It's still cold here so I'll carry on with an example of vintage winter wear.
How many people remember felt boots? Yes, a boot that was made completely of felt...soles and uppers and laced up. Not the big boots we have now with a heavy felt liner.
Since I lived on a farm we wore leather boots in the summer so naturally felt boots in the winter.
This footwear was very warm. We had an outer shell called an overshoe that we put on to go outside in the snow. This kept the felt dry and added some more protection from the cold.
The old houses we had on the prairie were notorious for having very cold floors. The felt boots meant that your feet were warm in the house as well.
These shoes did not wear well. Every fall Mom would order all of us felt boots for the winter. At a certain time all of us put on our felt boots and wore them until spring.
I looked to see if I could find felt boots on line. No such luck. I think they may have been a western Canadian type of shoe.
I still fondly remember the felt boot and how comfortable and warm they were. I wish I could still buy them. I remember my paternal grandmother wearing her felt boots. Women and girls usually did not wear them.
I never heard of them, but now I want some felt slippers to wear around the house. Surely they make those somewhere. :-)
ReplyDeleteLots of foot wear is made partly from felt.
DeleteI do not remember felt boots. I guess those were before my time. But I do remember over boots. The kind that many Aboriginal people worse over their mukluks, and other men and women wore over their dress shoes. I think the felt boots are a good idea so we could keep our feet warm indoors too.
ReplyDeleteI think these boots were completely rural and western Canada.
DeleteI have never heard of felt boots before, but they sound like a great idea.I wear acrylic slipper socks indoors during winter, but they make my feet itch,a lot of other slippers make my feet too hot. The other day I was thinking of making multi layered slippers from flannel layered with felt and then flannel again against my skin. They probably would wear out pretty fast though.
ReplyDeleteI think the old boots were replaced with more modern fabrics,
DeleteI am not familiar with these boots. Now I am wondering, when all the kids first put them on did they go sliding around the house in them on any floors without rugs? Somehow I could see that happening! I googled felt boots and I did find some - try searching "Russian felt boots".
ReplyDeleteYes, you remind me of the fun we had to slide around in the house.
DeleteWow! I've never even heard of felt boots. I'm wondering if you could wash them weekly to keep them clean and ummm... not smell?
ReplyDeleteThey were not washable. Smell? I never thought of that. The felt was a very breathable fabric so was probably not a problem with odor.
DeleteI remember overshoes that went over our sneakers or shoes, but I do not recall felt boots. I'll have to ask my mom what she wore as a youngster, the next time I see her! This was very interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteI think these boots were very rural and probably western Canada.
DeleteI had not heard of them
ReplyDeleteI think they were a very rural boot.
DeleteAn introduction to a piece of Canadian previously unknown to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised these boots are not known.
DeleteI can't remember those felt boots. We only had leather shoes and rubber boots for the rain. In winter we wear them with woolen socks in. But it was still cold in the snow with them. I love the modern boots with warm fur inside now!
ReplyDeleteYes, new fabrics make winter wear much more comfortable.
DeleteHello, I have never heard of felt boots, maybe a lining for a boot? My feel always have to stay warm or I am miserable. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week!
ReplyDeleteToday many of the outdoor boots have a felt lining.
DeleteI've never heard of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting and following Hiawatha House.
DeleteNever heard of them, but there are lots of images online. You can do a google search. I won't post the link here because it is about 4 paragraphs long. :)
ReplyDeleteI've looked around and found nothing similar to what I wore.
DeleteI've not heard of them, either!
ReplyDeleteThese were boots used by rural people and mainly men.
DeleteNever heard of them Red. I have heard of "felt boobs" but not "felt boots".
ReplyDeleteOkay nice play on words with felt boobs but If somebody catches on you may wish you had felt the boots.
DeleteI wear those thick "walking" socks all winter in the house. My house is warm and we even have the master bathroom floor heated(!) but I still need socks.
ReplyDeleteI'm fortunate to have warm hands and feet.
DeleteI've never heard of them, but google showed me some photos. They look very comfy and cozy.
ReplyDeleteYou are too urban. I think these were used by rural people and mainly by boys and men.
DeleteI don't think they were an item in the UK.
ReplyDeletethat doesn't surprise me.Not enough winter!
DeleteI never had felt boots for outer wear, but I had boot liners made of felt that were inserted into rubber boots to make them warmer. They wore out quickly even inside the rubber boots.
ReplyDeleteI think they were mainly worn by rural people who had to wade through the snow.
DeleteWhen we lived in Alaska, we had some Lobben boots and they were felted. They are from Norway originally. Kept the feet nice and toasty.
ReplyDeleteI will have to look for these boots.
DeleteInteresting story and reminds me of something kind of coincidental. Last fall I was in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and stopped into a little gift shop downtown called Bayberry Lane. ( https://www.facebook.com/bayberrylanecharlottetown/ )A neat little shop with lots of gift items but the thing that caught my attention was a rack of really great looking socks. The store owner chatted with me and told me the socks are made in Canada for the cold winters. He said not only would they keep my feet warm but they would put a smile on my face. I bought 2 pair. By golly they are the best socks I've ever worn and they do put a smile on my face. They are called Thermohair and are made in South Mountain, Ontario. Check them out, if you wish, at http://www.thermohair.com/
ReplyDeletethere are many new fabrics that work well to keep us warm these days.
DeleteI have not heard of them either. Interesting. Mostly here we just need waterproof footwear. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou probably didn't have to worry about keeping your feet warm.
DeleteSounds like they should make a fashion comeback! My feet are cold in the winter:)
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that with the Minnesota cold that these weren't worn there.
DeleteI am just reading your blog this morning while I sit here in the house with a hat on and two pairs of socks, jeans and two pullovers. If my feet are warm and the top of my head then I am warm. I grew up on a farm and my father and brothers always wore two pairs of socks and at least two pairs of trousers in winter, sometimes three. A few years ago I bought some sort of felt lined boots that were made in Norway. They were difficult to get on and off because the felt did not take kindly to gliding over my socks. They were warm though and I had them coincidentally in a year when we had lots of snow here, 2010. I am in England.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of them but they make a whole lot of good sense.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever heard of this. I learn something new all the time on your blog!
ReplyDeleteWhile I am not familiar with felt boots, I have seen felt boot liners. Back in my childhood, my favorite indoor wear was a pair of stocking slippers, which seem to have made a comeback in recent years, particularly in the local L.L. Bean outlet near us...and other stores as well.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of felt boots. I do remember that rubber boots sometimes had a wonderful cloth lining.
ReplyDelete