There is a moment, usually around four in the afternoon, when you look down at your sensible black loafers and feel nothing at all.
They are fine. That is the problem.
You bought them because they could never be wrong. They suit the trousers, the skirt, the Monday meeting and the Friday drinks. In all that time they have never once been the reason someone looked twice.
That is not a flaw in the shoe. It is the whole design brief. A black loafer is built to disappear, and it does it very well.
What the safe pair actually does
A shoe that goes with everything adds nothing to anything. Put it under a navy suit, a cream knit or a grey dress, and the outfit stays exactly what it was. The black pair does not finish the look. It only stops the look going wrong.
So ask what your loafers are for. If the honest answer is "to stop my outfit going wrong", you have hired them for the smallest job a shoe can do.
What a loafer can do instead
Serpentine is rich brown velvet with a snake patent apron across the front. Velvet is soft and matte. Patent is hard and shiny. The apron is the one place the shoe argues with itself, and that is why your eye goes there.
Venome is deep burgundy velvet with the same snake patent apron. Colour this dark reads as serious in the office, and it turns richer the moment the light drops.
Both are designed in Australia, and both cost A$259. Neither one is trying to be the safe choice. Each one is trying to be the reason you got dressed.
Bold should not hurt
A statement shoe you cannot wear past lunch is a costume. So we looked at where a new loafer usually hurts, and fixed those two places.
- Under the ball of your foot, there is a memory foam insole. It gives under your weight from the first wear, instead of making you wait for it to soften.
- Around the heel and the sides, there is a soft fabric inner lining, so the edge of the shoe has nothing rough to rub against.
The velvet is what people see. The insole and the lining are why they stay on.
Three ordinary days, one loud shoe
The rule is simple. Give the outfit one loud thing, and let it be the shoe.
- Monday at the office. Venome, straight leg charcoal trousers and a white shirt. The burgundy is the only colour you are wearing, so it is the only thing anyone remembers.
- Saturday on your feet. Serpentine, wide leg denim and a cream knit. Brown velvet sits well beside tan, cream and blue, and the apron adds the edge.
- Dinner after work. Either pair, a slip dress and a bare ankle. Trade the trainers for loafers and you are dressed for the evening.
If you want to get the fit right first, read how loafers should fit. For more outfit ideas, see how to style women's loafers.
Keep the black pair. Stop reaching for it by default.
We are not asking you to throw yours out. We are asking what you would wear if you did not have to play safe.
Walkie Walkie is for women who want it all. Comfort, luxury and timeless style, with some edge. None of them given up for the others.
Or meet them one at a time: Serpentine and Venome, in UK sizes 4 to 9.