Saturday, February 28, 2026 |
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Esquire creative director Nick Sullivan recently reported on the generational shift happening with loafers. Younger guys, reared on sneakers, are swapping their limited-edition kicks for proper shoes—and they're overwhelmingly opting for classic slip-ons. We figured, if there's a whole new generation trying to decide between pennies or tassels, Venetians or Belgians, then we better get ahead of things and pull together a list of the key types that every guy should know. You can learn a little history, get styling tips, and shop some of our favorites. And the good news? You don't have to be a young gun or an ex-sneakerhead to benefit from the burgeoning slip-on-aissance. The loafer is for everyone. It's just that now, the cool kids know it. Read more below.
—Jonathan Evans, style director
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Welcome to the slip-on-aissance.
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Have you heard the good news? Around the world, something is shifting beneath our very feet. Well, beneath ... and around, and ... well, maybe on is the best way to say it. Droves of young men raised on sneakers are changing things up. They're opting out of the hype cycle and the schedule of endless drops and opting into the world of proper shoes. More specifically, they're ditching the Dunks and slipping into loafers.
It makes sense. Of all the hardbottoms out there, loafers are the most easygoing—the perfect transitional style for someone making a move from truly casual footwear. Loafers also offer a range of different vibes. You can go classic with penny loafers, add a tassel or a bit for extra flair, go minimal with a Venetian ... the choice is yours. |
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The human body was not designed for sitting at a desk. Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather be "stressed" from too much blue light than be a medieval serf threshing and hauling grain in a feudal field, looking forward to my dinner of boiled vegetables, and dying an early death from sepsis. But our bodies do need to move in some capacity. We're (thankfully) beyond the infomercial era of shake weights and belly-busting bands, but we are in the branded content era of fitfluencers and TikTok diet gurus. So at Esquire, we've taken it upon ourselves to make things simple because no one else will. We compiled 30 genuinely good pieces of workout equipment that will help you get into better shape, simple as. That's not to say we skipped the bells and whistles— you'll find smart trainers and high-tech treadmills here—but we've bypassed the snake oil. |
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There are so many digital platforms through which we interact these days that it's hardly surprising that we've nearly forgotten the most memorable way of all to communicate: with pen and paper. A CBS News poll conducted in 2021 found that less than a third of Americans had hand-written a single personal letter in the previous five years, while the National Literacy Trust last year revealed voluntary creative handwriting among school-age children declined a shocking 61 percent from 2010 to 2024. You don't need statistics, however, to know that handwriting as a form of human expression is on the way out. All you have to do is look in your mailbox. Amidst all the bills and unwanted flyers, take out menus and daily shit, a handwritten letter is, increasingly, as rare as proverbial rocking horse poo.
There's one way to remedy that: Start writing letters. Thank you notes, love letters, poems if you dare; give and ye shall receive. It's a good habit to get into.
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