Loafer Fit Question - Space on the sides of the ankle
Hey pals. Trying to add a versatile black lug loafer to my footwear rotation which currently consists of a white Club C and Red wing moc toes. Having never worn a loafer before, my idea of how they should fit comes from research and not experience. I almost always plan on wearing them with socks.
I am a 14 Brannock so this somewhat narrows my scope of search to brands with bigger sizes. This past week I have ordered/received loafers from Doc Martens, GH Bass, Solovair, and Sebago.
When trying them on I am first checking for the loafer to feel like a handshake on the sides of my foot. Secondly, I am making sure my toes feel comfortable in the toebox, and that they are not hitting the front of the shoe as I understand loafers don’t stretch in length. Third, I am making sure my heel doesnt slip when walking, but I can pop it out if I really bend my foot on purpose.
Something I’m not sure on is how the loafer should fit is around my ankle. In the attached pictures, the Sebago loafer (all black) is narrower and fits snugly around my ankle. It is ever so slightly too short for me in length unfortunately but i like it otherwise. The Doc loafer (yellow stitching) passes the first 3 fit tests but has a ton of space between the outside of my ankle and the leather. The leather bows outward almost in this area. This feels weird and I’m not sure whether this is something that will change over time as I potentially break them in.
The questions I have:
- Is my understanding of how a loafer should fit correct?
- Why is there this ankle space and is it okay? Or is that the sign of a bad fit?
Possible reasons:
- The leather on the docs is cheaper and/or different
- Doc is a chunkier loafer and all chunky loafers will have this space
- It’s just a bad fit on my foot
Trying to decide between keeping the Doc as a beater to get used to styling loafers, returning all 4 and maybe trying a size up in the Sebagos, or returning all 4 and continuing my search.
5 Replies
I think if there’s space around your ankle it might be too big. You can try to wear thicker socks to remedy this space.
Keep in mind loafers get less rigid as you wear them. Heel slippage gets less common when you break them in.
It's just a different pattern against your foot, nothing to do with leather quality or chunkiness. It's not really a fit issue in and of itself. If you don't like how it looks then by all means try a different size (I'd try wider if possible) but if they feel comfortable and fit well otherwise I wouldn't worry about it
Understood, thanks! Had a similar thought because in the picture I'm wearing a merino wool bombas sock, the thickest one I have.
Makes sense yeah. They feel comfortable to walk in which makes me think I have the size right for the Doc Penton line but ultimately yeah I think I don't love how it looks/feels. Any particular reason you would try wider? Would that have an impact on the ankle space?
ime the sides bulge like that when parts in in the front of the shoe aren't wide enough, it depends on the pattern and your foot tho
Loafers are just like any other shoe. There's no one way a loafer should fit because there are many different styles and lasts of loafers. Just put that shit on and if it's comfortable and not slipping off (and you like how it looks, of course), go with it.
In practice literally nobody is going to be looking at your feet to clock how much space there is between your ankles and the sides of your loafers so I wouldn't worry about it unless it's causing comfort/fit issues for you.
Personally I have very, very narrow feet which means I have some shoes like my Blundstones that are a bit wider but snug enough length-wise and it's never caused issues for me.
It also means I often have to size down to prevent slipping, so my toes touch the ends of my GATs.