A Penny for Your Thoughts...

Hello again! Today's piece (as an armchair journalist or columnist or whatever I am, I figure I can get away with calling my writings "pieces") concerns yet another wardrobe staple: the versatile penny loafer. Penny loafers as we know them today are an American evolution of the Norwegian leisure slippers of decades past. A brief history may not be neccessary, but I'm going to provide a short lesson regardless. Here we go...
Moccasin style leisure slippers were a popular production in Norway in the 1930's.
The Norwegians began exporting their unique shoes to the rest of Europe where they were adopted by visiting Americans and then introduced to the states by the American Esquire magazine.

In 1934, G.H. Bass (then a boot maker in Wilton, Maine) started making loafers marketed as "Weejuns" (a play on "Norwegians"). Bass made popular a strip of leather across the saddle with a diamond cut-out. Initially only worn in the summer at home, the shoe grew in popularity in America to become a significant part of men's casual shoe wardrobe. The loafers became more of a mainstay of the American wardrobe than they ever were in Europe.

Eventually American ingenuity inspired prep. school students to make use of the diamond shaped cutout atop the shoe. Aside from making a fashion statement, a dime placed in the cutout also assured that the price of a phone call was always at the wearers... er... fingertips (well, close enough). As the price of phone calls went up, pennies replaced dimes to maintain the fashion-statement while shelling out less coin, and eventually, the practice was abandoned altogether. The shoes, however, were not (nor was the term "penny loafer," a description which is still common today).

The penny loafer has remained a versatile shoe that can be dressed up or down, looking equally at home with a sport coat or blazer, white oxford-cloth-button-down, and dress trousers (Miles Davis became known for this look), or a white tee with jeans (James Dean invented this look, but in photo 2, borrows Davis's aforementioned ensemble). The shoes can be worn sockless in the summer and with socks in the cooler seasons. I'd say pair them with anything in between athletic wear and a suit on the formality spectrum.

My loafers (pictured in photo 1) are made by Allen Edmonds, a brand who's consistant quality and American provenance I adore, but many makers produce the penny loafer. G.H. Bass still makes their Weejuns in several price-ranges with variations on some of the more minor details, and while my Allen Edmonds are not an inexpensive pair of shoes, French shoemaker J.M. Weston's basic penny loafers start at about twice their price.
All of these options look very similar. All of them are just as versatile, and all of you can afford a pair.

Until next time,
Cheers!
-Paul