The 15 Best Loafers on the Planet Right Now
The flagship model comes with luxurious French boxcalf leather uppers, calfskin lining, vegetable-tanned leather outsoles, Goodyear welted construction with a closed channel (or rubber soles), and the signature split apron toe design. They’re nice. Nice as hell. But what gives the 180s the edge over other famed high-end loafers is the overall design. That split apron toe is distinct but versatile, and the toebox strikes the ideal level of roundedness where others have a snooty point.
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Watch The GQ Recommends Show: The Best Loafers for Every Budget
What to Look for in a Great Pair of Loafers
The loafers on this list range in style, make, and price, but the throughline across each of them is simple: overall value. Whether you have $100 or $1,000 to blow on a new pair of shoes, you should be spending that money judiciously—any old loafer won’t quite do it. What that involves, practically speaking, is assessing a loafer by its quality, first and foremost. For our purposes, we tried to avoid loafers that can’t easily be resoled by your local cobbler, i.e. ones made with soles actually stitched to the uppers, not glued. Stitching the soles improves a loafer’s wearability by leaps and bounds—and can extend its lifespan by the same metrics (with proper upkeep, of course).
You know the saying “fashion hurts”? It shouldn’t. We don’t really buy into the notion that you should suffer for what you wear; any loafers we tested that failed to meet our highly scientific, not-at-all arbitrary comfort threshold after the requisite break-in period were nixed without a second thought. (Though, yes, comfort is subjective, and break-in periods may vary.)
Oh, and one final word on price: you’ll see a solid degree of variety in the options above, from damn-that’s-a-steal to they-must’ve-added-an-extra-zero-here. That’s by design. Frankly, we’d love to say you can find an excellent pair of loafers for a mere fifty bucks, but in our experience, we’ve yet to encounter a zero-notes pair for less than $150.
Which style of loafer is right for you?
In 2025, loafers come in more shapes and styles than colors of the rainbow. These are the four you’ll hear us talk about most.
- The Penny Loafer: Penny loafers are defined by a leather strap that stretches across the vamp of the shoe, often featuring a decorative cut-out. As legend has it, college students would insert a penny into the slot as a fashionable accent, giving the silhouette its name. An especially important variation of the penny loafer is the beef-roll, which features a strap finished at the edges that—yes—resembles a tied-up roll of beef.
- The Tassel Loafer: Tassel loafers are defined by a decorative leather tassel attached to the top of the shoe. The tassel can sometimes be paired with a leather strap, or even set atop a kiltie, an additional piece of leather that’s cut with a fringe.
- The Venetian Loafer: Venetian loafers are the silhouette at its most stripped-back. Unlike penny and tassel loafers, Venetian loafers eschew ornamental designs at the vamp, other than the occasional moc toe stitching.
- The Belgian Loafer: Belgian loafers—often made in Belgium and sold in New York (confusing, we know)—are the daintest riff on the silhouette. A spiritual relative of house slippers or opera shoes, Belgian loafers are defined by their diamond-shaped vamp, which are typically adorned with telltale small bows.
Your Loafer FAQ, Answered
How do I choose a loafer?
Simple: Think about what you’re going to wear them with, and then refine your search accordingly. (For more styling how-to, see below.) Are you looking for dainty leather soles or do you need stompers with a little more heft? Are you jonesing to slip your dogs into classic-leaning penny loafers or are the freakiest, flyest loafers on the market? Once you’ve found a pair of that’s right for you and your wardrobe, slip ‘em on without a second thought, and claim your certified style god status at checkout. It really is that easy. What you should be asking yourself is: How do I choose only one?
What are the best loafer brands?
Thanks to the Great Loafer Boom, there have never been more options—from heritage menswear brands and big-name designers and tiny startup labels alike. You’ll always be in good hands (er, feet?) with mainstays like Alden, Dr. Martens, and G.H. Bass. But plenty of indie hard-bottom peddlers are making waves you might want to catch, too. When in doubt, dust off your favorite dress shoes, double-check who makes them, and then review their loafer selection; chances are they sell a bang-up pair.
What should I wear with loafers?
Good news on this front: it’s nigh impossible to find an outfit that a pair of loafers won’t look absolutely fly with. T-shirt and jeans (weird denim or otherwise), a proper blazer and trousers (with pleats or without), shorts—especially the shorts of summer—and beyond. (In other words, just about everything.) Naturally, loafers look right at home with chinos and a sweater vest, but they can also smarten up your wildest 2025 fits with surprising pizazz. For more inspo, be sure to check our guide on how to style loafers.
How We Whittled Down Our Options
Though loafers come in a variety of styles, there are still some common themes that we hope each pair of loafers hits. Like any piece of clothing, we look at overall style, quality, comfort, and price. The mainstays that have had a deep track record are sure to get our approving nods but there are always seasonal bangers or trending styles we can honestly get behind. We tried to avoid loafers that aren’t easily resoled by your local cobbler. That means loafers we opted for loafers with soles actually stitched to the uppers rather than ones that use cheap glued construction. This improves a loafer’s quality by leaps and bounds and can actually make a shoe last for years longer (with proper upkeep, of course).
We don’t really buy into the notion that you should suffer for fashion so we preferred loafers that were more comfortable. That said, comfort is subjective and break-in periods vary. Prices range from suspiciously cheap to first-born child and we would love to tell you that a pair of $50 loafers is good, but we can’t say that we’ve ever encountered a well-made pair of loafers for less than $150.
How We Test and Review Products
Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point.
Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t.
How We Make These Picks
We’ve handled more loafers than any one person should experience in a single lifetime. From working retail to incessant shopping to endless showrooms to miles and miles of loafin’ around over the years, the GQ Recommends team has seen it all. With our own experience laying the groundwork, we asked ourselves: if loafers were the only shoes we could wear, which ones would we pick?
