衣服 · 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

The penny loafer's origin story runs through Norwegian fishermen's shoes, an American importer and a college fashion; the details are less settled than usually presented.
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.