It is thought that slippers were originally from the East but they have been worn by every culture. The earliest recorded reference to the slipper was is in the 12th Century by a Southern Song Dynasty Officer where he describes two types of slipper he saw in what is now Vietnam.

Slippers adorned the feet of both fashionable men and women at parties and formal evening events during the nineteenth century. Slippers were delicate foot coverings made of fabric, often satin, or soft leather. The uppers of slippers covered the heel and toes but left the top of the foot exposed. Slippers could slip on the foot or be secured with laces. Men wore black leather slippers trimmed at the toe with bows or ribbon roses for formal occasions. Women's slippers looked much like ballerina slippers with ties of leather or ribbon around the ankle. Women wore slippers in solid or two-toned colors that complimented their outfits. The delicacy of slippers required that they be worn only indoors, and by the end of the century satin pumps, heeled slip-on shoes, began to replace slippers as dress shoes for both men and women.