When Oprah decides something is good enough to include in her annual favourite things list then you know it’s really good. The interview queen is not a woman who minces her words after all. So when we saw that she’d added a pair of APL Lusso Slides , alongside some other great suggestions like the very cosy Ugg Gertrude Coat £186 and one of our favourites, the Sigma Beauty Essential Travel Brush Kit £64.50 to her Favourite Things 2021 hotlist we had to know more.
Oprah called the quilted slides a “post-workout treat for feet” which got us thinking. What is recovery footwear? Do we need it? Where do we get our hands (feet?) on some? Don’t worry we’ll have you feeling as comfy as Oprah's famous sofa by the time you’ve finished reading this and if running or the gym isn't your thing, then just call recovery footwear your 'outside slippers'. Cosy, comfortable and practical, what more could you want?
Essentially, recovery shoes are comfy slippers or slides that you step into after a run or a workout to help swollen, sweaty feet cool down and, well, recover from all the hard work you’ve put them through. Equally though, the supportive slides are just as great to slip into after a hard day's work or to relax in once you've kicked off those heels, that seem a little more uncomfortable this year. Just ask chancellor Rishi Sunak, who was seen rocking the 'socks and sandals' look in a pair of Palm Angels sliders, £120 at No11 while preparing for the October budget.
You don't have to sacrifice looking chic. JW Anderson's leopard-print calf-hair clog, £570 (you'll be in need of recovery after paying that for a pair of posh slippers) with a statement gold chain, is one of this season's best selling shoes. After so long lounging in slippers, the recovery shoe/clog/slide is an appealing transition back into real life footwear.
While there are literally thousands of running shoes on the market, recovery footwear is a fairly new phenomenon but one that is catching on. Rachel Penrose, Trainer at F45 says that post-workout your feet will appreciate “a flat, supportive sneaker or slide” and that “if the arch of your foot is feeling tight and uncomfortable it may be worth looking into a shoe with arch support”.
It makes sense, if you think about it; we’re always being told how important wearing the right shoe to run in is for shock absorption. So, we should invest in a shoe that cares for our feet post-workout too. Think of recovery footwear as the shoe equivalent of your post-workout stretch, or as Oprah puts it “like walking on pillow-like clouds”. We’re sold. Even if it's only to make our Christmas PJ lounging that bit comfier.
The Oprah-approved recovery footwear
Oprah is such a fan of a little post-workout comfort that she called out not one, but two different cushioned slides in her list of Favourite Things 2021.