24 November 2010

The Man in the Crocodile Loafers

When I rang my old chums at Paul Stuart in New York City to order a pair of crocodile loafers and told the girl on the other end to make it snappy, I did not expect to receive the shoes the very next day. But that is exactly what happened. Connections matter. Crocodile loafers, as you know, are widely considered the mark of a bounder or a cad. How appropriate, you may conclude. This is the popular view, I guess, disseminated by pompous bourgeois i-gents on the interweb fora, as shallow and silly as it is. So be it. But I suppose there is a little truth in the view. Crocodile loafers, as you are no doubt aware, are also known as the signature footwear of hard-drinking handsome chaps with no definable function in life apart from being charming, looking smart, and exercising a propensity for getting up to no good. So we must proceed with caution here. With that in mind pairing crocodile loafers with houndstooth tweed coat and trousers with knife-edge crease might be a gesture too far. But they are perfectly acceptable with a damp tweed coat, battered pair of brown worsted trousers, and old OCBD with frayed collar. You might even add an Hermès belt with a large 'H' buckle if you are the kind of man who would do such a thing and expect to get away with it. Crocodile loafers from Paul Stuart provide a touch of cavalier flair to an otherwise typical uniform.

7 comments:

James said...

"cavalier flair" sums you up nicely, don't you think?

Richard said...

I own a pair! Well done my friend.

A.E.F. said...

Admiral, you're really rather stylish.

Reggie Darling said...

When it comes right down to it, everybody loves a cad. And rather wants to be one, too. Wear with pride, I say!

Anonymous said...

You have obviously decided to devote the balance of your life to giving Hooray Henrys a bad name.

(Better late than never.)

Anonymous said...

Ooh, even I don't own crocodile shoes, I'm green with envy.

v. Braun. said...

The cool thing about many exotic leathers such as croc or austrich is that they age very well and become very smooth and supple- if you either combine them with a well cut business suit or a 'ratty' fogey outfit, they ought to look great!