SAINT-GERMAIN-DES-PRÉS – Cognac

BELGRAVE CRESCENT

The history of the Penny Loafer is a bit muddled these days, but legend has it that in the 1930’s, Norwegian fisherman were wearing moccasin-style slippers for comfort. The country also began exporting them to the rest of Europe. Americans visiting Europe at the time would bring them home, but it wasn’t until Esquire magazine featured them that these leisure slip-ons became known to the masses in the United States. After the Esquire article, the Spaulding company began producing similarly styled shoes, and a few years later, the Penny Loafer was born. Looking to add his own stamp to the popular loafer, John Bass began producing loafers he called "Weejuns", (a corruption of “Norwegian”) hat had a strap across the top of the shoe for style purposes. This strap had a split design, and it wasn't long before people began placing pennies inside the strap for decoration. It is also thought that school children at the time kept pennies in their loafers for emergency phone calls home at pay phones, which were ubiquitous at the time and cost only a penny per call. And so, that is the story of how a stylistic embellishment that had once been particular to the Bass Weejun shoe became synonymous with an entire fashion. A fashion that is still very much a part of modern style today. The Belgrave Crescent Roxburgh Penny Loafer is a faithful incarnation of the classic, but with the added luxury of each shoe still being carefully sewn by hand in the traditional manner. Material: Leather / Colour: Onyx / Hand Sewn / Style: Slip on Handrafted in Spain by Belgrave Crescent