The Quilted Smoking Slipper is a burgundy quilted velvet slipper with a gold monogram embroidery on the vamp and a low 12mm heel. Refined enough to host in and easy enough to wear from desk to dinner, it is this season’s mules mood in its most comfortable form.
There is a particular kind of shoe that feels dressed up without ever feeling like effort, and the smoking slipper is it. The Quilted Smoking Slipper revives an evening classic for the way we live now: the burgundy velvet gives the surface a quiet, tactile depth, a single note of gold embroidery turns the vamp into a small piece of jewellery for the foot, and the low heel keeps everything grounded. If you have been following the return of mules and backless slippers, this is the softest way in. See how it sits beside an open-back mule, read the buyer’s guide for fit, or make an enquiry for current availability.
Why mules are having a moment
The trend data for the past twelve months tells a consistent story. In Google Trends, mules are rising on the UK side, and the category is unusually broad — it stretches from flat slides to heeled backless pumps, which is exactly why it keeps gathering momentum rather than fading. Within that spread, the soft, closed-front slipper has become the quiet favourite: it borrows the ease of a mule but keeps the covered toe and low heel that make it feel dressed.
Our category research, gathered in September 2026, shows the same movement across the market. Designers at every level — accessible labels, light-luxury houses and Italian-made brands — are treating the backless slipper as an evening shoe rather than a house shoe, and the detail-led versions are the ones that get noticed. The smoking slipper has a long history in evening dress, and the current revival simply brings that history into everyday rotation.
There is a practical reason for the rise, too. The last few seasons have pushed women towards comfort-first dressing, and the mule is the shape that delivers it without looking casual. A slipper you can slip on, that still reads considered, answers two needs at once: the wish to be at ease at home, and the wish to look put together the moment you step out. The smoking slipper sits exactly at that crossroads, which is why editors have returned to it this season.
When you are weighing up open and closed backless styles, our comparison guide lays the silhouettes out side by side, and the buyer’s guide explains what to look at first.
Meet The Quilted Smoking Slipper
The Quilted Smoking Slipper takes the traditional slipper silhouette — low, soft, elegant — and gives it a textural surface. The upper is burgundy quilted velvet, and the quilting is what lifts the velvet from plain to tactile: it adds a soft, cushioned depth that catches the light and gives the shoe a sense of weight and quality. Burgundy is a deliberate choice. It behaves like a near-neutral, sitting as easily with navy and black as it does with cream, yet it carries more character than a flat dark shade.
The focal point is a gold monogram embroidery across the vamp. It is a single, contained piece of polish, sitting where the eye lands first, and it turns an otherwise quiet shoe into something worth a second look. Underfoot, a 12mm heel gives a subtle lift — enough to keep the line elongated, not enough to take it out of comfort territory.
The result is a slipper that works as hard at the dinner table as it does in an armchair. It is comfort first and elegance second, and it never looks like it tried.
- Burgundy quilted velvet upper
- Gold monogram embroidery on the vamp
- 12mm heel
- Smoking slipper silhouette
How to style it
Start indoors and stay dressed. Worn with silk separates or a velvet jacket, the Quilted Smoking Slipper turns an evening in into an occasion; the deep burgundy and the gold embroidery carry more than enough detail on their own. When you head out, take it the other way: tailored black trousers and a slip dress let the slipper finish a candlelit dinner look without ever reading as a house shoe.
Because burgundy behaves like a near-neutral, the styling is forgiving. It pairs with navy, black and cream as though made for them, and it softens a head-to-toe dark look with a single warm note. Keep the hemline in view — a midi skirt, a tapered trouser or a slip dress that stops around the calf — so the vamp embroidery and the low heel both stay readable. The gold detail means you can skip jewellery at the foot entirely; let the monogram be the one accent and keep the rest of the look calm.
If you are collecting mules and slippers, the smoking slipper sits naturally next to the Backless Loafer Mule for a tailored, hardware-led alternative, and the Ankle-Wrap Wedge for a taller, strappier mood. To choose between an open-back mule and a closed loafer, start with our comparison guide. The full details are on the Quilted Smoking Slipper product page, and it is worth remembering that a slipper this considered is comfortable first and elegant second.
The SOOS difference
SOOS HEELS works exclusively with full-grain Italian leather, and every pair is made in our Tuscan workshop, where artisans cut, stitch and finish each shoe by hand. That house standard runs through every style in the collection, and it is why a soft, comfortable shoe can still be built with real precision.
On the Quilted Smoking Slipper, the burgundy velvet upper is quilted and the gold monogram embroidery is worked onto the vamp before assembly, then the shoe is built and finished by hand. Working the embroidery before the shoe is put together matters: it lets the motif sit flat and even across the vamp, with no puckering around it, and it keeps the gold reading as a clean, deliberate accent rather than a decoration applied after the fact. Nothing is rushed, so the slipper holds both its shape and its sheen.
The velvet makes this style a little different from our leather pairs, but the standard behind it is the same: materials chosen for their hand-feel, and construction finished by eye. You can read the wider thinking behind our leather and our making in the buyer’s guide, or make an enquiry about this style.
FAQ
What is a smoking slipper?
A smoking slipper is a low, backless or soft-heeled house shoe historically worn with evening dress. The Quilted Smoking Slipper keeps that refined silhouette for modern day-to-evening wear.
What is the Quilted Smoking Slipper made from?
It is made from burgundy quilted velvet with a gold monogram embroidery on the vamp, set on a 12mm heel.
Is it only for wearing indoors?
No. Its 12mm heel and finished construction make it equally suited to hosting at home and stepping out for a candlelit dinner.
How should I style the Quilted Smoking Slipper?
Wear it with silk separates for an evening in, or with tailored black trousers and a slip dress when you head out. The deep burgundy pairs easily with navy, black and cream.
How much does the Quilted Smoking Slipper cost?
SOOS HEELS provides pricing on enquiry. Submit a request through our /inquiry/ page and the studio will reply with current pricing and lead times.