At XL feet, our main focus is and always has been to provide you with the footwear you need to go about your daily life. For some, this is a sturdy pair of steel toe work boots that they will wear day in and day out in the field. For others it is a classic pair of oxblood dress shoes that will keep them looking their best in the office without hurting their feet. For others it's a pair of gym shoes, and for others yet it might even be a couple pairs of socks to stuff into a drawer to keep as spares.
Most of the time our focus is on explaining to our customers the risks associated with compromising on shoe size. There are many perils associated with wearing shoes or boots that are not large or wide enough for your feet. In truth, these range from mere discomfort to putting yourself at higher risk of injury. Today, however, we’re going to give you some great reasons - eight, exactly - on why you should wear slippers around your home, if you don’t already. And yes, that means wearing them in your size - so if you wear a pair of size 15 boots, well then that means you better pick yourself up a pair of mens slippers in size 15
There’s more to keeping yourself warm than bundling up with your best coat and or soft wool flannel. This is especially true if you live in an area where the winters see real winter temperatures. We here at XL feet operate a retail store in St. Paul, Minnesota, and let use tell you, it gets cold here in the winter. We mean cold, or as we sometimes say ‘Minnesota cold.’
We’re not talking about 32 degrees and freezing temperatures. We’re talking about subzero here. Our winters sometimes see dips below negative 20 degrees.
What does that mean for you? Well, even when you’re around the house, those temperatures can work their way into your bones. If you are used to going barefoot or wearing socks because you usually can’t find slippers in your size, then we can offer you some relief. Here at XL feet you can find all the footwear you need regardless of what your shoe size is. If you need a pair of mens slippers in size 15, we can offer you that too.
That means you no longer have to wake up in the middle of the night when it’s 30 degrees below zero outside and walk across cold tile floors to get to the bathroom. That’s an extreme example, but you get the point. By the way, there’s another very good reason for you to wear slippers around your home that’s tied to keeping warm.
2. Protect Against Disease
In addition to helping keep you warm around the house, a good pair of slippers can also boost your immune system and help prevent you from contracting diseases. How can this be? Allow for a short illustration on the matter.
Consider your floor. In many cases, floors are used as a metaphor for unsanitary conditions since everything that gets dropped eventually makes its way to the floor. Floors are breeding grounds for viruses and bacteria as well as other unsavory characters like fungi. A commonly contracted disease of the foot is a fungus that is known as athlete’s foot.
A practice as simple as keeping a spare pair of slippers by the bedside and wearing them around the house can help protect you against contracting infections such as these. Slippers serve as a barrier between your feet and the ground and can help prevent you from picking up whatever unpleasant things are waiting down there for you. By the way, keeping your feet warm is a part of them. Being chronically cold can wear down your immune system and make you suspect of contracting infections as well. The point is simple and straightforward. Wear a pair of slippers around the house and be better protecting against getting sick.
This one is even easier to measure than the above two considerations. You might have been thinking to yourself that you’ve never been cold a day in your life and you’ve never contracted a foot disease of the foot. Fine, but has your house ever been dirty?
More specifically, have you ever worn your outside shoes in your house? Even if you cannot physically measure the dirt that adheres to the soles of your (relatively) clean shoes, it is there, and it will accumulate over time.
Have you ever been in a home with a light carpet but noticed that it was somewhat lighter than it out to be? Or seen a tile floor that was smudged? Even when your shoes appear clean, they carry with them dust and other debris that will just work its way into carpet over time and cause dinge and discoloration that will be effectively impossible to remove.
This is true even with shoes that look clean. Imagine what happens when you wear dirty or muddy shoes or boots in your house. The effect gets magnified. And while cleaning is great and necessary, it is no substitute for good practices. The point is direct and clear - take your shoes off when you get inside and you protect your home from the influences of dirt.
Keep a pair of slippers by the door and you can make this an easily attainable reality. What better reason for wearing slippers can there be than this? In summary; wear slippers, preserve the value of your home.
4. Prevent Accidents
A huge number of domestic accidents are caused by slips and falls that occur in and around the home. To put it plainly, wearing slippers can really be a big help when it comes to preventing slips and falls, and most importantly, the injuries that result.
As anyone who has ever worn a pair of socks on a tile or wood floor can attest, sometimes that is a straight up simulation of an ice skating rink. You can lose your grip or tile or wood floors in a heartbeat. Some homes even have wood stairs and you can really slip and slide down those in socks if you aren’t careful. The effect can be somewhat mitigated if you walk on them barefoot, but then of course you might be cold or put yourself at higher risk of picking something up off the floor as we previously disclosed.
That’s why so many slippers offer great traction and are made with soles of quality material. Many slippers are designed to offer you the support of shoes at a much enhanced level of comfort. It’s something else to think about - wearing slippers around the home will give you better traction on unforgiving surfaces and will significantly decrease your risk of slipping or falling.
5. Preserve Your Socks
Here’s another big one that you’ll probably really appreciate and doesn’t usually get a lot of press time. Wearing slippers can help to preserve the useful lifespan of your socks. This is even more important for guys who have big feet because as they already know, finding socks that fit, like finding shoes that fit, can be a chore. Therefore you should do everything in your power to use them properly.
As you may have noticed at some point in your life, similarly to how the soles of shoes wear down, the same happens with socks. Even socks that are worn inside of shoes - as they should be - become threadbare and worn out with time. If you wear socks on the ground you will accelerate this effect tenfold.
If, however, you protect your socks around the home with a good pair of slippers then you may be fortunate enough to save your socks. Slippers are much easier on socks than boots and shoes are and they protect them from the abrasion of the floor as well. Make it easy on yourself and on your socks. Get yourself a pair of slippers in your size and wear them around the house. Your socks will thank you for it.
6. No More Wet Socks
To tell the truth, we’ve probably covered plenty of ground already when it comes to sufficient reasoning in favor of slippers. That being said, here’s another great reason to get yourself a pair of comfortable slippers.
Imagine going into the kitchen late night to get a drink or maybe even a snack. You know your way around the kitchen and you don’t want to disturb anyone so you leave the lights off. Unbeknownst to you, someone earlier in the day spilled a few drops of water on the floor.
This won’t make you slip. It won’t make you sick. It won’t even make you cold, though some might go far enough to say it might be worse than all of these. It will give you the dreaded wet sock. Wet sock is a condition that many would not wish on their worst enemy. Why it is so horribly unpleasant is anyone’s guess, but the fact remains that it really is. Wet socks are just terrible and that’s all there is to it.
Now if you had managed to pick yourself up a good pair of mens slippers in size 15 and kept them by the bedside, you would have managed to avert this catastrophe. With ease, might it be said. At any rate, it might even be said that with a good pair of slippers you’ll never have to experience wet socks again.
Just as shoes are important for keeping you well supported when you are on your feet for long hours, slippers can offer you the same. While slippers won’t offer you the same level of support as some athletic shoes or hiking boots, they certainly can make your life a whole lot more comfortable. Some slippers even have orthotic insoles and are cushioned to provide you with an extra level of comfort. In some ways slippers might even support you better than some boots and shoes. That does, however, come at the expense of the fact that you won’t be digging ditches or running marathons in them. All things in their own season, then. We’re not suggesting that you wear your slippers for tasks like these. Just know that they are designed to offer you extra support and comfort while you are on your feet in the home. More than your socks or bare feet, at the very least.
8. Look Fly
This last reason is somewhat just a little extra that we’ll throw in here for good measure. Our least reason you should consider getting yourself a pair of slippers for the home is that you can be comfortable and look the part too. When you’re in the comfort and solace of your own home you don’t need to impress anyone but yourself, and with a fresh pair of sheepskin or neoprene slippers you’ll still be showing mighty fine. Take a look through our catalog of men’s slippers to find your next pair, or even a few of them, if you like.
So there are eight of the very best reasons that you should treat yourself to a pair of slippers, and since you’re already at XL feet, you can get them in your size easily as well. Look through our collection to find the pair that speaks to you.
While you’re here, spend some quality time getting familiar with everything else we can offer as well. We’ll take a bold guess and say that your needs in footwear don’t begin and end with slippers, so for all your needs in footwear including socks you can shop our website.
If you can find the time or you happen to be in our neighborhood in Minnesota, we’d love to have you in our store, too. That way you can try on your next pair of shoes or slippers before you pull the trigger. Give us a call 651-797-6000 to plan your trip.
