What are Bunny Slippers?

Bunny slippers are a cultural phenomenon, first appealing to children and now worn by a number of adults. The hallmark of bunny slippers is that they feature a representation of a rabbit. The slipper may cover the whole foot, providing comfy warmth, or may be a slide slipper, where the front top of the foot has a bunny face and usually, bunny ears.

Numerous companies have capitalized on bunny slippers by producing a variety of animal slippers. The Disney company began making character head slippers as early as the 1980s. These often covered the whole foot, featured some padding, and a slip-proof surface on the sole. Any character could be represented, such as Mickey or Minnie Mouse®, Donald Duck® or any other Disney character. In fact when a new Disney movie comes out, many retailers will feature animal or character head slippers from that particular film.

Bunny slippers have also become something of a symbol when talking about relaxation. They are thought kitschy and cute, and a strange dichotomy exists between being an adult and wearing bunny slippers.

Culturally, bunny slippers show up in some unusual places. For example the character Arthur, from the animated television series wears “Bionic Bunny,” bunny slippers. This is a little strange given that Arthur’s best friend is a rabbit. Cherub, the parody of the now defunct Joss Whedon show Angel, features a vampire who wears bunny slippers. You can also purchase killer bunny slippers that reference the film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

With today’s slipper choices, you can find bunny slippers, bear slippers, or numerous others with a variety of comfort features. A popular addition to slippers in the last few years is a layer of padded memory or visco-elastic foam. This can make putting on the bunny slippers at the end of the day extremely comfortable and soothing to the feet.

Children’s one-piece sleepers may have bunny slipper inspired bottoms. Instead of the regular fleecy feet in footed pajamas, these have paws, or bunnies, bears, dogs or cats with ears. From a cultural perspective, perhaps the funniest use of bunny slippers is with the one piece sleeper made for Ralphie in the film, The Christmas Story. Ralphie’s aunt sends him a pink bunny suit along with bunny slipper feet, which makes Ralphie extremely embarrassed when his mother makes him try it on.

Today, bunny slippers are thought eclectic and cute, are worn by both men and women, and are no longer a source of embarrassment. Instead they’re a celebration of being silly, and a comfortable and warm place for the feet.