Solid, preppy and and maybe at their saturation point, loafers have enjoyed a ride. I wonder when the good times will end, and what we'll replace them with |
You can be happy and sad at the same time, and no, you don't need to live in a Lana Del Rey song to understand that. Have you ever been thrilled at a work promotion, but chastened by the realisation that we millennials will be working 'til the age of 103? Feel blessed to eat a T-bone steak the size of your own head, then have the internet shriek out the word "CANCER" whenever you google your red meat consumption? A happy kind of sad. And that one-two punch whacked me the hardest on my morning commute, in a carriage full of people of all ages, all in some form of loafer. Bookish, just-smart-enough and a foil to the mass casual-sneaker flood of the last few years. I'm happy, because countless people have decided to smarten up. I'm sad, because I feel these days are numbered.
Fashion is just basic physics. Think of a trend as a balloon. It starts off small, weird, abstract, then gets pumped bigger and bigger and bigger as fanboy air molecules flood in. Said balloon expands, the celebratory message on the front becomes monstrous and warped, and, finally, the balloon pops. On to the next one. And as multiple labels and people jump into loafers, the initial draw of this classic shoe might just be its end. Matteo Bellentani, global creative director of Clarks Originals, said as much in an interview by my dear son/GQ style writer Adam Cheung for an article last year: "The market just got too fast, too repetitive... Consumers moved toward more timeless designs, and the loafer is the perfect timeless design." Too many sneakers caused sneaker fatigue. Now, I hear the loafer yawn.
Which isn't to say we'll go straight back to the Nike Air Dunk in a fuschia bright enough to cause temporary blindness. I don't think classic is done; we spend far too long looking at our own reflections/hot people on our iPhones/pictures of JKR Jr to suddenly go schlumpy. We want to look smart - past, present and future - but most of us don't want to look like most people. So... what now?
Well, if you want to be taller, a little clompy and like a man who reads Voltaire in a remote log cabin, go for the mock-toe derby. Sometimes called a Padror, this sits on the more workwear end of smart. That makes sense, given it was the uniform shoe of the French National Railway Company. And if anyone has good instincts, it's a Bordeaux union worker who likes solid menswear and going on strike. Clompier still (and slightly more Catholic-schoolboy-coded) is the lace-up derby or brogue; the rounder the toecap, the sweeter the fit. But I admit, if you're not used to this big stomper, it can feel a little clownish at first.
Then think of that very famous Harrison Ford shot, standing on the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc front gravel in navy shorts, navy knit, and a pair of beaten brown boat shoes. Sure, they don't have the structure of a loafer (or any of these alternatives), but they are max comfy, and slightly IDGAF. Handy, too, that every single brand, from cult label NN07 to big dog Timberland, has made their own.
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Some of the left-fielders are suggesting ballet flats. Endorsed by Hollywood kings like Harry Styles, Jacob Elordi and Colman Domingo, this deeply feminine move is a direct counter to the reliable, solid, overly masc loafer. Is it something guys will jump on en masse, though? Maybe not - and that's why its fanboys will stay happy, because other guys will keep away.
My personal choice? The Chelsea boot. Thick, non-serrated soles, robust, and not quite as Ivy League cosplay as a loafer, it's no less smart. I've worn mine with big blue jeans. I've also worn them with a not-as-big black suit. They even subbed in under a tux when my friend decided to have an insane, overly formal but not unwelcome tear-up in the countryside. The Chelsea boot did all of this - just like the loafer.
There's an embarrassment of riches out there! And, while there's life in the old loafer yet, your life, in menswear at least, should have a little variety. Looking at the alternatives, maybe I'm not so sad after all.
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The biggest cameo in Laufey's "Madwoman" video? Hudson Williams' swim shorts
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The 40 sickest Met Gala menswear looks of all time |
"Every single time Wales Bonner and Adidas link up, it bangs. And that's saying something. Six years in, multiple collections deep, and with the kind of mainstream crossover most collabs lose themselves to, this partnership could've easily gone stale by now. Which hasn't happened, because each drop is a new-ish design without rehashing tried-and-tested prior hits." - Adam Cheung, style writer |
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"No, Chanel doesn't do menswear. But they did just appoint Pedro Pascal as an ambassador. And he did wear a Chanel dress shirt to the Oscars. And loads of guys are wearing Chanel. So... what now, huh?" |
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"No, Chanel doesn't do menswear. But they did just appoint Pedro Pascal as an ambassador. And he did wear a Chanel dress shirt to the Oscars. And loads of guys are wearing Chanel. So... what now, huh?" |
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