"Thanks!" to Irina, who shared the following email J.Crew sent yesterday.The email not only features the Stubbs & Wootton® for J.Crew Classic Velvet Slippers (item 10264; $400.00), but also shares its back story with customers:
Though Stubbs & Wootton founder Percy Steinhart opened up shop in a tiny Palm Beach boutique in 1993, his heart was in early 20th century England: Steinhart wanted to recreate the handmade needlepoint house slippers that men would change into after muddying their boots on unpaved streets (and which quickly became fashionable options for formal, evening and dinner wear). The results are chic (and sometimes cheeky) designs handcrafted by a small community of artisans in La Mancha, Spain, known for their tradition of quality and expertise in stitching and assembling footwear. Luckily for us, Stubbs & Wootton created these quirky, totally-up-our-alley pairs exclusively for J.Crew, which means they're even more special complements to everything from dresses to tapered trousers—and you can't find them anywhere else.Uh, I don't know what to make of these. Don't get me wrong, I think they are cute. But are they cute on? It is really tough to make velvet slippers work with an outfit.
And of course there is the price tag... $400 is a lot to spend on a trend that I am not sure will last more than a season or two. (I should add, that I do own some loafers myself. Just not at that price point.)
What are your thoughts on the velvet slippers from J.Crew? Have you seen a pair in person? If so, please share! :)
Quick Poll: Do you like the Classic Velvet Slippers?
Love the Velvet slipper. The looks says well heeled (pun intened), country house and ponies. Sadly I'm not well heeled enough to buy velvet slippers for $400.00 nor do I own a country house to wear them in or even a pony. Bummer...I hate my real life. HA!
ReplyDeleteIf they were about half that, I would get them, I think they are super cute. But I'm old school J. Crew before they went H&M. This makes me think of a time when J. Crew had clever well-made things, many with a British influence. Oh how I wish I could go back in time and buy all the cute shoes from Fall 2005. I didn't know it was a one time chance.
ReplyDeleteAmen Elizabeth!! I wish I'd bought a lot more of everything! miss the old J. Crew so much I'm kinda pathetic...Now even the Jackies aren't all cotton. I think J. Crew should carry fewer trendy items like this and get back to the days of old, but I doubt seriously it is going to happen...Maybe some other smart retailer will see the void and fill it, but in these days of fast fashion, I'm not too hopeful of that either.
Deletedmmermaid I'm spending a lot of time perusing Boden. I'm waiting for the navy suede oxfords to arrive right now and read the reviews on both the US and UK sites daily. I so hope Boden can fill the gap left by my love for old J. Crew. The September "Style Guide" was just sad.
DeleteThey're cute but, honestly, I wouldn't pay more than about $40, tops.
ReplyDeleteI misread my e-mail and I thought they WERE $40. It's a "no" for me: Anything Hef can wear, I should not wear.
DeleteThey would not lat a week in our rainy weather. Or am I supposed to wear them inside, since they are slippers, after all?
ReplyDeleteOops. They would not LAST. LOL
DeleteI love these! I first heard of them via the amazing decorator blogspot Adventures of Tartanscot. I love them! However, last year I searched and found the most amazing green velvet pair (sans design) by Cole haan. They are a beaut! I wore them constantly last December, as they felt more christmas-y to me. I picked up Aldo calf hair-like leopard loafers before I left Canada for France and plan to wear them constantly this fall - especially with those floral pants I got last year ( a la jcrew's looks we love) and am now considering those tweed pants AJC. Modeled so wonderfully...would I buy Stubbs and Wooten bespoke slippers? YUP! Do I have $400 for this - nope....
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't wear them if they were given to me. It's not that I hate them, but I can't think of any scenario where I would want to wear them. They'd be covered in lint and dog fur in no time if I wore them at home, and they'd be ruined if I wore them outdoors in velvet-appropriate seasons (fall-winter-spring are all wet seasons). I can't believe they are listing for $400.
ReplyDeleteThe slippers would *almost* make sense back when JC was churning out preppy classics. I could totally see them mixed in with the 07/08 collections.
ReplyDeleteI think these would be easy to wear with jeans, button down shirt and a cashmere crewneck or cardigan. But if I'm lucky, everyone will hate them and I can get them for $250. The thing is, I would only pay $250., (or slightly more) if they were manufactured by Stubbs and Wootton. If JC made it, I'd pay $70. to $90.
ReplyDeleteDiscussed, gently, here
ReplyDeleteHaha WFF, that was not gently! I am undeterred. I love them. Last year Alexander McQueen had black ones on NAP for $695. They were cute but the image was a skull. I cannot pull off a white embroidered skull on black, I'm just not that cool. But I knew I wanted velvet loafer style shoe and I knew there would probably be more choices this year and there are so I'm sure I will have some version for fall. A velvet slipper with a crest on it? I'd wear that in a split second - far sooner than a scratchy chicken sweater. :-)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLove velvet slippers but try to buy these on sale. Like zalos too
ReplyDeleteThey are "okay"....for a man sitting in a library with a smoking jacket and pipe...I've already lived through this style....been there...don't want to do it again....and 400 dollars? really? I know some of you are ok with that price; however, that's more than my clothing budget for a year if I'm lucky.
ReplyDeleteThese slippers are the trend now but like everyone has commented already- they are SOOO not my lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI did this trend back in the 80s with a (much more durable) embroidered suede version, and I don't have much desire to revisit it, even at one-fourth the price. The nap is going to rub off that velvet in about two wearings.
ReplyDeleteOn Project Runway, Tim and Heidi often criticize the designers for creating "costumes" rather than clothes. To me these shoes fall squarely in the costume category.
ReplyDeleteAnd oy, the price tag...
I have a similarly styled pair from Anthro by Matt Berenson. Same style but they are quilted black leather- I wore them constantly last year. The velvet is pretty but so not practical. The price is insane too- I wonder how long it will be before they get marked down but then again, shoes never seem to get too low. Pretty to look at though...
ReplyDeletelast year, i got a similar style "vintage" (probably early 90s) loafer on etsy. fabric and leather upper, tartan pattern (!), made in italy. they were less than $40! so no thanks to these $400 shoes.
ReplyDeleteIt always confuses me when I see something really ugly and then it's really expensive too. I know this are one of those classic cult brands, but they are so ugly!! I would wear them as a house slipper IF they were $50. Maybe.
ReplyDelete