Men’s loafers originated in Norway’s fjords. Fishermen who spent their days searching for salmon found their feet aching after long jaunts of standing on stone. So, they fabricated a simple shoe of soft leather meant to bring them comfort, which was later codified in the early 20th century by a cobbler named Nils Gregoriusson Tveranger, who had learned his trade in the US, in Boston. Tveranger designed a shoe based upon the Iroquis moccasin, and submitted it to a local shoe design competition, in Bergen, a city on Norway’s southwestern coast. The design won first place for popular footwear. Subsequently, Tveranger set up shop in Aurland, a city somewhat further inland, but with a thriving shoe-making scene, and began to produce his shoe en masse. Tveranger was both an innovative shomaker, and a clever marketeer. His shoes sold well, and they sold quickly.

In addition to the Iroquis moccasin, the Aurland Moccasin, as the shoe came to be known, had a second rough predecessor called the Tese shoe, which was the shoe worn by the aforementioned fishermen. The Tese was a simple sheath of leather with a hard sole. Tveranger update the Tese by adding a saddle across the instep, thus creating the world’s first loafer. For a decade hence, Tveranger continued to adjust the shoe’s construction, tinkering with it until his death in 1953.

In 1934, the G. H. Bass Company picked up on what Tveranger was doing in Aurland, and decided to make men’s loafers of their own. Their product, the Bass Weejun (because it sounds like Norwegian, get it?), brought the loafer to the US market by way of Palm Beach, Florida, where the cultured and monied would congregate to play. G. H. Bass was the first American manufacturer of loafers. The G. H. Bass company innovated upon Tveranger’s design, slicing a diamond-shaped opening into the shoe’s leather saddle. These shoes started being called penny loafers because, back in the day, when a phone call cost only a penny or two, the diamond-shaped opening was the perfect size to hold a penny. Later, in the 40s and 50s, the shoes were adopted by Ivy Leaguers, who were rich in taste, but short on cash. Striking a balance between the formality of the oxford and the casualness of the creeper, the loafer was the perfect shoe for the student who wanted to relax in style. Since it could be paired with everything from shorts to suit pants to shirts to blazers, the penny loafer was popular year round. It operated much like a sartorial swiss army knife.

In the 60s, the Penny Loafer trend picked up steam owing to a charming, telegenic, somewhat leather-faced former president: John F. Kennedy. Kennedy attended the Choate Preparatory School from 1931 - 1935, where he picked up on the loafer trend. Choate—a school for the children of the upper crust—was, at that point in time, what one of the progressive private schools of Los Angeles is today: an incubator of cutting edge style. Palm Beach was the locus of fashion on the East Coast, and the kids of diplomats and oil men would party there in the summers, where they picked up on the loafer trend.

Concurrent with JFK, and his Ivy League set, the loafer became popular amongst English mods, and other sundry artists, actors, poets, and jazz musicians. They paired the loafer with close-cut suits, polos, and a drain-pipe slack. As the mod style evolved into punk, loafers stuck with the movement. Along with safety pin earrings, ripped jeans, and torn-up leather jackets, the loafer was an essential element of punk style. Move over Doctor Marten. The grimier the shoe, the better it would play.

The next revolution in the Loafer-sphere came about when Gucci (yes, Gucci) opened their first New York City office in the early 1950s. Affixing a golden-plated horsebit to the instep of the shoe, Gucci decided to muscle in on G. H. Bass’s loafer kingdom. Gucci made the shoe from black leather, which, at the time. Was revolutionary. The loafer was a casual shoe, meant to be worn on the weekends, and inside the house. But Gucci changed all that. Their loafer was made for the Jet-Set Class, and it demanded a louche kind of business-casual sexiness.

These were the loafers worn in the 80s by Wall Street titans, bondsmen who knew a thing or two about style. And several more things about excessive drug use. The Gucci loafer served as an update to the Ivied past of many of these blue-blooded banker boys—a sleek, sexy, all-day shoe that projected confidence and class. Paired with a pinstripe shirt, and a wide tie, these loafers never sold a man short. Also, it didn’t hurt that these loafers cost far more than the average Weejun, making them a symbol of status and luxury.

Today, loafers are the purview of classy, casual gentleman and menswear aficionados. At Sherman Brothers, we sell men’s loafers from a variety of brands, each of which has their own, unique traditions, history, and culture.

Take Alden, for example. Founded in 1884 by Charles H. Alden of Middleborough, Massachusetts, Alden was one of an army of New English footwear manufacturers that came screaming into existence during the industrial revolution. Back then, the Massachusetts footwear industry was in a boom time. The number of shoes per capita in New England was five times the national average. This was thanks to a number of major innovations. For instance, Alden’s loafers are made with what are called Goodyear welts, a technological leap that improved upon the process of sewing uppers to soles. To produce a Goodyear welt, one stitches a strip of leather around the upper of a shoe, then seals it in place with liquid cement. Next, the insole and outsole are layered with cork, or another filler material, to provide bounce. Alden’s loafers are fabricated from the finest calfskin. Each carries a tempered steel shank, contoured and triple ribbed to provide extra support. A heavy, natural leather insole provides breathable comfort for your foot. Over time, the insole conforms to the shape of your foot, creating a truly custom fit. Beneath the insole is that layer of natural cork (from the Goodyear welt), which delivers additional resilience and insulation.

Alden is a US staple, an old boy sort of brand, perfect for campus or the club. But what if you’re looking for something that pops a little more?

Check out Mezlan. Headquartered in Almansa, a 14th century castle town in Castille-La Mancha Spain (known to the world for the fantastic misadventures of one Don Quixote), Mezlan knows its way around a loafer. Their lizard-and-calf-skin designs are crafted to wow the eye. Almansa is home to generations of shoemakers, who labor in the shadow of a limestone crag. Embracing the traditions of these shoemakers, Mezlan stands today as a specialty factory, a design house in leather, and a heritage brand rooted in its authentic surroundings. The brand spares no expense to perfect its loafers. They are injected with memory foam, so that each step feels like your landing on cloud-tops. Every shoe they offer is handmade, and stitched to the strictest specifications. Many of Mezlan’s loafers are made using the Blake Method, which results in a sleeker silhouette than the more common Goodyear welt.

Another classic American brand, Johnston and Murphy, splits the difference between Mezlan and Alden, producing a stylish loafer that has itself become a staple of US style. J & M began life as Newark, Nj’s William J. Dudley shoe company way back in 1850. Dudly was a European immigrant, and a craftsman trained in the English tradition of shoemaking. In the company’s first twenty-five years, the company grew so fast that it was forced to move location five times. Businessman James Johnston joined the company in 1880 to help Dudley with his rapidly expanding enterprise. Johnston’s idea was to expand Dudley’s product lines, muscling into new markets, and developing new channels of distribution.The company built a line of high-end fashion footwear that quite quickly became incredibly popular. Perhaps because of the strain of his business dealings, Dudley died in 1881. Johnston took control of the business, and reincorporated under the name The James Johnston Company. Another Newark businessman, William A. Murphy, joined up in 1884, and the company then birthed its current name: Johnston & Murphy. Fast forward fifty years: J & M is in the hands of George Gleason, a man of marketing, who ran ad campaigns in the top magazines of the day. These ads featured Johnston and Murphy loafers prominently. For instance, their Deerfield tassel loafer. Made with premium polished European calfskin, this loafer comes equipped with a breathable leather lining that also offers quite a bit of cushioning. Its leather sole and combination leather/rubber heel provides a clean, dressy looked, as suited to the board room as the living room. Goodyear welt construction allows the leather to molt to your foot, creating a truly customized fit.

But what if you’re looking for something truly luxurious?
In the mid 1990s, the Zelli brand was formed. Based out of the Tuscany region of Italy, Zelli is a brand dedicated to quality and craftsmanship. Specializing in the use of exotic leathers and their bold yet traditional style, a pair of Zelli loafers will never go unnoticed. Whether you choose their classically styled Roma calfskin penny loafer or distinctive ostrich quill Franco tassel loafer, you will love the gorgeous look and perfect fit of these loafers. Every pair of shoes that leaves Zelli’s doors is handcrafted by expert Italian artisans so you know you are receiving an incredible durable and well constructed set of loafers that will serve you for years to come.

And, finally, we’ll end with a classic: Cole Haan.
Birthed in 1928 by Trafton Cole and Eddie Haan, their eponymous brand focused on bringing quality men’s shoes to the masses. They succeeded pretty much immediately. Their range of oxfords, and bluchers, and, most importantly, loafers, made them the darling of Wall Street men, as well as DC politicians. In the 1980s, they were purchased by Nike, which broadened the company’s reach, and brought them into the international market. Cole Haan began including Nike Air Comfort technology in their products, which would prove to have a profound effect on their later designs. Fast forward to the mid 2010s, when Cole Haan introduced their Grand.ØS technology: an ultra-light ultra-comfortable foam sole that has featured prominently in their shoes ever since. For instance, their Classic Kneeland penny loafers. Using Grand.ØS technology, as well as Grand.360, an overall design approach that considers the manner in which a shoe’s upper is constructed, as well as the materials used to build it, to ensure comfort flexibility and a lightweight feel. The shoe is made with a leather upper and a leather outsole with cemented construction.

So those are the men’s loafers. But who are we?
Sherman Brothers Inc. was founded in 1953 by HerBert and Edwin Sherman, who took a $5,000 loan from their father, and began selling cancellation footwear from a narrow store in center city Philadelphia. Every so often, the brothers would remove the rear seat from their Chrysler Desoto, and drive seven hours up the coast, to requisition cast-offs from the ubiquitous shoe factories that existed in New England back then. Their car would return filled with closeout shoes. By purchasing cancellation shoes and discontinued styles, the brothers discovered that their shoes rarely fit feet with A or AA widths, or feet that were particularly small or large. The brothers expanded their inventory accordingly, and Sherman Brothers quickly became the go to store for men who needed hard-to-fit sizes. By the 1960s, Sherman Brothers had gained a reputation as Philadelphia’s finest men’s shoe store, a reputation it continues to carry today.