The Delayed Gratification of the Loafer

The Cultural Analysis:

The penny loafer was invented in the 1930’s as inspired by the footwear of  Norwegian Farmers. For a while, I had never known why old folk called this particular model, the “penny loafer.” But upon doing some research, I realized that shoe was not only an icon for it’s interesting and well crafted design, but because of it’s functionality. In the 1930’s, the payphone cost two cents to use. The strap of shoe allowed for just enough space for it’s “walker” to slip a penny into both. And thus, an unlikely connection between the payphone (RIP) and the loafer. Although the payphone lost it’s value after the invention of cellphones, and the penny being almost useless today, the loafer has never quite went out of style. 

Because I’ve never casually worn a penny loafer, and I’m sure some of my counterparts might relate, It would be plausible to suggest that with certain ideology, the penny loafer would descend from manufacturing and from our peer-view, along side the generations that wore them most. 

However, that doesnt seem to be the case. Today, retailers around the globe still sell the classic wardrobe staple. 

What cant be said is that the trend is catching fire right now, but what we can say, is that it has potential. In Kith’s Winter 2020 campaign, “A New York Love Story,” the lead female actress wears Sperrys – or some version of the top-siders – with feather-grey sweats, white socks and an overcoat while Zoe Kravits wore her loafers so casually in High Fidelity, you almost didnt even notice. Until you did. And if we know anything about the media, it’s that “it has the power to influence individual beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.”

Style, like all behavior, is psychological. The reason trends exist is because of this relationship between the media and the human psyche, so vulnerable to influence. The media does this in a way that is quite interestingly psychological. Dapper Dan alluded to this point when he said that you can tell a lot about a man, you can tell a lot about a person based on what they’re wearing, and that there is a direct correlation between the psyche of a man, and how he presents himself. 

Psychologists might call this the “mere exposure” effect. It suggests that any individual person will grow to enjoy any particular thing, whether it be a food, a genre of music, or in this case a trend, if they’re constantly exposed to it. 

But let’s be honest, the shoe was invented over a century ago. If we put that into perspective, weather we see the reemergence of the penny loafer in today’s street style-culture or not, the icon of elevation, stature and elegance, isn’t going anywhere. At some point or another, you’s probably be sliding your foot into a pair.

So we venture into three things you should know about your loafers before you wear them. 

The Tips

1. Penny Loafers are NOT for the faint of heart 

Unlike the iconic Joran 1, or the the Stan Smith, the humble penny loafer will not embrace your foot with a hug the first time you wear them. They will hurt if you do not break them in before you subject yourself to hours of pain and suffering. Wearing these stiff, flat, hard-bottom shoes, to stand and walk all day will be something you will pay for in the end. I know you may love the idea that you’ll be sauntering around, floating from bookstore to coffee shop in these beautifully classic and crafted shoes, but if you only delay gratification for a few months or weeks, wearing them perhaps to the grocery store, or to the laundromat, or even around the house, bending the soles to your will rather than them bending you to theirs, you’ll find yourself in love for decades to come.

2. Loafers have the potential to elevate any fit you wear

Whether or not you consider yourself a more straight forward dude, wearing clothing from a single era, or someone more avant guard, there is a place for a penny loafer in your closet. Yes, you. You can wear them with sweat pants, for a more eclectic and experimental look, with shorts and tube socks in the summer, with your favorite pair of jeans for those who’ve stollen their grandpa’s style, or with trousers. If you’re looking for something to add that “wow” factor to whatever you choose to wear, pennys are the ones for you. 

3. Buy Used!

If you don’t want to take the time to mold the soles of your penny’s, then buy them used. Just clean them first, obviously. Thrift stores around the country sell penny loafers for next to nothing, but don’t just slip your foot in them to wear around the town. Nah, that’s gross. Using a natural cleansing oil, like tea tree, is helpful when cleaning your shoe. Just dilute a few drops in a spray bottle, spray them thangs, and let them sit in the sun for a full day or two. But I’d say practice a little discipline, delay gratification, give yourself something to look forward to – because that’s true happiness – and buy a NEW pair. Enjoy the process! For there is , quite literally, no beauty without pain and suffering, no art without distruction.  

In short, if the penny loafer can teach us anything, it’s that we should delay gratification just a little longer before we can truly reap the benefits of our future. Our mothers call us “the microwave generation,” because we dont appreciate the pain that comes with the wait. Maybe, the first step is giving your penny loafer, that poetically-uncomfortable shoe, a chance. 

Even after the blisters.