What's wrong with slippers? I was horrified to discover how the item of footwear has been officially declared "out of fashion".

Thinking about it, slippers have become a rare sight. We rarely spot them gracing the feet of women up and down the country, as they pop out the empty milk bottles or shuffle across the road to the launderette.

When I was growing up just about every woman over the age of 50 popped to the local shop in their slippers.

And my dad, in common with other fathers, always changed into his slippers when arriving home from work.

Now, however, women and men seem to have abandoned slippers in favour of flip-flops or slip-on sandals that, to me, are more like beach wear than cosy slippers.

Others prefer to flop about in socks or to wear nothing on their feet.

It's winter, for pity's sake feet are crying out for slippers. But, it appears, people don't like them. My colleague went so far as to say that donning slippers would make her feel "as if I'd given up on life."

This sort of attitude has led to slippers being dropped out of the "shopping basket" used by the Office for National Statistics to calculate inflation.

It is measured by monitoring the prices of a list of popular products, and slippers, it seems, are no longer being bought in any great numbers.

Only children and odd individuals like me seem to still revel in the cosiness and comfort offered by this fluffy, fleecy, fabulous footwear.

Also gone from the Government list are children's sandals. Now this I can believe. I tried last summer to buy a decent pair for my youngest daughter and, despite an exhaustive search, could only find shiny, high-heeled, open-toed affairs more suitable to Strictly Come Dancing than the school playground.

Muesli too has gone, which is no loss to people like me who would rather not have sawdust and nuts for breakfast. But a discovery made by my dad may see it soar back into fashion it makes great bird food and is a lot cheaper than bird seed.

And my mother's favourite item in the world the dishcloth is no longer on the roll call of popular goods. Probably because nowadays most people eat out and use dishwashers to wash the occasional dirty cup and saucer.

Popular items that have made the list include after-school club charges and the three-litre wine box in our house one couldn't be sustained without the other.

Of course there are the usual smattering of things that I have heard of but haven't a clue what they do: the MP3 player being one. Can't manufacturers think of a more fitting, more understandable name? At least "record player" and "tape recorder" adequately describe the products. I don't remember ever asking for a ZP4 or an F5-210 for my birthday when I was young.

Personal CD players are "out" this year probably because the name isn't shrouded in mystery.

I could give or take any of the above they can fall off the face of the Earth for all I care. But not slippers.

I might start a campaign for a comeback. And I don't mean the pink, kitten-heeled variety. I mean the ones shaped like horses hooves, full of sheepskin with a zip up the front.

They're the height of fashion in our house and long will they remain so.