Out-of-doors, well-to-do Elizabethans wore two pairs of shoes, an inner slipper and the outer shoe (pantofle), which required some practice to keep on while walking.
The pantofle was removed indoors, particularly while dancing, so that one could ' trip light-footed '.
He stood in his felt pantofles and regarded her with shrewd eyes.
These, too, were worn inside another shoe, or pantofle, to protect them.
From the late 15th to the mid 17th century, overshoes shaped like mules, called pantofles, were worn to protect the front of the shoes.