a love letter to loafers
letting something uplift your spirits is a perfectly reasonable thing to do
Happy Friday all. Today is the first day in a while that I’ve felt some semblance of myself. Motivation, creativity, hopefulness have all eluded me over the past week. Every obstacle I’ve met with frustration and disappointment, completely sure that I’m unable to accomplish all the things that I’ve been pushing toward. Every up somehow led to a down — I got a new lens but it’s focal length proved trickier for doing self shoots. The lens is wonderful but the smallest stumbling block had me second guessing my decision to invest in it. At our anniversary dinner the table took an extra 5 minutes to get ready; I was feeling totally put out by the time they sat us. It turns out they were late because they were hand writing a happy anniversary card for our table. Small things that otherwise wouldn’t have bothered me at all have been crawling under my skin and sitting there. Something changed this morning though. I woke up before sunrise, joined a group of squash players for some early play, and drove back with a bluebird sky overhead. Kicking off writing this post felt impossible over the past few days, but I’m finally feeling the mojo return.
If anyone else has been under the election machine cloud that was hovering over me, I hope you start to see your own light very soon. Returning to the words in Kamala’s concession speech that made the hairs on my arms raise up:
The important thing is don't ever give up. Don't ever give up. Don't ever stop trying to make the world a better place. You have power. You have power. And don't you ever listen when anyone tells you something is impossible because it has never been done before. You have the capacity to do extraordinary good in the world.
With that, I will commence by telling you that there’s been a hole in my shoe lineup for a while now. The missing piece: a pair of walkable, fitted loafers.
Two weeks ago I spontaneously stopped into the shoe store next door to the camera shop where I was picking up my new lens. It’s sort of an old school place in that there’s a person on the sales floor attending to you as you shop. Now as I was writing that, I realize that’s not actually that old school. It’s just that these days most of my shoes are either ordered online or found in my favorite surplus/salvage store where designer brand shoes often times appear on the shelves from boutique buyouts. I’ve found so many great pairs of shoes there, but it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack, with no one asking about your fit and feel.
As I shoe horned my way through various styles I was torn between two rather different options and caught up on which would be better suited with my wardrobe: a platform loafer or a leopard print loafer?
The contenders:
see what I mean:
But despite the platform loafer styles being high on my list of potentials, it was the leopards that I walked out with!
3.5 Ways to Wear Leopard Loafers
Take 1) Adding some pizazz to a casual errands look.
The weather here has been unseasonably warm, so little gym pants and tshirts that would otherwise be too thin for November are still in the rotation. A printed shirt + printed shoes is a good way to liven an “errands” look. ie a functional outfit that’s suitable for getting easily in and out of the car, walking, schlepping, etc.
Basic formula here is:
Leather jacket, graphic tee, athleisure pants, socks, loafers.
The leather jacket and loafers make sort of a chic sandwich around the low key tee and leggings pairing. Color symmetry happens with the black socks and jacket, as well as the white graphic and pants. More points for visual interest if the graphic tee is a standout color!
Speaking of color, I am really into this nontraditional color for leggings — the ivory is a nice departure from the every-day-black-leggings, although I would 100% invest in these in black as a second color because the split flare is a such a nice silhouette. It’s also the perfect legging to accentuate your shoes because the hem ends exactly at the ankle.
In anyone is in the market for an athleisure revival, these are the Alo Yoga Airbrush High-Waist 7/8 Flutter Legging.
Take 1.5) Trade leggings for knit pants.
The 1/2 take on this look gets an honorable mention because a different bottom sort of changes the mood. For this look I tossed the socks and swapped the leggings for soft knit black joggers. This is more the ‘going out for a coffee and seeing where the morning takes me’ kind of outfit. Infinitely more forgiving and cuddly than the skintight leggings, for what it’s worth.
These are the Off Duty Cashmere Joggers from NAADAM. They have a great selection of limited edition colors right now, but all the core neutrals are there for you too. One recommendation, size down because they are pretty long in the legs and also, like any other knits, the fit will relax as you wear them in.
This look would work with ANY jogger! The cuff around the base of the shin is such a nice segue into whatever shoe you are wearing, and especially one that has a lower vamp — like these loafers.
Take 2) Making an evening wear look into daywear.
This look is all about the textures. The dress is velvet, the loafers are hair-on leather, and the stole is faux fur. I added tall dress socks to give this a realistic flair for cool autumn days, and the faux fur stole is actually really cozy enough to wear with an outfit all day.
A bit hard to tell in this photo, but this vintage dress has a long, fitted body, with a criss-crossed back. I’ve worn it to things like holiday parties and the ballet, but it’s one of those dresses that can easily become more of a utility piece with the right pairings. The practicality of the loafers & dress socks makes for a studious shift in energy; blue faux fur has an energy category unto itself.
Take 3) Don’t let a good classic go undone.
There’s a reason loafers and trench coats look good together. Both have a sleek silhouette, both lend a gentle sophistication to an ensemble, both are practical. Both have stood the test of time.
So pairing them would not be considered a style stretch, so much as a style must. And in this case, I played in a neutrals sandbox of camel, cream, black and …. leopard. I think at this point we can probably consider leopard a neutral in its own right!
Now, for any of these styles you are loving, I’ve pulled together a hit list of my favorite comps from the world wide web.
The Loafers:
Ok, so if you are a size 6 then you might be able to snag a pair of the exact leopard loafers I’m wearing in this post (for $18, how?!). It looks like there are a few other color options from the same seller and I’m 100% eyeing the black & white animal print iteration of this shoe:
This colorway has been tickling my brain since seeing these heels on Alaïa IG
The closest comps to my Clark’s Leopard Print loafers are the Beny Flats from dolce vita. (the black leather studded variant is to die for as well). These loafers from & other stories have a softer shape and are on the verge of driving mocs.
Prada did these, and the leather bow on the Stuart Weitzman option takes the cake for best adornment.
The Trench Coat:
My Ralph Lauren trench is an older model, but luckily there’s an endless parade of plaid prints from this brand. This Brown Plaid option is beautiful. Also, let’s be real, there are thousands of other brands doing great things with this cut and style of the wool-plaid-trench. For this coat it’s more about the nature of the piece than the actual designer.
The Faux Fur:
One of the defining features of my blue fur collar is the satin tie. It adds one more notch of chic to have a glossy bow hanging gracefully down the front of an outfit. There’s a big range of shoppable faux fur on the web — some good, some bad. In my research the Eliza Collar from Free People definitely stood out as looking really real, and it has the coveted satin tie.
The Velvet Dress:
There is absolutely no shortage of vintage velvet maxi dress options out there. Most are Y2K vintage (which still kills me, that’s my childhood). A few that I would wear myself:
» jumper with x straps & square neck
» totally voluptuous tent dress with satin ribbon detailing
» most similar to my pencil dress styled in this post
» wish this one was in my size because it’s so fabulously unique
The other elements to these looks are all staples just arranged together in the right measures. Leggings / joggers, lightweight straight pants, a fitted cardigan, black socks, a graphic tee. It’s proof that one simple elevated piece (the loafers, in this case) can breathe fresh life and inspiration into daily dressing!
To end, here’s a good electro jazz track to get dressed to. This album artwork is the one other thing in this post inhabiting the same energy field as my blue fur collar.
As I work toward building out my own brand and professional services here in Maine, one of my biggest goals is to continue expanding my readership both in and beyond the state. What I’ve found over the past 6 months is that many people don’t actually know about substack! If you are here, you know what it is, so please take a moment to share with a friend, colleague, family member or service provider of yours who would love this newsletter.
In one soundbite, my substack is a friendly voice in your inbox once a week, talking about something that we all do every single day: getting dressed.
Have a wonderful weekend!
xx, Georgia
These photos are stunning Georgia! I am constantly trying to create that velvety look with the lens and you nailed it despite the issues you’re having ❤️❤️❤️
Always creative, always stunning ♥️