It’s a category that quite a lot of brands have explored, but they can be a bit too smart (eg Belgians) or too chunky (eg regular boat shoes) to bridge all these uses. It's something we mentioned to Joseph Pollard - the ex-design head at RRL who now runs shoe brand August Special - and that started a conversation around developing something together. To fit the brief, the shoe had to be soft enough to wear without socks - to simply slip into at the back door of the summer house - but also elegant enough to wear with our beloved bespoke tailoring.

It would be unlined, in a mouldable veg-tanned leather, but designed to look slim on the feet and made to a high quality, with fine stitching and construction. Inspiration came from traditional boat shoes, but also the kind of low-profile, laid-back shoe Ralph Lauren did particularly well in the nineties (below) and I've worn vintage versions of. The nice thing about those shoes was they were casual in design (leather lacing, hand-stitched apron) but the low vamp and slightly elongated last made them elegant as well.

For our summer version, we took that idea and an old pair of boat shoes I had, and created a new, custom last that emphasised comfort in places like the width at the joints, but used elements like the shape of the apron to push the more refined style. If you look at the shoe below, it’s interesting to compare the shape of the apron (that ‘U’ of stitching on the front) with the width of the shoe overall. It’s the apron that catches the eye and makes the shoe look elongated, but the shoe itself is actually fairly wide and comfortable.

During the design iterations with the shoemaker in Italy, Joseph helped us push that shape of the apron, to make it slimmer and longer, moving the point of it right to the end of the toe. It wasn’t a standard design but it really helped drive the overall look. Other aspects we worked on consistently were creating a larger heel cup - wider and roomier but not big at the top - and lowering the toe spring to give it a really flat, laid-back feel.

“There’s a lot in the dynamism of a shoe that comes from these decisions,” Joseph told me. “Trainers are angled forwards, for example, to give the impression of speed. By contrast, I like how low and still this shoe feels, like it’s not in a hurry to go anywhere.” So, the shoe is an unlined loafer in veg-tanned leather, made in moccasin style with self-tying leather laces.

The vamp and counter are hand sewn, and there is a Maine-guide style seam as an extra design detail. We used a small, family-run shoemaker in Italy that Joseph has worked with in the past, and actually used to make some of the Ralph Lauren shoes we were inspired by. They make at a higher level than most of the similar shoes you see outside Italy, with finer finishing, more stitches per inch, and details like a rounded edge to the sole through the waist.

The sole is blake-stitched, which for me is the best in this kind of lightweight summer shoe. They can be resoled fairly easily as a result, at least two or three times. The leather is deliberately left with minimal finish, so it will age quickly and beautifully.

The shoes will noticeably acquire scuffs and marks, but these mellow and become part of the patina, making it feel like an old favourite. Interestingly, the rubbing on the inside of the shoe can also cause the leather to darken slightly with friction, but this fades. You can also use a waterproofing spray if you might wear them in the rain; more generally, a little clear or tan shoe cream will be useful every few months.

Style-wise, we find the shoes can be worn with everything from jeans to tailoring. During our recent trip to LA myself, Lucas and Manish all wore the shoes, and you can see the variety of outfits in the images in this article. At the top, Lucas is wearing them in a semi-smart outfit with white jeans and a navy cotton sweater (our hand-framed model).

Above, Manish is wearing them with a linen suit (Art du Lin from The Anthology) and a white linen shirt, so an elegant summer look. And I’m wearing the shoes with blue jeans, but with both a very casual look on top (untucked chambray shirt, below) and a smarter one (tailored linen jacket, further above). I’d wear them, personally, with shorts as well.

Fit I know the first question readers will have will be about sizing. We’ve tried to break this down as fully as possible below, using all three of us as examples, as we all have slightly different shape