Spring is in the air - it's loafer season

Few shoes are as effortlessly stylish as loafers. No laces, no fuss. Just timeless designs that work from casual weekends to smart evenings.

What makes loafers so good, and so popular?

So many reasons.

You can wear them casually. You can wear them smart.  

They look brilliant for that smart BBQ look, even in shorts. They look equally fab, dark and formal with a suit.

You can put them on in seconds. No laces! (James Bond, the proper one, in the book), famously hated laced shoes as taking too long to put on when you are in a hurry.

We love Oxfords too, but they are at the formal end of the scale.

Loafers to us means fun, a carefree spirit and the promise of things to come.

Let's look at the different types of loafer and the many ways you can style them.

Types of loafer

We used to offer just one loafer, our Hampton penny loafer. Its design is sleek and elegant with a chiselled toe. Many our shoes have a hand applied patina, but with Hampton we pushed the patina to be even bolder. The two tone look has certainly been popular, and makes every pair unique.

We then added the Henley tassel loafer into our collection. A rounder toe and curvy lines made an instant hit, so we quickly rolled out a choice of six colours.

Colour and general wow factor has always been important to Thomas Bird, and we never seem to have enough. Colour choice for loafers is important, so we offer a big range - black, brown, tan, chestnut, oxblood, blue and olive green. We also offer loafers in brown suede and navy blue suede.

Loafers with a formal look

Below are some examples of loafers being worn dressed up.

Here is a suited look that is a little more fun and individual. Luigi aka @thesuitedtraveller is wearing oxblood Thomas Bird Henley loafers with a blue check suit.

@doctajayyy styles his chestnut Hampton's effortlessly with contrasting light green suit. A perfect example of how versatile these shoes can be.

A black pair with a navy or grey suit will look great for a classic business look.

Loafers with a smart but non suited look

Loafers can really excel at that sweet point in between very formal and casual.

Here is Ed aka @edruiz looking amazing, wearing blue Henley tassel loafers with blue jacket and shirt and white trousers. The look is confident, colourful, making a very colourful and stylish statement.

Loafers with a more casual look

Let's start with a very relaxed look. Suede is less formal than leather. Sockless is less formal. Shorts complete the relaxed look.

Here is Benn aka @dailytouchof class wearing Hampton brown suede loafers with shorts in a very relaxed style.

Here's another example, this time Ravi aka @dapper_rav wearing Hampton blue penny loafers.

Other loafer looks

We love this photo of Andrea aka @andrea_james_gabrielli wearing Thomas Bird brown suede loafers in London. Very stylish. Very cool.

Socks or no socks?

The photo of Andrea above perfectly shows the sockless look. Here are two more sockless examples, the first more formal because of the dark trousers and the dark tone leather.

This sockless look is more casual, with suede rather than leather, and a lighter chino type pair of  trousers.

The oxblood patina on the Hampton's is something special, a striking addition to your outfit.

Another sockless look - blue and blue.

This look is dark and formal but also gorgeous because of the subtle olive green leather.

Video: Penny or Tassel - Which is right for you?

Conclusion

Loafers are fabulous and everyone should have at least one pair. Leather or suede, penny or tassel, casual or formal, you can mix it up. Just pick the one you like best.