#Menswear Might Be Dead, But Loafers Are So Alive

#Menswear is dead, but we inherited the loafer.

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Complex Original

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Mark the time. Thursday June 9, at around 5 p.m. EST, #menswear left us for a better place. At least, if Lauren Sherman's Business of Fashion article, titled "#Menswear Is Dead," turns out to be true.

If you weren't on the Internet around 2012-ish, allow us to explain: #menswear was a movement that began online, on Tumblr and sites like StyleForum. Devotees appreciated the craftsmanship of items associated with Italian style, traditional English tailoring, and all-American heritage brands. There were lots of chinos, and tons of double monk-strap shoes. Sherman points to the demise of stores like Carson Street Clothiers and upstanding publications such as Four Pins, Details, and Japanese magazine Free & Easy as proof that #menswear really is gone.

If you miss the #menswear heyday, you can dry your eyes and be strong, because the movement isn't completely gone; it's just evolved. The fuccboi has finally become a fuccman.

#Menswear may not have made it, but we recognize its sacrifices. It died for the Jaden Smiths and Young Thugs, who don't even want to wear menswear let alone #menswear. It died for the man wearing sandy layered clothing from Zara and Yeezys. It died so fashion designers will taking men's clothing seriously—Coach and Balenciaga are both betting more on clothing for dudes—and so runway shows can mix both men's and women's clothing together. So, while our tastes may have expanded, pieces from the #menswear era have survived.

One that is coming back hard is the loafer, a #menswear favorite. You could argue that loafers are back for the same reason loose-fitting clothing and the '90s are back. Fashion is cyclical and it was only a matter of time before a more formal shoe fought its way out from under a pile of sneakers.

But, take a look. Gucci is undeniably a huge force in bringing the loafer back to its rightful perch. The horsebit loafer has long been one of the label's signature styles and a rising tide raises all boats or vaguely similar shoes, or whatever. The style was first reincarnated on the big stage on the feet of A$AP Rocky. The rapper's kangaroo fur-lined style is an advanced take on the trend, but nonetheless got us thinking about the word "loafers" again.

Now, brands like Aimé Leon Dore are unveiling new takes on the loafer and molding them for today's tastes. Meanwhile, A.P.C., Tod's, Cole Haan, and John Lobb continue to crank out the classics we're going to start seeing more and more on the feet of guys everywhere. These classic iterations have not gone unnoticed by celebs like Wiz Khalifa, who also wore the Gucci shoes to the Met Gala and the iHeartRadio Awards, Jared Leto, and Idris Elba.

 

Aimé Leon Dore, $275

Gucci, $695

Gucci, $450

A.P.C., $350

Tod's, $595

Cole Haan, $160

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