How to Wear Loafers: 5 Tips for Wearing Loafers

Loafers are slip-on shoes with a heel and rounded toe. Loafers are preppy, minimalist, and trendy. You can wear loafers for formal and casual wear, as they come in many different materials; when made out of leather, loafers serve as a good pair of dress shoes, and those made of fabric can be for smart casual wear. Loafers are versatile, comfortable, and easy to take on and off.

Shoemakers create various kinds of loafers in a range of styles.

1. 1. Penny loafers: The penny loafer is a classic loafer with a leather strap on top. In the 1940s and ’50s, prep students placed pennies into the diamond-shaped opening in the shoes’s strap.
2. 2. Horsebit loafers: These loafers have a golden strap across the top of the shoe. This kind of loafer rose in popularity in the mid-twentieth century, making the loafer a staple of business casual wear for men’s fashion at the time. Today, these loafers read as retro but sophisticated.
3. 3. Slipper loafers: House slippers typically do not have a back, but loafer-style slippers do. Slipper loafers will be unadorned and a plain color, making for a very comfortable pair of casual shoes.
4. 4. Tassel loafers: True to their name, these loafers have a little tassel at the top of the shoe. Suede and leather loafers often feature tassels.
5. 5. Boat shoe loafers: Some styles of boat shoes classify as a loafer. You can wear a pair of boat shoe loafers in the spring and summer and achieve a semi-casual look. Unlike other loafers, boat shoes feature laces.

Whether you’re wearing formal pants and a blazer or chinos and a t-shirt, loafers go great with many different kinds of outfits. Consider the following tips:

1. 1. Go sockless. You can wear socks with loafers, but it is common not to because they feel like slippers. As such, loafers present the opportunity to show a little ankle between your shoe top and the bottom of your skinny jeans, tights, or wide-leg pants.
2. 2. Wear to work with a blazer. In the spring and summer, loafers can be a business casual shoe choice that pairs nicely with a light blazer or a tucked-in button-down.
3. 3. Let the color pop. Loafers can show off their color or they can bring an outfit together (when matching the color of your belt, pocket square, or other accessories).
4. 4. Rock a bold leather look. Give a casual outfit a taste of high fashion by trying on a crisp t-shirt underneath a leather jacket, matching with similarly colored leather loafers to make the outfit apiece.
5. 5. Wear them with chinos. Loafers and chinos are a perfect combo, immediately establishing a smart casual look. Pair with a blazer or a band collar shirt for an elegant, simple aesthetic.

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