CENTS AND CENTSABILITY {penny loafer love}

Hello, Hello! Good weekends? Good. Happy.

Now. Onto today's business. I am SO excited about todays post. I honestly don't think I've been this excited about anything since Krakatoa.  I take the job of providing knowledge on the historical obscurities of classic fashion and personal grooming accessories VERY seriously here at HS* And today, I'm happy to feature The Penny Loafer! 

So, every time I go up to the Adirondacks, I look forward to wearing my trusty loafers; which I leave up in the cabin so I always have comfortable footwear when I arrive. This weekend I said to Kurt..."You know, I'm surprised I don't see more people wearing penny loafers around NYC..." and he said they had a kind of 1960's female expressionist painter charm. This made me realize...it's time to bring my country shoes for a visit to the Big Apple.

The Penny Loafer is a shoe almost as varied as the Penny Itself. My personal favorite is the classic "Penny Keeper" design, which was pioneered by Bass. There are myriad species...heeled versions, patent versions...tassel, and Kiltie varieties (a Kltie is that fringey thing that hangs over the shoe.) My own twist on the PL is to keep coinage with personal meaning into the front.

Shoes aside, I would LOVE to get into the coin-collecting dimension here, but I'll save that little tidbit for another day. I've put a few of my recommendations up here. With mysterious, names like Flowing Hair Chain, Liberty Cap, Coronet, Classic Head and Lincoln Wheat, the US penny has a lot to offer. For a touch of Edwardian or Pre-Punk flair, I recommend looking into UK Coinage as well... Which go by species names like the Britannia, and The Heaton Mint.

Oh, moi? My personal favorite? Glad you asked. A pair of solid gold Widow's Head Queen Victoria Sovereigns. Pricey, but so nicey. Not for spending!

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Clickable Things...
A History of the Penny Loafer
Where to buy Bass Weejuns
All sorts of PL's. Including the Cole Haan Air Penny shown above
History of UK Coin Denominations (you have to do some digging to find images- but it is worth it)
More info on British coins of the Pound Sterling
All about the American Penny 

Comments

[Carolina Eclectic]

Love, LOVE these shoes! I also love the idea of using foreign coins inside of them. Very clever:)

[Susy]

me too... my dad is originally from the u.k. so we have all sorts of great english coins...i have a total love affair with them!

but i also love the old american pennies. and, these shoes are so comfy once they age a bit. classic!

[Ashley]

I just got a pair of Bass Weejuns over the summer after a lifetime of improper fittings and returns. Loafers and tweed signal the return of my favorite time of the year!

[Cyn]

I have three pairs of loafers and love them all! Can't wait to update them with some classic coins...

[tara]

I remember being little (under 10, maybe 7?) and infuriating my older, cooler cousins by pulling the pennies out of their loafers.

[Susy]

Yay Everybody! I'm so glad you liked this post, and glad it brought back memories. Me too. : )

[Shanon]

Awwwh! You just reminded me that I have a pair from last year in the closet. I can't wait to bust them out again!

[Max White @ Coin Collecting Software]

Susy, I'm a coin lover. I collect US pennies and I couldn't help noticing you posted a photo of an item that interests me a lot!

:-)