A saleswoman at one of Bogyoke market’s many slipper shops helps a customer select footwear.

A SEASONAL migration is taking place on the streets of Myanmar’s towns and cities as the attractive and comfortable velvet slipper awakes from its rainy season hibernation.

Emerging from the closets and shoe-racks of homes all around the country, these furry critters are taking their rightful place on the soles of feet everywhere as their natural enemy — water — recedes until the next monsoon.

Evidence of the re-emergence of the velvet slippers is hard to miss and both retailers and wearers, like 23-year-old Yangon resident Yadanar, could scarcely be happier.

Yadanar says she eschews convention and loves to wear her velvet slippers all year round.

“I like velvet slippers because they never slip off, go with any colour of dress and are easy to put on and take off,” she said, adding that they are also long-lasting and can survive the daily grind for up to six months.

Ko Sann Min, 29, a manager at a Yangon construction company, said he chooses dark brown velvet slippers whenever he goes out in a longyi and sometimes even wears them with jeans.

Like many men, he shuns the more flamboyant colours for normal dress.
“At the end of rainy season every year I just run to the slipper shop to pick up some new ones,” he said, adding that he pays about K2500 for a new pair every couple of months.

“They are perfect for both the cold and hot seasons in Myanmar are light to wear, cheap and a perfect match with longyis. I’ll be buying another pair at the end of this month,” he said.

Ko Than Zaw is a 42-year-old trishaw driver who prefers a slightly different version of the humble velvet slipper. He prefers rubber slippers with velvet straps.

“The main thing is that they are cheap and cost-effective,” he said.

He said that he buys second-hand slippers with rubber soles during the cold and hot seasons and buys another set – with a bicycle tyre tread that provides better traction – at the start of rainy season.

“I pay about K2500 for the slippers I buy but they are worth K6000 when they are new. The rainy season slippers cost me about K1500,” he said.

Ko Than Zaw said he refuses to buy and wear cheap rubber slippers for work because they don’t look good.

“Brand-name rubber slippers cost up to K4000 and I don’t like them. Velvet-strapped rubber-soled slippers are the best for me.”

Of course with buyers rushing out to buy new slippers, this time of year is also good news for retailers like U Tun Tun Oo, owner of the Mandalay-based slipper manufacturing company Nine Elephants and Toenya.

“We are busy right now working on our velvet slippers because the rainy season is over and many wedding and festival celebrations are taking place soon.

“Our sales drop by 50 percent during monsoon but quickly return to normal when the rains cease,” he said, adding that the company wholesales to the domestic market and expatriate Myanmar in Malaysia and Singapore.

He said the company’s slippers come in a variety of different colours and those for women feature sewn-on sequins, beads, plastic jewels and bright thread. Men’s versions are almost always unadorned, although some feature thinner — and ostensibly more fashionable — straps.

He said sales of the decorated slippers are approximately equal to their plainer counterparts.

Nine Elephants and Toenya has been in the slipper-making business for more than 16 years and sells its products for K3500 to K5800.

Another manufacturer, Kyauk Sein Myat company, has a factory in Yangon and distributes its footwear locally and to markets in Thailand, Cambodia and Singapore as well. It has a shop in Bogyoke market.

“Velvet slippers are light, tough and cheap compared to imported shoes, so many people prefer them,” said Daw Tin Tin Nu, owner of Kyauk Sein Myat company.

She said the company produces at least 12 different designs in a range of colours that are suitable for any occasion.

“As the wedding season approaches, sales of our velvet slippers are definitely up,” she said, adding that Kyauk Sein Myat’s slippers are priced between K650 and 1500 for women’s styles and K900 to K3000 for men’s.

Ko Ko & Nyi Nyi shop at Bogyoke sells Olympic, Shwe Ka Thit and OK-branded velvet slippers priced from K1000-4000 for both men and women.

The shop’s owner said dark red, blue and brown slippers are popular choices for men for everyday wear, while blue, silver and red in generally brighter shades are favoured for special events like weddings.

“Sales of velvet slippers are pretty low during rainy season because they are easily damaged by water but starting from September, our sales have soared.”