A Letter From Michelle — The Loafers
A Letter From Michelle
You gave up the heels. Nobody said you had to give up the shoes.
On the gap between a sneaker and a dress shoe, why a flat shoe is allowed to have a pattern on it, the six things I would not compromise on, and why these start at $69.95.
There is a shoe rack by most front doors now, and most of what sits on it is sneakers.
Not because anybody chose that. The heels became impossible some years ago, and what got offered instead was bulky and beige and looked like it came out of a medical supply catalog.
So the sneakers go to lunch with the good pants. You know it. Nobody says anything.
So look at where the decoration sits on these three. On top of the foot — a gold bit, a red band, a stitched penny strap — and never in the heel. The heel is the part your feet object to. The top of the foot is the part people actually look at.
Six things I would not compromise on.
The heel is the part they left alone
The Serena’s listing puts it at four tenths of an inch, and that is the tallest in the group. The Irene is a thin sole and a low heel; the Geneva sits on a sturdier sole with a cushioned insole under it. Nothing here is asking you to practice. It is the difference between a shoe you wear to the thing and one you carry and put on in the parking lot.
“Nice low heel, easy to slip on, and I really like the pointed toe. I wore mine with ankle pants and a navy sweater to my sister’s birthday dinner. Just the look I wanted.”
Suzanne R., HarrisonburgEverything that dresses them up sits on the vamp
A gold-tone bit on one, a red band across the next, a raised penny strap with visible stitching on the third. That is the whole budget, spent in the one place a shoe is seen from above — which is how anybody near you sees it. Put a plain flat beside any of these and it is not cheaper. It is undecided.
“The gold detail is what makes these for me. I have plenty of plain flats, but these look a little more dressed up. Very pretty with cream pants.”
Carolyn W., RoanokeLeopard in camel and black is behaving as a neutral
Look at what the print is actually made of: warm camel and black. Those are the two colors already doing the work in your closet, which is why leopard goes with navy and cream and gray without being asked to. It reads as a pattern from six feet away and as a brown shoe from twenty. That is not a compromise. That is the reason it has lasted sixty years.
“I bought the leopard pair with the gold buckle. Wore them with black slacks to lunch with my girlfriends and got two compliments before we even ordered!”
Marianne T., FranklinOne line of color, and nothing else has to be brave
The red one runs a band across the front and a line around the topline, then stops. That is the trick with a bright color on a shoe: one place, finished edge, and the rest of the outfit can stay exactly as plain as you want it. Cream pants, gray pants, jeans. You are not building a look around them. You are putting one red line at the bottom of what you already wear.
“I haven’t worn leopard print in years! My daughter talked me into trying these and I’m glad she did. The red band is such a cheerful touch. 😊”
Judith M., DubuqueOne idea, three versions of it
The same low shoe underneath, slipped on the same way, with three different things happening on top. The Serena has the gold bit and the black band. The Geneva is the one with the red. The Irene is the quiet one — a matte suede-effect upper, a stitched penny strap, no metal anywhere — and it comes in taupe, gray and black, though taupe is the one everybody photographs.
“Started with the tan loafers because I needed something neutral. Liked the look so much I went back for the leopard ones with the red trim. A little more fun for weekends.”
Elaine P., AshevilleNothing to fasten, and four sizes I would rather tell you about here
No laces, no buckle, no zip on any of the three. You step in at the door and go. They run 5.5 through 11, the same eight sizes across all three, and here is the part I would rather you heard from me than found at the dropdown: there is no 6.5, no 7.5, no 9 and no 10.5. If yours is one of those four, I would sooner you knew now.
“I ordered two pairs, the plain taupe and the leopard with black trim. I wear the taupe with almost everything and save the leopard for when I want a little something extra.”
Patricia K., WenatcheeThese, against what else $70 buys
| Most $70 flat shoes | These three | |
|---|---|---|
| The heel | High enough that you take them off in the car | Four tenths of an inch on the Serena, and low on all three |
| Getting them on | Laces, or a buckle you have to bend down to | Step in and go — no laces, buckles or zips on any of them |
| The decoration | Built into the heel, where your feet pay for it | On the vamp — a gold bit, a red band, a stitched penny strap |
| The print | Loud enough to wear you, or nothing at all | Leopard in camel and black, the colors already in your closet |
| The trim | A raw edge, or no edge worth looking at | A finished line around the topline: red on one, black on another |
| Sizing | Stops at 10, if you are lucky | 5.5 through 11 on all three (no 6.5, 7.5, 9 or 10.5) |
Why we are clearing them out now
The loafers came in at $269.95, and those numbers were for a gold-tone bit set on a banded vamp, a contrast trim finished all the way around a topline, a raised penny strap with the stitching left visible, and a heel low enough that none of it costs you anything by four in the afternoon. That is a great deal of finishing on a shoe most makers leave plain. But the store turns twenty this year, and my daughters Julie and Amy are both at the counter most days now, which is not something I let myself count on in 2006. We wanted to mark it by handing something back to the women who kept those doors open, so they start at $69.95 — a little under a third of what the Irene was.
And the honest reasoning. A pair of shoes you are willing to be photographed in is not a luxury at our age. It is most of the difference between getting dressed and getting covered.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$269.95From $69.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 70%
- A heel of four tenths of an inch on the Serena, and low on all three
- Nothing to fasten — no laces, buckles or zips
- A gold-tone bit and black band on the Serena
- A red band and contrast topline on the Geneva
- A raised penny strap and visible stitching on the Irene
- Leopard in warm camel and black
- The Irene in taupe, gray or black
- US sizes 5.5 through 11 on all three
- No 6.5, no 7.5, no 9 and no 10.5
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Every size the same price · while sizes last
One more thing, and then I will let you go.
Go and look at the shoes by your own front door. Count the ones you would be glad to be photographed in.
If the answer is none of them, that is not because you stopped caring. It is because every flat shoe you were offered had the personality taken out of it first.
Run the same count when the box arrives. If these do not change the number, send them back within thirty days and we will refund you.
Go and find your size.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
PICK YOUR PAIR — FROM $69.95 →This is a personal letter from Michelle Hayes, co-founder of The Hayes Family Hamptons. Customer reviews are quoted as written. · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.