Recently, you may have noticed a recurring look among celebrities: shorter shorts, above the knee and usually tailored, three-quarter white socks, and a leather black loafer.

This seemingly simple style seems to have caught the attention of some of today’s famous faces — Paul Mescal, Harry Styles, and Donald Glover among them. But call it 'new' would be a misleading word to describe a trend that is almost 80 years old.

It originated in 1950s teen dances in the United States. Then, in the 60s, it gained popularity by stars like Elvis Presley and Paul Newman, and in the 80s, it appeared at Harrison Ford's premieres. In the 90s, it was consolidated reference for school uniforms in American schools.

Since last year, the style has made a strong comeback. It's been seen in celebrity closets, on red carpets, and at various events, from Pedro Pascal to Colman Domingo. And it's not just for men: Hailey Bieber, for example, has embraced white socks and loafers as part of her visual identity. In Brazil, actresses Isis Valverde and Marina Ruy Barbosa have also been captured by the trend.

The trend has been so impactful in the past three years that it has affected the global fashion economy. The worldwide footwear market was valued at $700.9 billion in 2024 and could reach $1.1 trillion by 2032, according to Data Bridge Market Research. After sports sneakers, loafers are highlighted in the study.

The global market for loafers itselfs was valued at $33.4 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $43.3 billion by 2030, according to a report by Grand View Research.

“It’s a shoe that aligns with the quiet luxury movement, as it carries a classic code that’s not strongly tied to fleeting fashion trends, although it can also be updated with a youthful freshness in how it’s worn,” says Andreia Meneguete, a fashion researcher at University of São Paulo and coordinator of the Fashion and Beauty Marketing postgraduate course at ESPM.

Back to the Old Days?

Several factors explain the rise of the loafer in the 2020s. Some designers argue that they never went out of style — which isn’t entirely false — but the return of more avant-garde and conservative styles in recent years has contributed to the loafer's resurgence.

For Juliana Bacellar, a fashion and strategic image consultant, the style evokes a classic and therefore nostalgic aesthetic. “This combination of loafers with white socks and shorts is a reinterpretation of the 1950s, but in a very modern and cool way. Celebrities love it because it makes a statement, draws attention, and at the same time, gives off that retro aesthetic that’s so trendy,” she explains. “Fashion loves to play with the past, nothing is invented, everything is recreated.”

No wonder, according to a study by Grand View Research, classic leather loafers held the largest market share, with 45.3% in 2023. The combination of tradition and luxury, in sober colors, has made the model timeless — from 1930 to 2025.

“It’s an attractive product to drive sales without much effort to explain it, as it’s more universal. A category with a favorable outlook for different generations and markets — both Western and Asian. It’s a product that benefits business. Plus, it has a unisex appeal,” adds Meneguete.

When it was first produced in 1930, the shoe — typically worn with white socks at calf height — was more of a men's item. It aimed to be elegant, comfortable, and practical for everyday work life. Women even wore them in the 1950s, especially in schools, but it wasn’t until the 1960s, with Audrey Hepburn, that they fully embraced the style.

Today, loafers are one of the most gender-neutral shoe models, and they’ve been paired with dresses, jeans, tailored pieces, shorts, suits, and many other types of clothing. “This styling freedom has made the shoe gain worldwide trend status,” Bacellar adds.

Aligned with a more classic, luxurious and elegant aesthetic, even though the primary buyers are older (Generation X and millennials), according to Data Bridge Market Research, the loafer has become so popular in recent years that even GenZs has adopted the trend of wearing it with white socks.

TikTok videos with the hashtags #loafers already have over 300,000 posts and have surpassed 40 million views. On Instagram, fashion designers and consultants have exhausted videos promoting the shoe as an “essential item in the wardrobe.”

Retro style aside, young people’s interest in the loafer has less to do with its classic work look and more with evoking the idea of “preppy style,” which has been heavily explored in countries like Japan and South Korea, and is often featured in K-dramas and Asian soap operas. Today, the Asia-Pacific region dominates the loafer market, with a 39.8% share in 2023, according to the Grand View Research report.

“Young people love turning what was once ‘uncool’ into something stylish. They take a shoe that was previously super classic, even serious, and pair it with modern, oversized, cropped pieces... the contrast is amazing,” adds Bacellar.

Loafers Built Empires

From 1930 to 2025, several brands have made their name selling loafers. Gucci, a leading brand in high-end footwear, is one of them: the Horsebit, the company’s first model, was launched in 1953 and became a fashion classic. It was even responsible for the rise of the brand in the luxury market since that time, and the success was so great that by 1960s, President John F. Kennedy was wearing them.

Prada introduced loafers later, in the 1990s — when the shoe was once again experiencing a peak in popularity. The successful model to this day is the Monolith line, which has been worn by Hollywood stars such as Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. Hermès, Tom Ford, Ferragamo, Versace, Chanel, and Louboutin are other brands that have always included loafers in their collections.

“Using this kind of shoe in fashion campaigns and runway shows is an effective strategic decision for brands, because it’s a model that performs well from different perspectives in the fashion market,” says Meneguete. “It caters to a style that’s part of the everyday life of a luxury consumer, without a specific occasion, but in a versatile way — whether for work or leisure.”

Unlike the 1950s, when most models were similar — even in the same color — today, designers made more diverse visual identities on loafers. Hermès and Tom Ford favor shoes with lower soles and longer, pointier toes. Prada and Chanel, on the other hand, have invested in chunky models, which have been trendy in recent years.

High or low soles, it’s nearly impossible to measure how many loafers luxury brands have sold over nearly a century. But the trend is ahead of us: by 2030, the loafer market is expected to surpass $40 billion worldwide. And unlike other more fleeting trends, the classic combination with white socks is likely to last for another 100 years — or more.