The Penny Loafer.

Shop our men's and women's loafer collections.

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May 21, 2026 1:00am EDT

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The penny loafer is one of those shoes that feels like it has always existed, which is usually a sign that someone got it right first time. Its story starts in Norway, where fishermen wore a simple slip-on shoe that was later adapted by an American company and eventually became known as the penny loafer. The name came from the small slot across the front where American students supposedly kept a penny for emergency phone calls.

We’ve always liked shoes with a bit of honesty to them, and the penny loafer is exactly that – no unnecessary detail, just a clean, timeless design that improves with age. Like most classics, it survives because it works.