around the house barefoot for years. Last year, I bought a pair of Vionic slippers after doing a lot of research. They are not inexpensive, but they protect my feet from my own worst instincts.

(It also turns out I hate having hot feet, so I mainly wear my beloved Archies flip flops year-round. Really love these for arch and heel support.)
posted by Sweetie Darling at 7:02 AM on December 22, 2020

If looks aren't too much of an issue, as someone that tends to PF on a budget then crocs lined clogs work great. Basically crocs clogs in various styles lined with fake sherpa. The Blitzen model are the best ones as you can take the lining out to wash, but I just throw the others in the machine whole & they come out fine. The different styles come with different amounts of support and last years. I buy myself a pair a year every Jan for around $20 to $30 each and still have all 3 pairs.

If you wait & shop the websites after Christmas sales you can get them much cheaper than retail.
posted by wwax at 7:03 AM on December 22, 2020 [3 favorites]

Another vote for Birkenstock/Haflinger/Stegmann, whichever is on sale. Fantastic support -- I look forward to sticking my feet in these every day.

Another option is FitFlop -- I love their footbed for summer sandals, and it looks like they have installed the same one in a line of shearling slippers. A hair cheaper than the German felt clogs, but not much. Agree that you will spend less if you can wait a week!
posted by apparently at 7:28 AM on December 22, 2020

I have the birkenstock clogs, unlined, which I use for house shoes/slippers. In a normal year, I wouldn't wear shoes in the house, but because I'm working from home, I found it too long without support. I have a lot of foot problems, but not plantar fasciitis, and have found them really helpful. I had another pair of birkenstocks, so I was able to order my size online confidently. With socks, they keep my feet the right temperature. My feet tend to be cold, but I think my feet would be too hot in the lined ones. Like the other posters mention, they were expensive, but I hope they will last me many years.
posted by ice-cream forever at 7:37 AM on December 22, 2020

I can confirm that these (I am not a man but I have wide feet so I prefer men's slippers) are only memory foam in the sense that there is a 1/4" of so of it for padding inside the shoe, rather than being the "tottering around on shoes made of non-Newtonian fluid" kind of memory foam slippers I have accidentally bought in the past. I'm not saying they have the MOST arch support a slipper could ever have, but there is a distinctive raised support and have not triggered my PF so far.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:02 AM on December 22, 2020

If you can spend $39 it looks this one by Earth Origins might be a good fit, it has excellent reviews.
posted by FormerMermaid at 8:02 AM on December 22, 2020

My pf was acting up due to too much time at home barefoot and the Vionic slippers fixed it right up.
posted by Mavri at 8:03 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

I can't recommend the Barking Dog Shoes blog enough to shoe quirky feet. You can even filter by condition! Regarding your price range, might I suggest the Acorn Spa Wrap?
posted by thirteenthletter at 8:08 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

When I lived in Denmark I had a pair of wonderful house shoes by NewFeet (a lot like these: https://www.bittesko.dk/shop/new-feet-hjemmesko-36353p.html ). My pair lasted 6 years, but wearing them all day everyday for the first months of the pandemic did them in.

But given as I am now living in the US, I have sadly found out that the NewFeet brand is actually very hard to find here. So I reluctantly tried to find other brands. Vionic, specifically this pair, turned out to be the winner. They are closer to $70, but they do advertise a 30-day wear test if you don't like them. (Mine are pretty great, and I actually even bought my mom a pair too).
posted by nat at 8:20 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

I recently put my superfeet insoles into my slippers, I don't have PF anymore but these insoles made a world of difference when I did and i figured with the holidays I'd be wearing my slippers a lot while standing up (vs. at my desk) and I should make sure I had enough support in them. My feet also run warm and we live in a mild climate so even though they aren't fuzzy like I thought I wanted I've decided that except on the very coldest evenings I am most comfortable in my unlined scuff style/open back woolen slippers like some of the ones linked above.
posted by snowymorninblues at 8:36 AM on December 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

snowymorninblues beat me to it, I was going to recomment Superfeet. I prefer slipper booties because I don't like scuffling around in slides, and my Superfeet insoles fit right in. The ones I have are by Tempurpedic, similar to this.
posted by radioamy at 8:37 AM on December 22, 2020

I just got my first pair of Vionic slippers (after many years of Halfingers and LLBean, which were fine but not very supportive IMHO) and they are soft, comfortable, sturdy sole, and generously wide in the toe area ... and with great arch support. I don't like having hot feet, so the slide/clog style was essential to me. They are indeed $70 but Amazon can have them to you tomorrow.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FCSCH7R/ref=twister_B08F5DYM2B?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
posted by nkknkk at 8:38 AM on December 22, 2020

As a fellow wide-footed person, I think you are going to run into some conflicts between price, width, and support.

Therefore, I would also suggest the wool socks + sandals approach. If you don't already have the sandals, I think the Birkenstock Beach sandals* (ex) may be suitable.

*I've never tried Birkenstock's waterproof line, but have found their other shoes accommodating of thicker wool socks.
posted by oceano at 9:31 AM on December 22, 2020

I have major foot issues and these Ugg Dakota slippers are a godsend for me. They are not inexpensive, but they do go on sale from time to time. (If you order from Zappos they will ship it free both ways, so returns aren't a big deal.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:26 AM on December 22, 2020

These may be out of your price range, but I got them for my wife when she wanted some highly-supportive slippers, and she likes them. I found them on The Wirecutter, where they were not recommended because the arch support was too intense, but my wife is a big fan.
posted by Aizkolari at 4:58 PM on December 22, 2020

I ended up getting lined Crocs to use as house slippers. I like them a lot as they keep my feet warm enough (I always wear them with socks) and they make hours spent cooking/baking in the kitchen easy on my feet and legs.
posted by quince at 10:53 PM on December 22, 2020 [3 favorites]

Another vote for Crocs, either the lined version or warm socks with regular Crocs. I have no PF but I do have flat feet, bunions, and knee issues. Crocs work well with all these things. They also last for ages and ages.

I do the socks+Crocs combo as my ankles tend to get cold.
posted by The Librarian at 6:36 AM on December 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

I have a pair of the fuzzy lined crocs and I like them, but they make my feet sweat, so I wear socks with them. YMMV. I also have a pair of croc flip flops for summer (concrete floors). Highly recommend.
posted by Medieval Maven at 7:50 AM on December 23, 2020

I tried a million pairs and ended up with Keen Howser Slides. Indoor/outdoor sole, good support. I typically wear a 9W and sized up to a regular 10. They were tight across the middle of my foot for a bit but I stretched them out manually. Retail is $80 but can find some sizes for less. https://www.keenfootwear.com/p/W-HOWSER-SLIDE.html
posted by Kalatraz at 2:34 PM on December 23, 2020

Response by poster: Hmm, a bunch of suggestions to consider. I guess the immediate take-home is that I can stop beating myself up for not just picking a $20 pair of slippers like other people do. I don't particularly like "fast fashion" and I don't at all like having achy feet, but my feet are picky. I'm doing wool socks + old supportive Teva sandals for now.

Also FWIW my recent experience has been that even Amazon Prime doesn't do very fast delivery at this point. Which is fine and understandable given [~gestures broadly at the dumpster-fire the US is right now~] but figures into my choices.
posted by needs more cowbell at 4:25 AM on December 24, 2020

I truly love these Amoji lined clogs from Amazon - very firm, supportive, warm, inexpensive, and arrived quickly! I don't love their origin but the quality seems great, so far have been wearing them indoors daily for two months.
posted by wannabecounselor at 6:10 AM on December 25, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Since a bunch of people in this thread have mentioned Crocs: has anyone with smallish feet tried kids' Crocs and are they the same quality as adult Crocs? I'm seeing some that are both cheaper and in fun patterns (OK actually glitter) that claim to be the equivalent of European size 38-9 in the largest option, which would fit me. In my experience some brands that make adults and kids shoes make the kids shoes differently/with less support, but some make them almost exactly the same.
posted by needs more cowbell at 3:37 PM on December 25, 2020