horsebit loafer – Herring Shoes Journal

The Dillon

21 March 2024

The Dillon is one of our best-selling loafers. A perennial favourite, these shoes ooze class whether you team them with a dinner jacket, wear them for work, or step out with a bit of style at the weekend. This super-chic shoe has featured in many of our Journal articles, so we felt it was time it got its own opportunity to shine in our In The Spotlight series.

The Dillon is a classic among the classics! Made from beautiful black calf leather with a Blake-stitched leather sole, it is the silver-coloured snaffle-trim that elevates its status from the basic loafer.

If you like the horsebit loafer style from the house of Gucci, then this style will work for you. It shouts class…in a very polite way, of course!

The Dillon also sports an almond toe shape, which is a narrow elongated toe area to create a sleeker look that works well with dark trousers; hence why there are so popular as a black tie choice or with a dark suit for the office.

In line with the wedding season and autumn/winter 2024 tailored suit style, the Dillon is the perfect accompaniment, but they can also smarten up a more casual outfit. It’s a great a party shoe too!

While aesthetically charming, they are also eminently easy to wear. You can slip them on and off like a house shoe but as discussed above, that does not mean they are shabby. Far from it! The Dillon is a suave footwear choice.

In the spotlight

The Scarlette

19 October 2023

The horsebit loafer is a standout, iconic shoe. The horsebit was originally used by Guccio Gucci to set his leather goods apart from the competition. His son Aldo added the brass decorative trim to loafers to elevate them to boardroom and city slicker level. If you are interested, you can read more about this in our History of the horsebit loafer journal article.

Generally seen on the sockless feet of men during the summer, the loafer is a little more enduring for women, giving them a smart option to wear into autumn. Loafers are also favoured as an up-market house shoe in the place of more slouchy slippers. In short, the horsebit loafer is a beautiful shoe that is meant to shout aspiration and style, and it can be worn with almost anything.

A favoured shoe choice for princesses Grace and Diana and acting royalty Audrey Hepburn… Katie Holmes, Zoë Kravitz, Dakota Johnson, Jennifer Aniston, and Sienna Miller, and models Bella and Gigi Hadid, and Hailey Bieber have followed in their style icon wake. If the horsebit loader is good enough for them, then it is good enough for our customers!

We have created our own version of the Gucci-inspired horsebit loafer with the launch of the Scarlette. The Scarlette is made using super-soft, glove-like, flexible leather for the upper and a rubber sole to give wearers an effective grip. Of course, we have added our version of the horsebit trim as the final flourish.

The black version is the perfect go-to shoe for workdays, as a welcome but smart relief from high-heels, but also looks great with jeans and ankle skimming trousers. Try them with socks with a skirt for a true preppy look or just to keep you a little warmer as the weather gets colder. Socks with loafers are considered perfectly acceptable these days!

However, you may get more versatility from our soft gold version. A metallic shoe goes with anything and never really looks out of place. A neutral shade through and through, you can dress up or dress down the gold Scarlette…she will not mind!

Herring Shoes

The history of the horsebit loafer

3 August 2023

Think horsebit loafer and, if you are a shoe fan, you will think Gucci. It is an iconic shoe worn by both men and women. It is an enduring look that originated in the 1950s after Aldo Gucci noticed American men wearing slip-on shoes during a trip to New York. Gucci was not content with just re-producing another slip-on shoe, he added a bit of flair with the horsebit.

It was Aldo’s father Guccio who first used the horsebit to set his leather goods apart from the competition. He had been inspired by the racing set he encountered during his time as a bellhop at The Savoy hotel in London. The horsebit is now as synonymous with the Gucci brand as their interlocked Gs and red and green ribbon detail.

By adding this distinctive metal trim across the saddle of the loafer in place of the usual diamond-shaped cut-out on the traditional penny loafer, Gucci achieved an immediate upgrade and an iconic shoe that is still being reimagined today. They also began making loafers out of black leather to elevate their status from a casual shoe to footwear that could be worn in the office.

Famous Gucci horsebit wearers have included President George HW Bush, Francis Ford Coppola, Wiz Khalifa, Bruno Mars, Madonna, Jane Birkin, Jodie Foster, Zoe Kravitz, Gigi Hadid and so many more. They have also featured on the silver screen on the feet of Michael Sheen in Frost/Nixon, Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, Dustin Hoffman in Kramer Vs Kramer, Brad Pitt in Fight Club, and Matt Damon in The Talented Mr Ripley.

The horsebit loafer’s popularity is enduring and we have not shied away from creating our own versions. If it’s good enough for Gucci, then we would be mad to miss out!

Our Harlington style is very much reminiscent of the Gucci style with a decadent gold-coloured snaffle. The Dillon has a more modern flair with a silver-coloured horsebit that bridges the vamp, therefore doing away with the traditional saddle. While the Istria is also minimalist but has an elasticated top for a little more comfort and ease when slipping them on and off.

For a bit of suede, our new Saimaa loafers have a brass trim while the Snaffle style is a low-profile, sleek affair made from deerskin, which has a lovely grain to it.

These are all beautifully crafted shoes that are meant to shout aspiration and style. They can be worn with almost anything. They smarten up shorts, look great with chinos and jeans, and don’t look out of place with a suit either. If you are searching for an iconic look, then the horsebit loafer is a great place to start.

Browsing Tag: horsebit loafer

The Dillon

The Scarlette

The history of the horsebit loafer