Vêtement · Footwear
The loafer
A loafer is a slip-on shoe with no laces, so it must grip your heel and instep by shape alone, making fit especially important.
A loafer is a slip-on shoe held by shape alone, which means the last has to grip the heel and the instep without any lacing to help. That makes fit more critical than in any other shoe. The main patterns are the penny, the tassel, the horsebit and the Belgian.
Fit without fastening
With no laces, everything depends on the last. A loafer must grip at the heel and across the instep tightly enough not to slip, without being tight anywhere else. There is no adjustment.
This is why loafers are the hardest shoe to buy online, why sizing frequently differs from the same maker's laced shoes, and why a loafer that slips at the heel cannot be fixed with an insole.
The patterns
| Pattern | Detail | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Penny | Strap across the vamp with a slot | Norwegian-influenced American design, 1930s |
| Tassel | Laces terminating in tassels around the throat | American, mid-century; a business shoe in the US |
| Horsebit | Metal snaffle bit across the vamp | Gucci, 1950s |
| Belgian | Soft, unlined, small bow | Belgian Shoes, New York, from the 1950s |
| Butterfly / Aurland | Hand-sewn apron, visible stitching | Norwegian |
Socks, and the argument about them
Loafers are worn without socks in hot weather, which is a genuine convention with an Italian pedigree and not a modern affectation. It is also hard on the shoe: perspiration goes straight into the lining and the insole, and an unlined shoe worn barefoot regularly will smell and degrade.
The practical compromise is a proper no-show sock in a natural fibre, cedar trees every time, and a day of rest. A loafer worn barefoot every day in summer is a shoe with a short life.
Images
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Artisans qui lui sont associés
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Alden
Bottier · 1884New England's surviving welted shoemaker, and the house most associated with shell cordovan.
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Edward Green
Bottier · Northampton · 1890Edward Green is a Northampton shoemaker, around since 1890, making top-tier off-the-shelf shoes with far more hand shaping and finishing than most factory shoes.
Crédits photographiques 5
- Burgundy penny loafers: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
- Pennyloafers-whitesocks-japan-2019: Photograph · Nesnad · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
- Loafers being worn: Photograph · Goodreg3 · Wikimedia Commons · CC0
- An illustration of a welted shoe of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
- An illustration of a welted shoe of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art