Heather tracks singular, stern type of footwear (9)

I believe the answer is:

slingback

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'type of footwear' is the definition.
'slingback' can be an answer for 'footwear' (I've seen this before). I am not certain of the 'type of' bit.

'heather tracks singular stern' is the wordplay.
'heather' becomes 'ling' (synonyms).
'tracks' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (some letters track or go after others).
'singular' becomes 's' (abbreviation sometimes used in dictionaries).
'stern' becomes 'back' (stern is the back of a boat).
'ling' put after 's' is 'sling'.
'sling'+'back'='SLINGBACK'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for slingback that I've seen before include "shoe" , "item of footwear" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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