Loafers and socks is a topic with many different opinions
Some people swear by wearing loafers without socks – while others repeatedly defend their argument that not wearing socks is just a trend that needs to go away as soon as possible, period.
With the jury still out on this, I prefer taking the middle-ground.
The gist: Wear what you want, and don’t wear what you don’t want 🙂
It is completely okay to wear socks with your loafers – sharp and stylish men have been doing it for a long time. Even if you prefer going sockless, the recommended approach would be to wear loafer/no-show socks that make it look like you aren’t wearing any socks. The trick to picking socks for loafers it to ensure that your entire outfit has a single standout colour at a time, be it your socks or something else. You can also stick to neutral colours and plain socks for a conservative look, and keep all the large patterns for casual wear
What Are Loafers?
So, you already know what loafers are? Well done B-)
Nevertheless, there’s one major point that I wanted to put across, so let’s talk about it –
Simply put, a loafer is a kind of slip-on shoe that has
- A separate sole and a distinct heel
- A moc toe or apron toe
Moc toes are made by a separate piece of material that is stitched on the upper of the shoe and extends till the toe. In contrast, this piece stops before your toes in an apron toe
Moc toes are a primary feature of moccasin shoes – which are another style of similar shoes. But loafers exist with both types of toes. If you’d like to read about the detailed difference between moccasins and loafers, I have a post about it here
All loafers are slip-on shoes but all slip-on shoes are not loafers.
Anything without a moc or apron toe (like this shoe below) cannot be considered a loafer (although the ideas and tips about socks would be fairly similar)
Types of Loafers
Loafers have a long and rich history and have evolved into different styles.
The categorization is generally done based on the decorative element on the vamp of the shoe. Loafers can be divided into four types: the penny loafer, the tassel loafer, the Gucci loafer, and the Belgian loafer
Penny Loafer
Penny loafers are one of the most commonly known loafers today, and by far my favourite of all the four types
These shoes are characterized by a separate piece of leather (called a saddle) that is placed across the vamp of the shoe – with a diamond-shaped cutout.
Stories say that these loafers got their peculiar name thanks to prep school students in mid-20th century America, who used to insert pennies in the diamond cutout of their loafers. Whether it was a fashion statement or for a functional purpose (two pennies were sufficient for a telephone call at that time) – we cannot say, but the name quickly caught on and that’s how most of the world knows these shoes today
Tassel Loafer
While Penny Loafers have their signature and classic saddle, Tassel loafers go more preppy with two tassels that are stitched on the vamp
I must admit, tassel loafers are not for everybody. I certainly did not like them earlier, but they seem to have grown on me recently
These loafers, due to their decorative tassels, are more casual than penny loafers
Gucci (or Horsebit) Loafer
Like the name states, these loafers were introduced by the iconic Italian designer Gucci
These loafers have a saddle-like piece like penny loafers, but instead of the diamond cutout, Gucci added a metal strap on the saddle. The strap resembled the shape of a horse’s snaffle i.e. the bit mouthpiece for the horse used while riding. It was this metal strap that gave the shoe its alternative name: the Horse-bit Loafer
At the same formality level as a penny loafer, gucci loafers are acceptable to be worn with suits
Belgian Loafer
Belgian Loafers are another popular loafer style, and the most casual of all.
These loafers, also called as Belgian shoes, have no saddles or tassels but a small distinctive bow on top. The apron toe looks a little different too, with a contrasting trim along its edges and the shoe – usually in the colour of the bow.
Belgian loafers come in many different colours and material, with suede being one of the popular choices
These loafers are best worn casually with cotton pants, or a pair of chinos or jeans
No Socks vs Loafer Socks: An Important Difference
Generally, it is recommended that you always wear socks with a pair of dress shoes, unless you are okay with –
- Damage to your shoes because of all the foot sweat
- Smelly shoes and feet
- Blisters
I’m sure none of us want that. So the underlying meaning behind the terms ‘sockless look’ or ‘no socks look’ is to actually wear socks that make it look like you’re aren’t wearing any socks.
Loafer socks (also called as no-show socks) come to the rescue here. They hide inside the shoes allowing you to keep up with the trendy look, while still providing all the benefits of socks B-)
So, even when you don’t want to look like you’re wearing socks, you can (and should) wear (no show) socks!
If you’d rather go literally sockless instead of pretending about it, then make sure you read through to the end of the article. I have a few tips for you to know when it’s okay to not wear any socks with loafers 🙂
Top 5 Tips To Wear Socks With Loafers
Below are some specific tips for wearing socks with loafers. I also have a detailed guide on wearing socks with formal shoes that talks about the general sock wearing rules
#1: Neutral Solids Always Look Wonderful
As compared to other dress shoes styles, a loafer is low shoe. This means that the lower part of your ankles are open instead of being covered by the shoe.
This also means, that more of your socks would be visible with a pair of loafers, even when you’re standing up.
Showing your socks in this manner can be uncomfortable in the beginning, which is one of the reasons you might wonder if it is okay to wear socks with loafers
However this also presents us with a unique opportunity to be thoughtful about our sock choices with loafers, and solid socks do wonderfully well in that regard.
Solid coloured socks are a great starting point as you’re figuring out your own tastes and preferences, and once you’ve mastered them – you can always play around with colours and patterns (more on that later)
Go for neutral colours like dark blue, black, brown, gray, deep red.
They will complement any outfit that you put together so you wouldn’t have to worry much about matching.
Now, I also have a few words of caution here:
- White socks are neutral too – but avoid them like the plague, or covid-19 (or both?)
Sure, you’ll stand out if you wear white socks, just not in the manner I’d want you to - Most of the colours mentioned above will go well with each other – except for black and brown. That means no black socks with brown shoes, unless you’re wearing Belgian loafers with black trim along its edges – that one doesn’t look so bad
You can also pick and put contrasting neutrals together – like light gray socks with black shoes, or stick to combining close shades together – like deep red socks with brown shoes.
With black shoes, any pair of socks will be a contrast – so pay special attention when your wear those. Navy or black socks will be the safest best with black shoes, as they will be mostly reserved for formal occasions
#2: Match Socks With Your Pants or Loafers For A Seamless And Conservative Look
Matching socks with your pants is always a safe and stylist bet, and especially well with loafers
It is very easy to go overboard with socks when wearing them with any kind of loafer, so this tip intentionally keeps the entire outfit toned down and conservative.
And if you are heading to an event that is supposed to be formal – then choosing your sock colours becomes ever more important to be respectful of the dress code. Wearing socks in the same colour as your pant provides for a seamless look, not attracting any extra attention towards your feet. Subtlety is always nice 🙂
To add some interest, you can also go for socks with small traditional patterns or ribbed socks as long as the overall shade of those socks is close to the pants
But what should you do if you love trousers in bold and unique colours? (Red pants, I see you ;))
The answer is the same. Matching your socks becomes even more important then because your pants would already be the one visually interesting detail about your outfit. Be mindful of wearing such pants for dressy occasions – I’d stick to dark/neutral colours
Another idea is to match socks with your loafers instead, which is a different take on sock matching but still conservative.
I’m sure a lot of us have already been doing this unintentionally for years, knowing how there is always a confusion whether to match your socks with your shoes or your pants. (Now you know the answer – both work *grin*)
The only caveat here is to have at least some contrast between your pants and shoes/socks. Blue pants, blue socks, and blue shoes would be a bit too much, don’t you think?
#3: If The Rest Of Your Outfit Is Neutral, A Pop Of Colour Is Okay
This is an extension of the previous two points: we’re keeping the solids but going for a non-neutral colour instead.
If you want to be a little more adventurous, add a pop of contrasting colour via your socks! Your socks will stand out, but if the rest of your outfit has neutral tones it looks very good
I’ve got a few pairs of bold socks especially for this – orange, yellow, sky blue, purple, even pink. Here are a few different ideas on how you could wear these
- Yellow socks + blue pants + tan loafers + beige jacket or light shirt.
It’s a combination with a bold sock choice, sure, but still not overbearing - Orange socks + khaki chinos + dark brown loafers.
If you noticed, we’re following a part of all the previous tips here. These combinations are
- Solid – when buying bright coloured socks I prefer to find solid ones without any patterns (ribbed ones are okay). The colour speaks for itself and such socks do not require any extra detail to make them interesting
- Closely matched with either pants (orange socks and khakis) or shoes (yellow socks and tan shoes)
You don’t always have to match your socks this way, but it helps to make the entire decision a whole lot easier
If you’d like to go bolder, you can also add an accessory in a similar colour: it could be a pocket square, tie, bracelet, or a watch
But if you’re not comfortable with such socks – that is okay too! There are so many different socks out there, and I’m sure some of the other tips would work for you
#4: Reserve The Bold Patterns For More Casual Wears
For all those occasions where you can go casual, it is time to have some fun with your socks (I’m a BIG supporter of fun socks)
You can safely bring out your bolder socks and add some personal flair to your outfits – wide stripes, checks, big polka dots – all will do. Do keep it balanced – usually, a single bold or interesting piece in an outfit is a good idea, keeping the rest of it toned down.
In terms of socks, this could mean big blue polka dot socks with brown penny loafers, olive chinos, and a button-down white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Or if you’re going for a fun pattern, you could wear it with a pair of tassel or Belgian loafers, dark wash denim and a nice polo shirt in neutral colours
Loafers are somewhere between formal and casual, which makes it easier to wear them with a variety of socks.
Black loafers are the only exception; since black is a formal colour wearing bright or preppy socks with them will look a bit off. Other than that, feel free to experiment when you’re wearing loafers casually – there is not much that could go wrong.
With laid back outfits, no-show socks are a great option as well.
These loafer socks come in many cool patterns and colours – but since they’re going to be hidden inside your shoes anyway it doesn’t matter which ones you choose – unless your shoes are going to be off for extended periods of time (like at prayer meetings or pujas)
In such cases, the same tips of pattern matching apply
#5: The One Time With Loafers You Should Always Pretend To Go Sockless
This post is about socks with loafers, but if you’re wearing shorts then you should definitely pretend to go sockless
No-show socks are the perfect, and only appropriate pairing with loafers and shorts. While ankle length socks are acceptable too, they are better suited for athletic and sports use and not for something as casual as shorts and loafers
When Can You Wear Loafers Without Socks?
Go Ahead And Sock Them!
Loafers are the perfect shoes for a simple, sharp relaxed style, and you can take them to the next level by adding a personal flair with the help of socks.
Whether they are no-show or calf-length, the right type of socks will keep your feet and shoes healthy, while also helping you create many different and stylish looks.
When compliments start flying your way, do let me know 😉
