A slippering is a term for the act of smacking the bottom, or the hands, with a slipper as a form of corporal punishment. A slippering on the bottom is a form of spanking; it is a much more common method than slippering on the hands. The verb 'to slipper' means 'to give a slippering'. Slippering is used in three contexts: domestic punishment, school punishment, and erotic spanking. There is very little data, research or evidence about the use of slippering. Information is mainly based on anecdotal reports from individuals who have given, received, or observed slipperings, or who have been in households or schools where slipperings were used. Slipperings are particularly associated with Britain and Commonwealth countries, although not exclusively so. In a sense this article is of historical interest only, as slippering is probably approaching extinction.
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Domestic Slipperings

A hand has been the most common method of spanking in domestic contexts. The second most common method in British and Commonwealth countries has probably been the slipper. In other countries it has been used, but it is less popular. The slipper is typically a gymshoe (see school slippering) or standard carpet slipper which is worn indoors. Types of the latter slipper include those with fabric uppers or leather uppers, and with synthetic soles, rubber soles or leather soles. The severity of a slippering depends on the force with which the slipper is applied, the number of strokes, the clothing of the bottom, and the slipper itself (more severe with a heavier gymshoe or large-sized slipper which has a fairly stiff leather/rubber sole). The slipper is gripped at the heel end. Slipperings are certainly not suitable for the young. A slippering is usually regarded as a formal corporal punishment for serious misconduct, particularly for teenagers of either gender. As such, it is usually carried out in private with a preliminary talk about the misconduct and the consequences. Typically the number of strokes will be in the range of one to twelve. The slipper can be administered in the so-called traditional over knee position or, usually for older recipients, bending over an item of furniture (eg. bed, back of chair). Domestic slipperings are commonly given on underwear or unclothed bottom. All corporal punishment has been banned in most European countries. In other countries parents are permitted to administer 'reasonable chastisement'; although this has not been tested legally, it seems highly likely that this definition excludes slippering. Although there is no data to confirm this, it seems likely that domestic slippering is no longer used.

Slippering has also been applied as an informal military spanking by a soldier's comrades, notably in France under the name Savate (meaning footwear, homonymous with French kickboxing).

The analogous word booting (irrespective of the type of footwear) is rather used for physical discipline given 'hands free' with the boot (or other footwear) on the discipliner's foot, so the punishee usually is to submit to the punishment (generally on the posterior) in a low position. The humilitation is still increased if (s)he must do so over the knee, on all fours, kneeling or crawling, or by wearing demeaning dress, only underwear or even bare-bottomed.

Feeling the boots of the lined-up crew has also been used as a naval variation of running the gauntlet, less painful than a whipping (on the back, e.g. with knotted cords) but rather more humiliating.
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School Slipperings

In the United Kingdom, especially in England and Wales, the slipper was a common implement for administering corporal punishment in schools for students of both genders and all ages. In schools that used the cane as the ultimate penalty, the slipper was seen as a less severe alternative for punishing less serious misconduct. 'Slipper' is a misnomer, as the usual item of footwear used was the plimsoll, or gymshoe or tennis shoe, with a fabric upper and a heavy rubber or synthetic sole. This could deliver a very painful stroke, depending on the force with which it was used, and the size and flexibility of the particular slipper; a size 11, well-worn, flexible slipper would deliver more sting than one that was new and stiff.

At many schools, students who committed minor classroom offences - talking or disruption, for example - could be punished there and then in the classroom by the class teacher. Typically this would involve two or three quick, sharp swats across the seat of the offender's trousers/skirt, with the student either bending over the teacher's desk, or standing and bending forward with hands on knees. This also served to demonstrate to the class that such behaviour would not be tolerated. Immediately after being punished, the student, closely watched by his classmates, would have to stand up, turn round and go back to his place and sit down, adding to the embarrassment and pain, both of which were seen as part of the deterrent to further misbehaviour.

This "informal", on-the-spot type of discipline was typically not recorded in the official punishment register, as it was not seen as sufficiently serious to be classified as real corporal punishment. Also, it could be administered by teachers who were not officially authorised to administer formal corporal punishment, so were not allowed to use the cane. In fact, though, it could sometimes be just as painful as the officially recorded punishment.

A minority of schools also designated the slipper as their official punishment implement instead of the cane, for more serious misbehaviour, especially infractions committed outside the classroom, such as smoking. In this case, slipperings were carried out as a formal ceremony in the same way as canings at other schools, i.e. the student would be summoned to the private office of the Head Teacher (principal) or Deputy Head or of a senior teacher of the same gender as the student. The student would typically be interviewed about his offence before being told his punishment. He was then required to remove his blazer, empty his back pockets and bend over a desk or chair. Up to six powerful strokes of the slipper would then be delivered in a solemn, measured manner to the seat of the trousers. This would be recorded in the school's punishment book.

This more severe kind of slippering would typically leave the student's buttocks lightly bruised for a few days, providing a further reminder each time he sat down. However, there was no danger of superficial bleeding as there could be with a caning.

An example of a school that opted for the slipper as its formal disciplinary implement was Litherland High School in Liverpool, a mixed-sex school, although the policy there was that only boys could receive corporal discipline. The school recorded more than 1,800 official slipperings in 1980.

More typical, in that the cane was the "official" punishment, and slippering routinely used more informally, was Highbury Grove School, a large boys' school in north London and New Parks School in Leicester, a boys school up to 1981 which then became a mixed school from 1981 onwards (only boys were given corporal punishment when it became a mixed school).

All forms of corporal punishment were banned in state schools in the UK in 1987. A ban in private schools followed in England and Wales (1999), Scotland (2000), and Northern Ireland (2003). There are frequently calls for it to be reinstated, with most polls in the media still showing the majority of the UK public in favour of its use in schools.

Both types of slippers had leather bottom.  One type had a small post about an inch long with a mushroom shape top up front.  People wore this slipper by holding the post between their toes.  Another type of slipper had a cross-shaped leather cover across the top of the leather bottom.

Slippers hold special place as footwear in Japan where people were and still are accustomed to taking off their shoes before entering their homes and putting on slippers.  Arrival of the Westerners during the Meiji period (1868 to 1912) presented Japanese with a problem on how to invite Western visitors into their homes since Westerners did not always agree to remove their boots.  In true Japanese fashion, they came up with a special type of slippers for foreigners to pull over their boots or shoes.  If you ever visit Japan, you are bound to discover a pair of slippers in every hotel and every room you check into.

For the English speaking world, the earliest record of the word slipper” was recorded in English in 1478, deriving from the verb to slip, describing a type of footwear one slips into.  The traditional British slipper of the Victorian era is the Albert slipper, named after Price Albert, of course, and is a velvet slipper with plain leather sole and quilted silk lining. It was worn about the house, particularly with black tie at the time but in modern or fashionable use is worn sometimes outside in informal settings.

Nowadays, the word slipper in Western culture is used primarily to describe in-house footwear.  Today we take as a given having a comfy pair to slip into after we get out of bed in the morning, return home or just lounge about the house on the weekend.  The choices of styles and materials are virtually unlimited - slippers are made from bamboo, cotton, hemp, leather, plastics and other natural and man made materials.  Most of us own several pairs, something cozier for winter and something lighter for summer.  One thing remains unchanged: a good pair of slippers can make life much more enjoyable and comfortable for you, your family and your guests (or indeed not so comfy lolol)

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Slippers were usually worn by ladies at home during the first half of the nineteenth century when boots were worn outdoors. Some women purchased patterns and embroidered slippers for themselves or their husbands. Once the embroidery was finished it would be taken to a shoemaker to be made up. The cost of making up a pair of worked slippers in 1847 was 14 shillings, the same price as a pair of ready-made French slippers.

Berlin work or woolwork is the term used to describe the type of all-over embroidery used on these slippers. It is derived from the type of wool used in the work. Berlin wool, also known as Berlin yarn or German wool, was a high quality worsted yarn spun from combed wool, with a harder twist than other yarns. This made it more durable and therefore particularly suitable for this type of embroidery.

Place of origin: England (made) Date: 1830-1850 (made)

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The square-toed, flat-heeled slipper had dominated lady's shoe fashion since the 1820's. Whereas the elegant satin slippers of those years had been worn both in and out of doors the square-toed mule was used exclusively at home. The development of practical outdoor leather boots for women by the 1850's meant that slippers became an essential part of a lady's wardrobe.

Some women embroidered the ready-made uppers of their slippers themselves although it is difficult to say whether this was the case here. The number '38' is stamped onto the leather sole at the toe and this denotes its size under the French system. Although standardised sizes in shoe-making had been in existence since the seventeenth century it was only during the nineteenth century that makers began to include this information on the shoe itself.

	Place of origin: England (made) Date: 1850-1860 (made)
	Place of origin: England (made) Date: 1800-1850 (made)

1980's Dunlop Catalogue	1957 Eric Cowpe advert

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