Penny Loafers

A coworker and myself were discussing shoes the other day and the topic of penny loafers came up. I asked if she knew how they got the name “penny loafer” and she didn’t know, so of course I had to find out. In the 1930’s loafers became stylish, and then a man named John Bass (coincidentally, the same John Bass of the now well-known Bass Shoes company) added a strap across the top of the show. The strap had a split in it. Eventually, people began to add small items into this slit by way of embellishment, like – you guess it – pennies.