Men's Black Bow Loafers

Men's black bow loafers in full grain calf, Goodyear welted on a leather sole and made to order in your size and width. The bow is the whole shoe: there is no lacing, no broguing and no hardware, so everything rests on the line of the vamp and one piece of hand stitched leather.

What a bow loafer is, and where the bow came from

A bow loafer is a low vamp slip on finished with a small flat bow set at the throat. It descends directly from the Belgian loafer that Henri Bendel began selling in Manhattan in 1955, made by artisans in the Belgian countryside and finished with a hand tied bow at the vamp.

The bow is not decoration borrowed from women's footwear, which is the assumption people make. On the original it sat where a lace would have been on a slipper, and it marks the throat line, the point where the shoe stops holding your foot. Take it off and the vamp reads as an unfinished oval.

Why black is the difficult version

Black is the least forgiving color in footwear and a bow loafer is the least forgiving shape, which makes this the combination where poor making shows fastest.

Black absorbs almost all the light that hits it, so a black shoe reads as a silhouette rather than a surface. On a brogue that is fine, because the perforations and the wing cap draw the shape for you. On a bow loafer there is nothing: one clean panel from the toe to the throat and a bow. Every wave in the lasting, every slight asymmetry between left and right, every place the vamp was pulled unevenly over the last shows up as a ripple in that silhouette.

The same goes for the bow itself. On brown it is an accent. On black it is the only thing with a visible edge anywhere on the shoe, so if it is set a few millimetres off center, or if the two halves are not the same, you see it immediately.

The detail that decides how long a bow lasts

A bow is either stitched down through the vamp or glued on. Glued is faster, cheaper and completely standard at every price point below this one.

A glued bow fails in a predictable way. One corner lifts, usually the outer one, because that is the corner your other shoe catches when you walk. Once it has lifted it never sits flat again, and re-gluing it leaves a visible ridge of adhesive at the edge. There is no repair that returns the shoe to how it looked.

A stitched bow is anchored through the vamp leather itself. It stays flat for the life of the shoe. You can check which you have on any bow loafer by looking at the underside of the bow where it meets the vamp: stitching shows, glue does not.

Full grain, top grain, genuine leather

Full grain keeps the complete outer surface of the hide with nothing sanded off, so the tightest, strongest fibers are still in place. It develops a patina rather than wearing through.

Top grain has had that surface sanded away to remove scars, then an artificial grain pressed back on. Uniform to look at, faster to wear out.

Genuine leather is the lowest grade sold despite the name, made from what remains after the good layers have been taken, bonded and coated.

On a shoe that is one unbroken panel across the vamp, this is not a specification detail. Top grain cracks at the flex line, and on a bow loafer that crack runs right across the most visible part of the shoe.

How these are built

Goodyear welted and hand stitched. A leather welt runs around the upper and insole, the outsole is stitched to that welt rather than glued to the upper, and the shoe resoles repeatedly. Cork between insole and outsole compresses to your foot across the first month of wear.

Full grain calf upper, leather lining, leather sole, stacked leather heel, bow stitched down. Width cut to your measurement in D, E, EE or EEE through our made to order service. See the rest of the range in men's leather loafers.

Fit and sizing

Made to order in US sizes with widths D through EEE.

A bow loafer has a low vamp and a shallow throat, so it holds your foot at fewer points than a penny or tassel loafer does. It has to be snug. A shoe that feels comfortable the first time you put it on is too big, and heel slip on a slip on cannot be fixed afterwards by any means.

Order your true length and specify the width separately rather than sizing up to gain room across the ball, because sizing up makes the shoe long and a long slip on slips. Measure against the men's shoe size guide and tell us before you order if you are between widths or have a low instep.

What to wear them with

Black bow loafers sit higher on the formality scale than any other loafer, because black plus a clean unbroken vamp is the dressiest combination a slip on can offer.

Charcoal and mid gray worsted are the strongest pairings. Navy works. Black tailoring works, which is not true of most shoes in this catalog. They are also the one loafer here that will carry a dinner jacket in a relaxed setting, where a patent pump would feel like too much.

What they do not want is brown or tan above them, or anything textured. Keep your belt black and smooth. Also in the range: dark brown bow loafers and the dark brown Belgian loafer.

Care

Cream first, then wax. Cream feeds the leather and holds the color; wax builds shine and protects the toe. Cream every four to six wears, wax whenever you want a shine.

The one thing to watch is the bow seam. Cream and wax collect in the channel where the bow meets the vamp, dry pale, and outline the bow in a lighter tone against the black, which on this shoe is conspicuous. Brush along that seam rather than across it and keep product off the ridge of the bow itself.

Cedar trees between wearings, a day of rest between wears, dry naturally away from heat if they get wet.

What to expect when you order

Cut and lasted after you order in your size and width. Production is 10 to 14 days, then shipping.

Questions we get asked

What is a bow loafer?
A low vamp slip on finished with a small flat bow at the throat. It descends from the Belgian loafer that Henri Bendel began selling in Manhattan in 1955, which was made in Belgium and finished with a hand tied bow at the vamp.

Why is there a bow on a men's shoe?
On the original it sat where a lace would have been on a slipper, and it marks the throat line, the point where the shoe stops holding your foot. Without it the vamp reads as an unfinished oval.

Why is black harder to make well than brown on this shape?
Because black absorbs almost all the light that hits it, so the shoe reads as a silhouette rather than a surface. With no lacing or broguing to draw the shape, every ripple in the lasting and every asymmetry between left and right shows up in that silhouette.

Should the bow be stitched or glued?
Stitched. A glued bow lifts at the outer corner, because that is the corner your other shoe catches when you walk, and once lifted it never sits flat again. Re-gluing leaves a visible ridge of adhesive. Look at the underside where the bow meets the vamp: stitching shows, glue does not.

What is the difference between full grain and top grain?
Full grain keeps the complete outer surface of the hide with nothing sanded off, so the strongest fibers are still there and it patinas rather than wearing through. Top grain has been sanded to remove scars and embossed with an artificial grain, and it cracks at the flex line.

How should a bow loafer fit?
Snug. The low vamp and shallow throat hold your foot at fewer points than a penny or tassel loafer. If it feels comfortable the first time you put it on it is too big, and heel slip on a slip on cannot be fixed afterwards.

Should I size up for a wide foot?
No. Order your true length and specify the width separately, D through EEE. Sizing up to gain room across the ball makes the shoe long, and a long slip on slips at the heel.

How formal are black bow loafers?
The dressiest loafer there is. Black plus a clean unbroken vamp is as formal as a slip on gets, and these will carry charcoal, navy and black tailoring, and a dinner jacket in a relaxed setting.

How do I polish these without marking the bow?
Cream first, then wax, but keep both off the ridge of the bow and brush along the bow seam rather than across it. Product collects in that channel, dries pale and outlines the bow in a lighter tone, which on black is conspicuous.