Vans' Skate Loafer Is Built To Thrash With a Touch of Class
Seeing the Vans V196CF CN sneaker, a fuzzy suede loafer transformed into a Vans skate shoe, doesn’t even surprise me. Which is crazy because this is an objectively wild blending of shoes, but that’s what happens when you’re in the middle of a hybrid footwear boom.
Vans has been churning out skate shoes of this ilk in unprecedented numbers. Between the luxe mules, the Clarks Wallabee-esque boots, and the chunked-up Mary Janes, there’s now a formal shoe for every taste in the Vans wheelhouse.
And its latest release is a pair of loafers. Dapper fuzzy suede loafers, to be exact.
That instantly recognizable vulcanized sole unit of Vans' ubiquitous skate shoes is plonked onto the bottom of Vans' shaped formal shoe.
The strap that runs along the top of a pair of loafers (referred to as a saddle by those in the shoemaking business) and the stitched toebox of a moccasin are present. It's all very classy stuff.
But it still has that classic low-profile Vans shape, the heel and the padded collar being akin to that of a Vans Slip-On.
The shoe is based on a model known as Style 53, a Vans skate loafer that made its big resurgence in late 2022. Great timing, since the buzz around sneaker-loafers was starting to build.
Since then, transforming a loafer into a sneaker has almost become commonplace, hence my lack of astonishment when first placing eyes on these strange suede designs. And Vans has reacted to that by making the previously Japan-exclusive shoe available in other markets.
However, that isn’t the case for this loafer, with the shoe releasing on Japanese retailers for ¥11,000 (that’s around $75). It's a crying shame for all the preppy skaters outside of Japan, who will have to make do with the equally dapper leather Vans skate loafer.
