On Horse-Bit Loafers

By James H. Grant

Horse-bit loafers, also known as brass-bit or snaffle loafers, have been around for many years. Not being a horseman myself, I had no clue what a “snaffle” was, so I had to look it up.

The original shoe was introduced by Gucci of Florence, Italy, in 1953. Consequently, the style is oftentimes called the “Gucci loafer.” Many mainstream European, American and Japanese shoe manufacturers have made similar shoes – both men’s and women’s models. And Gucci has spun off a number of variations, some of which, quite frankly, have pushed the envelope of good taste.

There has been an on-going discussion on this forum – dare I say controversy – questioning whether the horse-bit loafer is an appropriate adjunct to an otherwise Ivy-traditional-collegiate wardrobe. On March 11, 2013, an article appeared on Ivy Style titled Classic Since 1953: The Gucci Horse-bit Loafer’s 60th Anniversary. The article generated a large number of reader comments. My quick “down and dirty” survey of those comments revealed the following results: Favorable to the horse-bit Loafer (18), Negative comments (40), and No opinion or unrelated comments (39).

Quite frankly, I was somewhat taken aback by the tone and tenor of some of the comments. Granted, many were just failed attempts at humor, but there were a few which could not pass muster on today’s Ivy Style forum. Perhaps our most recent moderator is just doing a better job adhering to acceptable standards of civility and propriety. And that is a good thing in my view.

Although I was not an Ivy Style reader at the time of that original 2013 article, my vote would have been “Favorable.” In my view, the shoe is essentially traditional and has withstood the test of time – 72 years to be exact. That is longer than the heyday of India Madras, for example, which has long been a traditional clothing staple. Madras is still around today, but the popularity of the boldly colored plaid cloth peaked during the period of the 1960’s–1980’s.

The horse-bit loafer can be worn with casual clothing, blazers, sport coats or business suits. It is generally available in black, brown or a mid-range tan with brass or silver-colored bits, although more recent renditions have featured brushed steel snaffles. Perhaps its most appealing feature is that the Gucci loafer is just a good-looking shoe. It is well designed and aesthetically scaled and proportioned. The snaffle bit is a distinct embellishment without being ostentatious.

However, if it is any consolation to the Naysayers, my wife is not a fan of Gucci-styled loafers. During her forty-year career in the textile industry, she went to work every day and made aesthetic value judgments on printed and woven fabrics for the furniture, contract and clothing industries.

It is my impression that the brass-bit loafer is more closely associated with the “preppy” iteration of Ivy League, which has been a little more lenient in its adherence to traditional, “old school” archetypes.

I purchased my first pair of black brass-bit loafers about 45 years ago from a Church’s shoe store in Atlanta. I do not think the shoes were manufactured by Church’s. It would be my guess that they were made by a third party manufacturer to sell in Church’s American retail stores. If they had been made in Church’s workrooms in Northampton, England, they would have been considerably more expensive. But the provenance of the shoe was of no particular interest to me. I just liked the style and eventually bought another pair in brown. They were not expensive – certainly more than Bass Weejuns® but considerably less than Allen Edmonds or Alden loafers. As I recall, both pairs of my horse-bit loafers lasted well into the 1990’s.

Today, I occasionally wear a pair of brass-bit loafers I purchased about five years ago. See below. If you are considering giving me a hard time about the off-white wool crew socks, don’t bother. If you can remember the early 1960’s, you will get it. If you can’t, you won’t.

In June 1981 – 44 years ago – my wife and I went to Scotland to attend the International Gathering of the Clans. We stayed for a week in Strathspey (valley of the River Spey), the principal ancestral home of the Clan Grant.

[N.B. – According to scotchwhisky.com, the three best-selling single malt Scotch whiskies in the United States in 2022 were Glenfiddich, the Glenlivet and MacAllan – all distilled in Strathspey. So, now you know what my ancestors were up to.]

We arranged various events for the other fourteen members of the Clan Grant Society–USA, who accompanied us. During the week, we had an opportunity to meet two distinguished members of the clan, Johnny Grant, who at that time was the young Laird of the large estate of Rothiemurchus. Since then, he has succeeded to the Earldom of Dysart. We were also entertained at Cullen House, on the north coast of Scotland, by Ian Ogilvie-Grant, 13^th Earl of Seafield. You will notice from the photographs (below), both gentlemen were wearing – you guessed it – Gucci loafers. Normally, highland gentlemen would have been wearing some sort of wing tip, kiltie or brogue-type shoe. I just thought it was interesting that both men were wearing more stylish, horse bit loafers with their kilts. And I certainly did not stage these photo-ops. It was strictly coincidental.

But the question remains. Would these loafers complement a dark gray 3/2 sack suit? Or a navy blazer and gray pants? Or a Glenurquhart tweed sport coat? Or a pair of khakis and a light blue or white OCBD? Or just a pair of blue jeans? Depending on the occasion, I think they would. What is your opinion?