LeDandy has ventured off the path of low vamp loafers lately. His latest acquisition, the black suede Braganos, are clearly not low vamp. One big reason for my recent waning interest has been the lack of supply of this gorgeous style. Clearly this look has fallen out of mainstream taste. Whenever I am in the men's shoe section of a department store, I check out their selection. I do not see any low vamp shoes. In fact, I see a lot of overpriced crap.
As I've written before, the relatively obscure Italian brand Zelli makes a number of excellent low vamp loafers. This brand is superb in their quality and array of styles. The scans presented here are from Zelli's 2009 catalog. The shoes are not cheap as they are in the $275 range and up. However, they are sensibly priced when viewed against their competition such as Santoni. LeDandy owns two pairs of Zelli loafers (unfortunately both in a normal vamp) and he loves them.
Now on to the Zelli choices for those who like less coverage of their feet. LeDandy likes the Spaniel and Numano, both in suede. Very elegant yet casual.
The Arezzo model is also very attractive.
Zelli shoes are not easy to find. It seems that everything LeDandy likes is hard to find. The results though are well worth the effort. Nordstrom carries a limited selection of Zelli shoes so you may have to do some internet searching for a retailer. If you are stumped in your search, you can always contact Zelli at the link noted above and they'll help you out.
