Delightful Discoveries for Gift Givers with Great Taste
All fall and winter, three times a day, I’m taking my cozy house socks–aka slipper socks–off to walk Peach, then putting them back on. Half the time she runs off with one before I can get them both back on, and it is soggy when I manage to retrieve it.
Yet…slipper socks are so comfy. Some wait for sweater weather. To me, it’s slipper sock weather. But the harsh reality remains: they are too thick to squeeze inside of sneakers. I tried, though, over and over, and walked Peach most uncomfortably, pondering Einstein’s definition of insanity. One Christmas I asked for hard-soled slippers, but that too was folly, because now you’re making wet slipper prints all over the house.
A mom named Kara Brunetta faced the same frustration at her cottage on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, but with going in and out to get firewood. And she had a eureka moment that led to Winnies.
They’re a patented “sock/oversock combination” that is worn both inside and outside. The idea is that you can keep your warm slipper socks on when you go outside, yet they stay clean. Allow me to explain.
My pair is the Winni Big Bear Set in sky blue. It comes in four colors; the Pine Green is nice too. They also have a Little Bear Set, which sounds like it’s for kids, but it’s not. Those are ankle-height slipper socks as opposed to the mid-calf ones I have. I would not be into the shorter ones. If you’re going to do slipper socks, do slipper socks, in my opinion. The set comes in a black cloth bag for summer storage, a nice extra.
The slipper socks are fleece, nice and soft, with a sherpa lining. They have magnets sewn into the back under the label. (As an aside, the magnets on the socks stick to each other, handy for keeping them together in the wash. All socks should have magnets sewn into them, for that matter.)
The oversocks are not socks at all, but more akin to rubber ballet slippers. They have little anti-rust rivets inside the heel and a rounded tab that sticks out maybe ¾ inch at the back bottom. The tab is part of the ballet slipper, all molded as one piece, so it’s not something that is going to eventually come off.
So, you’re trotting around the house in your special slipper socks, and your ballet slippers presumably are kept near the door. You need to run outside. You just go over and step into them, toes first. The magnets snugly connect to the rivets, and you’re good to go.
When coming back inside, you just step on each tab with your opposite foot as you pull each slipper-socked foot out of its faux ballet slipper. This probably sounds a bit trickier than it actually is. It took me like three seconds per foot, without bending or needing my hands. This is helpful, since coming back in I am usually carrying Peach, who routinely flops just short of home, and a bag of her poop.
As to sizing: I wear an 8 ½ or a 9, depending. Winnies does offer half sizes, which I didn’t expect they would. But I ordered a 9. They are roomy. It’s not problematic, thanks to the magnet, but I think the 8 ½ would have been just right. (Oddly, on the bottom where the size would normally be, it says 2.)
The slipper socks can be thrown in the washer and dryer, though they say to wash them inside out. I don’t know why, but I’m guessing it has something to do with the magnets maybe. The magnets stuck the slipper socks to the side of the dryer drum, but they still dried fine. That didn’t seem to happen in the washer (I have a top loader) but I don’t think it would have mattered anyway.
Aside from the obvious–being a smart solution to a minor, but common problem in daily life–the slipper socks are sold separately as well, so you can pick up a few extra for when your original pair is in the wash.
Plus they come with a really nice bonus: Lake-life-lover Kara gives a portion of her proceeds toward sending children to summer camp on a New England lake.
The price seems a little high for what they are (rubber, fleece, and magnets, basically): $60 for the set to start with, then $30 for each extra pair of slipper socks. Shipping is free, though, so that takes away a bit of that sting.
I’d love to see some fun prints. Slipper socks are made for mushrooms, gnomes, and cats in pajamas. At the holidays especially, slipper socks beg to be fun, or at least festive.
It would also be great if the slipper socks had some kind of grippies on the bottom for wood floors.
Despite a price point on the higher side, Winnies are a real why-didn’t-anyone-think-of-this-sooner find. Aside from dog walking, these can be a boon in any “dashing out for a second” scenario, from taking out the trash and grabbing the cat when he sneaks past you again to taking in the mail and catching your neighbor to ask her that thing you’ve been meaning to ask her. And boy, could I have used these back when I was taking my kids to the school bus stop on nippy days.
