FASHION FOR MEN: SHAKE YOUR TASSELS!

t is very important to pay attention to detail in every aspect of one’s life; fashion inclusive, since your appearance is what you are most likely to be judged by.  As a man, masculinity and style are very essential not only for the women but amongst friends or colleagues.
Talking about detail, the case of fashion will include accessories at all.  However some details are so small, but in my opinion the smallest details contribute a lot.  Sub-consciously when we hear the word “accessories”; jewelry, bags, sunglasses and other potentially categorized accessories come to mind but it is important to keep in mind that even accessories come fixed with ready-made fashion essentials (which are examples of the tiniest details that go unnoticed).
A good example is the “Tassel/Tassels” that come as the ‘little’ accessories to loafers.  The tassels raise  the class of the loafers a notch higher, since without the tassels the trend wouldn’t even be a topic, it’ll be the case of just another footwear style called the loafers.

Tasselled loafers are not new to our look books, fashion magazines or designer collections, but a great emphasis has been placed on them in the past year.  The footwear was not exactly welcomed with open arms since it was mostly viewed as “Grandpa shoes”.  Fashionable men began embracing the sophisticated footwear and high street fashion caught up with it (especially this spring/summer season) which then resulted in the trend that might not end in the next five years.  The growing popularity has resulted in different styles, colors and texture/material for the statement footwear giving it a versatile advantage.

A collection of tasselled loafers in suede fabric.

Now let’s understand which tassels you should be dressing your feet with as there are the formal and the informal styles.  Let’s be clear on which is which and how you can up your style ante with either one.
Formal Tasselled Loafers
It will be a misconception to believe that tasselled loafers cannot be worn with a suit. It has nothing to do with your appetite for taking fashion risks, it isn’t even a risk; it is just easily worn the wrong way. When using the footwear on a formal ground there a few things that need be “carefully” considered; structure, color and material.
There is simply nothing wrong with pairing a pair of black leather tassel loafers with a dark navy striped tailored suit; it gives you that Tom Ford gentleman look. Combining suits and loafers will depend much on style and quality.  Suits are formal, so you will want to head towards a formal pair of tasselled loafers with structured shapes and high quality leather -I will recommend something with a shine so you can continue to buffer and polish to the desired office standard.  Suede style tasselled loafers are also a possibility as long as you keep in mind that suede has that “dress down” edge to it. Ideally the suede style will depend on the extent to which a workplace is formal and position held at work.  In terms of colour, hues of black and brown are recommended for formal use, however oxblood is also an option as neutrality is important in formal situations.
It is important to invest in a pair of formal loafers (high quality ones are expensive), since this trend has been foreseen to stay for a long time and quality is easily detected in shoes; I’m sure we would like to keep with setting high standards for ourselves. These loafers also look good (if not best) without socks which is an advantage for our very tropical weather in Nigeria.

A collection of high grade formal tassel loafers. Black, Dark Brown, Ox Blood with different toe tips to suit your personal style and comfort.

Various pictures of the tassel loafers worn with different styles of suit.

You can keep your feet socks free if you wish or to try a different look.

Informal Loafers
Tassels naturally give the footwear a casual (but sophisticated) look, so it is an advantage, since much effort isn’t really needed when choosing which to wear with an informal outfit.  Suede leather is the best choice for an informal look and luckily this style of tasselled loafers has been made versatile with the variety of colors and shapes.  The most popular colors right now are Blue and Tan, but there are a thousand other hues of colors out there. A colored tassel loafer is likely to be an essential item this season. It goes perfectly with anything, from blazers, to denim, corduroy, khakis, linen, natives and even varsity jackets if worn well.

Suede tassel loafers: These particular styles would be great with your linen or native outfits. You can also try them on with Khakis and Corduroy.

Coloured tassel loafers: Perfect for Khakis, linen and denim. Either with shorts or trousers, the choice is yours to make.

A collection of the most informal styles - it all depends on how much a risk taker you are.

The key to wearing coloured footwear, is to make the shoe appear effortlessly as the focal point of the outfit. When wearing coloured tasseled loafers, it is important to keep the rest of the look(clothing and any accessories used) as neutral as possible – so the “clown” look is avoided, but as always there are exceptions limited to those who have innate ability to mix colours. However, if you are not a color loving person, then play it safe with Brown; There are a so many shades of brown out there you can work with. Brown complements almost every color so it’s a good color to embrace fully.

To end on a high note….

Tasselled loafers have been an excuse for shoe designers to create them in different styles. There are driver look-alikes, rogue-loafer hybrids, deck shoe style loafers, contrast soled loafers, thick vibram soles and everything in between the list. There is a style of tasselled loafer to fit any personal style.  The recent popularity of tassel loafers is definitely not a fashion fling, so they are worth the marriage. They are versatile and sophisticated and very cool, if you ask me.

ON POINT!

So I’ve got a few questions for you:

• Are you a fan of the tassel loafer?
• After reading this, do you have a new love for the tasselled loafers?
• Is this a shoe you are going to add to your collection this year?
• If you already own a pair, how do you wear them?
• Would you ever wear these to work? Or are they simply for smart-casual looks only?

The comment box is open!