Velvet slippers have been venturing farther and farther outdoors lately. We’ve seen them come from sneaker companies and on the heels of a MOTH, but it’s always best to go to the source. And in this case, the source is England.

Shipton & Heneage’s only retail stores are across the sea (Paris and London, to be specific), but you can get these bespoke slippers well enough through the mail…even if that means you have to get measured stateside. They’ll even throw in the extra-British touch of sewing your family seal over the toes. (Judging by the two-headed eagle, this gentleman’s a Habsburg.)

How to wear a velvet slipper»

John Varvatos has made his name by channeling old school masculine icons, so it was only a matter of time before he worked his way around to the Hef.

We ran into velvet Lexington loafer at the designer’s SoHo outpost, and couldn’t help but notice Mr. Varvatos’ latest style obsession. Apparently Mickey Rourke picked up a pair during his most recent New York soujourn, and we can’t say we’re surprised. There’s a whole generation of men looking to Mr. Hefner as their sartorial guide, and these loafers might be the first time that impulse has served them well.

And if Mr. Varvatos ever feels like ditching rock photography for a more stirring kind of store décor…let’s just say we know where to look.

The Japanese line Whereabouts just sent around pics of their F/W 09 collection, and they would appear to be fully in the grips of our favorite decade, the 1970s.

This woodsy look was what caught our eye most immediately, but there are also Bjorn Borg-ish v-necks, velvet blazers and something that looks an awful lot like a leisure suit. The look isn’t a full blown trend just yet, but with a few sunglasses and little help from Scott Sternberg, it will be soon enough.

The oxford has gotten a pretty thorough reworking lately, but leave it to Maison Martin Margiela to give the trend a classical twist. This velvet oxford wavers somewhere brown and gray thanks to its unusual texture, and while it might be a bit more brittle than the leather or even the canvas editions, it should be worth the care.

With the Trad’s clout at an all-time high, we thought we’d check in with one of Manhattan’s most scrupulous dandies, Mordechai Rubenstein a.k.a. Mister Mort. His latest project is a line of velvet bowties in conjunction with fellow trad Baron Von Fancy, popping up soon for a cool $80. They’re pre-tied to spare you the near-impossible task of knotting velvet, but otherwise they’re as impeccable a throwback as you could want for a holiday party, especially if you’ve got an undersized suit handy.