Yes we consistently and strongly recommend handsewn moccasin construction shoes for spring and summer. Beyond boat shoes, boot-shoes are a warm-weather way of life around here. But it’s 2023 man, and it’s time to just admit that everything this summer is going to be coming up loafers.
Impeccably reliable loaferpeople Grant Stone just dropped a trio of new Traveler penny loafers—plus a fresh sneaker—that span gamuts (color, texture, suede/grain) and remain one of the finest loafervalues you can find anywhere.
First up, the Traveler Penny Loafer is finally available in the Jungle Kangaroo previously seen on some of GS’s other models, like the Diesel and Brass Boots. Kangaroo leather looks quite similar to cowhide, but offers about ten times more tensile strength. That should come quite in handy for these loafers, should you ever encounter…I dunno, a bunch of thorns that only reach up to your toes? Regardless, this Italian-made veg-tan leather looks gorgeous and should age magnificently.
The Traveler Penny now also comes in two new colors of C.F. Stead’s fine-napped, weather-resistant Repello Suede: Butter and Coral. The grapefruit tones of the Coral give off a mellow playfulness, and it feels like a great complement to the Sky Reverse Kudu variant. The Butter Suede, meanwhile, offers what the Traveler Penny catalog has lacked for a bit: a light, neutral-colored suede.
Lastly, the Coast Sneaker (which is not, it must be stated, a loafer) gets its first suede variant, also in this Butter Repello Suede. This leather will likely darken a little from wear, but since it’s Repello, it should bounce back to close to the original color with the use of a suede brush. (Check out our impressions of this new-ish Grant Stone dress sneaker here.)
