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a brief history of penny loafers - Page 2

post #16 of 33
12/17/04 at 3:48pm
Quote:
a big slot and I shoved a pair of fifties in, thinking it was cool.
need i ask for any other reason....i never dreamed of a fifty when i was in my 20's...hell not sure i dream much of them today
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post #17 of 33
12/17/04 at 3:56pm
ahh, I see. lets just say that I went from being very poor to comfortable in a very short time using skills that I picked up in the army and a very loose sense of morality. and, unlike a lot of people who have been in that position, I didn't like the idea of a gold bracelet or chain, so it seemed cool to keep my madmoney in a semi-visable location. same idea, perhaps a little more subtle, no more adult.
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post #18 of 33
12/17/04 at 3:59pm
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ahh, I see. lets just say that I went from being very poor to comfortable in a very short time using skills that I picked up in the army and a very loose sense of morality. and, unlike a lot of people who have been in that position, I didn't like the idea of a gold bracelet or chain, so it seemed cool to keep my madmoney in a semi-visable location. same idea, perhaps a little more subtle, no more adult.
well, I think it was a cool statement...either fashionably or as a way of showing out...wish I had had the balls to do something like that when I was younger.
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post #19 of 33
12/17/04 at 4:06pm
thanks. I was pretty cool when I was younger. I wish I had the youth to enjoy it again.
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post #20 of 33
12/18/04 at 3:07am
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A brief history: George Henry Bass established his shoe company in Wilton in 1876. In 1936, the company introduced its Weejuns loafers, which have been a preppie wardrobe staple ever since. Charles Lindbergh wore Bass shoes from Maine when he flew across the Atlantic, and Hollywood legend James Dean made Bass footwear a fashion statement with his rolled-up jeans and white T-shirt.
And Bass moved off-shore in what? 1996 or so...
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post #21 of 33
8/14/09 at 6:51pm
I was in high school in Newton MA in 1941 when i decided to put pennies in my loafers. it was my own idea, i hadn't seen it done by anyone else. soon everyone in school was doing it too. think i started this cool trend?
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post #22 of 33
8/14/09 at 7:45pm
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Originally Posted by Manton View Post
They are derived from shoes called the "Norwegian Peasant Slipper," worn by fishermen in (you guess it) Norway.  They became popular as sport shoes in the 1920s.  This was an era when upper and upper middle class men wore neckties to go fly fishing, you understand.  The term "Weejun" is derived from "Norwegian".  It is a brand name for a shoe made by the Bass company, the first mass marketer of the shoe that later became known as the penny loafer.

Didn't the Norwegians get them from Native American moccasins? I'm sure I read that somewhere.
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post #23 of 33
8/14/09 at 7:56pm
...and that's why they're called Weejuns
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post #24 of 33
8/14/09 at 9:18pm
I still don't quite understand the purpose of the coin, as the initial post seems a tad speculative and still does not demonsrate sufficient reason for currently putting a coin in the loafers.
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post #25 of 33
8/14/09 at 9:38pm
Fucking cell phones have changed the paradigm.
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post #26 of 33
8/14/09 at 10:08pm
I want some penny loafers. Should I get black or burgandy? myke
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post #27 of 33
8/14/09 at 11:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post
They are derived from shoes called the "Norwegian Peasant Slipper," worn by fishermen in (you guess it) Norway. They became popular as sport shoes in the 1920s. This was an era when upper and upper middle class men wore neckties to go fly fishing, you understand. The term "Weejun" is derived from "Norwegian". It is a brand name for a shoe made by the Bass company, the first mass marketer of the shoe that later became known as the penny loafer.

Thank you once again Manton. I did not know that, and thank you for sharing.
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post #28 of 33
8/14/09 at 11:21pm
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Originally Posted by globetrotter View Post
thanks. I was pretty cool when I was younger. I wish I had the youth to enjoy it again.

we aged men have to settle for hookers and blow nowadays
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post #29 of 33
8/14/09 at 11:24pm
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Originally Posted by Lucky Strike View Post

Excellent article Lucky Strike!
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post #30 of 33
8/14/09 at 11:28pm
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Originally Posted by fkl118 View Post
Does anyone actually put pennies in their penny loafers??

Dimes now to compensate for inflation. And to keep up with the Chinese.
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