Essentials: Weejuns.

I think there are a few pieces which are essentials in a wardrobe: oxford cloth button down shirts, heavy tweed jackets, deck shoes, repp ties, chinos, go-to-hell pants, and the Maine Hunting Shoe among them. In time I'll write about most of them. I thought I would start from the ground up, so to speak, and look at the Bass Weejun.

A bootmaker named George Bass began marketing this shoe in the U.S. in 1925. Bass modeled his shoe after traditional Norwegian fisherman's slippers and called them 'weejuns' in homage to the Norse models. (Chapeau: Graham Marsh and J.P. Gaul, The Ivy Look.) The shoe has been a staple on campuses and among trad enthusiasts since.

But why? Well primarily, in my view, the shoe was initially successful because it was well built, comfortable, and inexpensive. Plus, a college man could slide into his Weejuns a moment faster than his brogues, so they became go-to shoes. Generations since have simply followed in the footsteps--pun intended--of our forefathers on campus and out into the wide world. 

A couple of notes about the shoes:

--Note in the image above, the ends of the strap across the top of the foot are flat stitched to the sides of the shoe. This is the standard model. Later versions would attach the strap to the top seam, creating what became known as a beef roll. (See below)

The strap is stitched directly onto top seam. Thus, the "beef roll" on this version, the Larson. 

--But what about the pennies? Ah, the Penny Loafer. Well, again according to Gaul, women began began putting pennies in the slot of the strap. The fad spread and Weejuns have been Penny Loafers since. My own pair sport well shined pennies from my birth year. 

--And color? Well the standard these days seems to be the burgundy shown above. But in years past a flat brown was the most popular, at least at my school(s). Those all-boy schools out in the Shenandoah Valley favored black, or so I was told back in the day. 

--Socks? Well, you probably wouldn't be shot for wearing them if your grandmother was taking you out to lunch or if you were going to a funeral. But otherwise you can skip 'em most of the year. 

Sometimes polished, but not very often or only when going home or into the city, the shoes needed to last at least a full year on campus and by year's end some would be duck taped to keep from flapping when you walked. No matter, you kept wearing them. Top drawer, indeed.