the internet is full of questions regarding style.  one such question of interest is whether or not it’s ok to wear loafers with a suit.  to be honest with you i didn’t really think this was much of a question until i saw the film frost/nixon in 2008.  richard nixon has a hard time trusting david frost because he wears gucci loafers with his suit (obviously there’s more to it than that, but it’s one reason nixon questions frost’s credentials).  quasi-spoiler alert: after the interview, the movie ends with nixon opening a present from frost which is a pair of gucci loafers.  classic scene.  so after seeing the film, i started to question whether or not i should be wearing loafers with suits.  i went to the internet for answers.  glenn o’brien says he wouldn’t do it and that “loafers are for loafing.”  interesting take from one of my heroes.  and if you dig deeper, it seems more traditionalists prefer lace-ups to loafers when wearing a “business” suit.  well, i’m going to have to disagree.  in the south, i would say 70% of men wear only loafers with their suits – my father being one of them.  i’ve never seen him wearing anything besides classic gucci bit loafers with his suits.  now, i’m not saying all loafers are appropriate with business suits.  remember cheap loafers don’t look good with anything.  stick with well known brands that make quality like gucci, allen admonds, ralph lauren or alden.  nice shoes are the one item of clothing i would insist you spend money on.  they make a difference.

recently i’ve noticed ryan gosling has been kicking around a pair of beat-up burgundy loafers.  last night i caught this picture (above) of him wearing them with a brown suit.  he nails the look, but i’m not sure who makes the loafers.  i did some internet recon and came up with nothing.  i checked out the usual suspects mentioned in the previous paragraph and still couldn’t find a match.  the closest thing i found were these crockett & jones for ralph lauren polo loafers below.  if you have any information on the whereabouts of ryan gosling’s loafers, please leave them in the comments section.

update: i believe the loafers gosling is wearing are in fact made by gucci, but i still can’t find a perfect match.  i’m wondering if they’re part of the archive collection coming out this fall.  i’ll stay on it.