Social media seems to be suddenly awash with young men posting photos of penny loafers, tassel loafers, and driving shoes. In other words, actual leather footwear that requires neither laces nor the aesthetic of a middle school gym class. "Less sneakers, more loafers," and I find myself in the peculiar position of agreeing with it.

For decades, I've watched grown men shuffle through life in athletic shoes designed for running marathons they'll never run. Sneakers to the office. Sneakers to dinner. Sneakers to weddings, funerals, and job interviews. The American man had convinced himself that if his feet weren't wrapped in rubber and mesh, he simply couldn't function. We became a nation of perpetual adolescents, dressed for PE class well into our forties.

But perhaps something has shifted. Perhaps it was the relentless casualization of everything finally reaching its nadir. Perhaps men looked around and realized that dressing like an overgrown child doesn't actually make one appear youthful, in fact, it makes one appear childish. Or perhaps, and I suspect this is closer to the truth, they simply saw a well-dressed man in loafers and thought, "I want to look like that."

The loafer represents something the sneaker cannot: intentionality. When you slip on a pair of loafers, you're making a statement. Not that loafers are ostentatious, but rather you're saying, "I'm an adult. I've dressed myself appropriately." The sneaker, by contrast, says, "I want my feet to be comfortable while I do absolutely nothing athletic whatsoever."

There's a quiet elegance to the loafer that demands respect. Leather uppers, proper soles, a silhouette that actually complements trousers rather than fighting against them. They work with chinos, they work with wool slacks, they even work with denim if you're feeling casual. But they never, ever look like you've given up on life. They suggest you've put thought into your appearance, which is apparently revolutionary today.

Loafers are flexible. I've worn them for years. Brown suede for weekends, black leather for everything else, and the occasional burgundy. They've never failed me. Not at dinner parties, not at client meetings, not while standing in the produce section watching men in cartoon pajamas select avocados. The loafer is dependable in a way the sneaker can only pretend to be.

Now social media has caught on, and I should be pleased. And I am, mostly. But I'm also skeptical. I wonder if it isn't just the algorithm showing me what it wants to see. Regardless, a society that wears loafers is better than one that wears exclusively sneakers. Standards have to start somewhere.

Perhaps next they'll discover ties. Perhaps they'll realize that dressing like an adult doesn't require suffering, just a modicum of effort and taste.

---

Join The Parlor Club. theparlorclub.com