For years, the only shoes I would put on my feet (other than wingtips for dressy occasions) were BASS Weejuns. They were the official shoes of Boomer-hood and I loved them.
During WWII, leather was in short supply, much of it going to the war effort as boots, belts, and slings for soldiers. Shoes were rationed and recycled. The shoe repairman was the most popular guy in town. After the war, things changed. Everybody had leather shoes. For young Boomers, the shoes of note were army-type boots, with straps and lace-ups. They remained in style until the 50’s, then came saddle oxfords, white buck shoes, dirty buck shoes and then penny loafers. And the loafers of choice were exclusively BASS Weejuns.
I remember them hitting a zenith of popularity in 1962. I had to have a pair as I headed off to college or become the laughingstock on campus – like the nerds in Animal House. I finally found a pair that fit in a Roanoke shoe store. They were $14. I would have paid more.
Weejuns were largely a preppy shoe worn by everybody from James Dean to President John F. Kennedy. The sporty loafers were a college phenomenon worn, of course, without socks. It is said that the college boys, after a hard night of partying, didn’t have time to put on a pair of socks to make it to their 8 o’clock classes and simply did without. And so did we all.
I remember cold mornings in Chapel Hill, going to class without socks, thinking maybe a pair of socks wouldn’t be all that bad. That’s about the time that Burlington Gold Cups Socks, with their signature gold toes, also became hugely popular.
Though Weejuns were “penny loafers”, few if any put pennies in the slots on their shoes. Cordovan was the choice color, though you would see a pair of black Weejuns from time to time. One of the most prominent clothiers in the south, Maurice Julian of Julian’s Men’s Store in Chapel Hill, came out with a new color – Palomino. He had left a pair of cordovan Weejuns in the sunlit store window so long that it faded from a rich brown to a medium tan. Students would stop by and ask for that color, so Julian persuaded Weejuns to add that shade to their line. It bombed, by the way.
Today, you rarely see leather shoes on any man or boy. Everybody but bankers, lawyers and undertakers wears sneakers – even to church!
I wear tennis shoes if I have to, like on an actual tennis court – but I’m more comfortable in a well-worn pair Weejuns. Boomer habits are hard to break.