Leather Loafers

Every pair here is real leather, which is the one thing this rack promises. It is the material that starts stiff, learns the shape of your foot and stays that way, and it is the only one on the site that gets better looking with time.

See also: Men's Leather Loafers, Women's Leather Penny Loafers, Suede Loafers, Patent Loafers, Black Loafers, Brown Loafers

What leather does that nothing else does

Three things, and they are the reason people pay more for it.

1. It molds
   Two or three weeks of wear and the shoe fits your foot rather than an average one. That is why a leather pair should feel slightly snug on day one.

2. It repairs
   A scuff comes back with cream. A dull toe comes back with a cloth. Nothing else on the site can be brought back this way.

3. It breathes
   A leather upper handles a long warm day better than a sealed one, which is why summer dress shoes have been made from it for a century.
   See also: Summer Loafers

Finishes on top of the leather

About one pair in eight here carries a glossy patent finish, and a few have a croc-style grain pressed in. Both sit on the leather rather than replacing it, so the shoe still behaves like leather underneath.

A note worth keeping: a glossy or embossed finish elsewhere on the site is just as often on faux leather. The finish tells you nothing about the material, only about the surface.

3 mistakes to avoid when buying leather loafers

1. Buying a size up for comfort
   Leather gives roughly half a size. Buy the pair that is snug rather than the one that is easy, or you will be in a loose shoe by month two.

2. Wearing the same pair every day
   Leather needs a day to dry out between wears. Two pairs alternated outlast the same two pairs worn back to back, and by a wide margin.

3. Drying a wet pair with heat
   A radiator hardens leather and then it cracks, and that is the one thing cream will not undo. Open air, stuffed with paper, away from heat.