Collection: Men's Loafers

Root/Mens Shoes/Mens Loafers

The Loafer is the archetype of the casual shoe - easy to wear, comfortable to use, and effortlessly stylish in all its many forms from the Weejun to the Penny Loafer to the Butterfly Loafer, the Pump Loafer and the Kilty Loafer.

Though associated with the United States, these low, lace-less slip-ons were originally the speciality of Norwegian shoe-makers (hence the name 'Weejun') in the 1930s. A contemporary photograph in Esquire magazine showed wearers in a 'cattle loafing' area which gave the shoe its name.

The style most commonly seen has a moccasin construction, sometimes in suede or cordovan, and was developed as an informal house shoe. Many variations are more structured, more formal and decorated with broguing or snaffles or tassels. In the US, East Coast prep school boys inserted a 1c piece into the diamond cut-out across the saddle as a fashion statement, thus giving another branch of the shoe its name – Penny Loafer.