Tassel loafers are one of the more recent classic footwear models and first came into being after being requested by an actor from Alden (an American brand). Here is its story.
As much as it seems to shock some that we’ve become increasingly informal over time, the situation was similar during the first half of last century. Just as is true today, young members of society were the driving force for change, especially college and university youth in places such as the United States and England. Between World Wars, American college youngsters began wearing a version of slip-on shoes worn by Norwegian fishermen, commonly referred to as penny loafers (we will discuss its history further in later posts, since Norwegian shoe manufacturing has had such an immense influence in many other fields for classic shoes). Younger shoe models provide more facts and details regarding their creation, such as in the case of the tassel loafer. Robert Clark was CEO of Alden at that time, Bruce Boyer included several quotes from him in a fine essay on its origin in an issue of Cigar Aficionado magazine in 1998.
Paul Lukas of Hungary was responsible for starting this trend when he won an Academy Award in 1943 for his performance in Watch on the Rhine and purchased a pair of oxfords at home with leather tassels at their laces’ ends, eventually going on to wear these to work every day. Paul Lukas wanted his own version of a shoe and visited New York firm Farkas & Kovacs in 1948 to order them. They produced one variant with laces running along its opening, Paul liked their design but found them uncomfortable, so took both shoes elsewhere right to New York company Lefcourt and left to Los Angeles based Morris Shoemakers respectively, both ended up turning out the same model, eventually producing under their respective companies, yet both ended up producing for Alden Shoes.
Farkas & Kovacs had already produced an improved model that ignored lacing up, using instead their penny loafer design with their apron as its foundation and making a comfortable round last shoe featuring leather straps with tassels around its opening as decoration. At Paul Lukas’s delight, this was the world’s first tassel loafer.
Alden recognized the potential of their casually elegant tassel loafer model, which proved ideal in both casual and more formal settings. Introduced into their lineup in 1950 by Lefcourt & Morris stores as exclusive premiere venues, these sold like hotcakes among Ivy League students who saw it as an alternative to penny loafers and within several years Alden had 20 distinct leather variants of its tassel loafers on sale.
Still today, this iconic shoe model remains beloved, often looking very similar to its first iteration almost 60 years ago. Nearly all shoe brands offer versions of tassel loafers in their lineup, in America especially it is often accepted for business attire as with penny loafers, many people (myself included) find tassels difficult, they will remain an aesthetic issue, yet will remain popular enough that they live on long into the future.