Florence Zacks Melton, the Columbus, Ohio, housewife who is said to have invented the world's first foam cushioned slipper and co-founded R.G. Barry Corporation, has died aged 95.

Having successfully developed and marketed Shoulda-Shams, removable shoulder pads for the military-style fashion look of the era during the mid-1940s, Mrs Melton, her husband, Aaron Zacks, and businessman Harry Streim founded R.G. Barry Corporation—named after their children Richard Streim, Gordon and Barry Zacks.

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