Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette and our ongoing series, Is it worth it? In
today's video, we'll discuss whether or not the iconic line of loafers from G.H
Bass and company known as Weejuns are worth your money. The flagship product
line from GH bass & Company, the Weejun, has been a staple of Prep and Ivy dress
codes since its original introduction back in 1936. By the way, if you'd like to
learn more about the prep style or Ivy style dress codes, you can take a look at
our videos on those subjects here. But before we zero in on Bass Weejuns, let's
first take a moment to cover what actually qualifies a shoe as a loafer.
You can find the most detailed information in our loafer guide video
here but in the meantime, here are the broad strokes of what a loafer is.
Firstly, and perhaps most obviously, a loafer has no laces. Phrased another way,
it is a type of slip-on shoe. Also, a loafer is a type of so-called
low shoe meaning that the ankle is exposed and the shoe doesn't wrap snugly
around. Loafers will often feature a heel with a relatively low profile
compared to some other dress shoe styles. And while the upper vamp of a loafer
will often feature a moccasin like construction, the sole of a loafer is
separate from its upper. By the way, if you're unfamiliar with any of these
terms, you can check out our guide to the anatomy of a dress shoe, here. Loafers
will sometimes, though not always, feature an additional strip of leather across
the vamp referred to as a saddle. Those are the general notes on what makes a
loafer a loafer. For more information on how they were inspired by but are
different from moccasins, the full loafer guide has you covered. Now, one more thing
to cover before we get into the specific appraisal of the
models of shoe we selected for today's video, that would be a brief
historical overview of G.H Bass and company. George Henry Bass entered the shoe
business in 1876 as a junior partner in the EP Packard company out of Wilton,
Maine. Within three years, he had assumed full control of the company and given it
his name. Bass and company made moccasins as early as 1906 which they dubbed the
"bass moccasin cruiser." Other moccasin styles were also created which included
the Rangeley, the Ski Moccasin, and the curiously named Woc-o-Moc. Upon George
Henry's passing in 1925, his sons John and Willard would take over the company.
Bass was also well known for its aviation and ski boots often used on
Arctic expeditions but they would have their biggest success in 1936 with the
premiere of the Weejun loafer. The moccasin inspired design of the shoe,
which included most of the features we outlined above, did include a strip of
leather across the vamp with a diamond-shaped cutout. Bass christened
their shoes weejuns to sound like Norwegians. A nod to the roots of the
loafer style shoe and also to differentiate their shoes from other
slightly similar styles that had already hit the market.
From then on, weejuns became immensely popular, particularly in America, and
especially with prep school students in the 1950s. While students would
originally keep dimes in the cutouts of their saddles in order to make pay phone
calls, the copper color of pennies was more fashionable with the brown leather
shoes offered at the time and therefore, they became known as penny loafers.
Bass and company was purchased by Chesebrough-Ponds Incorporated of Greenwich,
Connecticut in 1978 and would be sold to Phillips-Van Heusen, later the PVH
corporation in 1987. And since 2013, the brand has been owned by the G3 apparel
group. Today, Bass has expanded the original range of
Weejun styles to include a much broader range of options. There are weejuns in
the classic leather style, of course, but also in patterned fabric, suede, faux
lizard skin, and more. They offer weejuns with dyed or natural colored leather
soles, as well as crepe soles and rubber soles, which have been dubbed easy
weejuns. Additionally, the famous saddle strip has
also been supplemented by tassels, horse bits, kilted straps, and more. And Bass has
extended its original product range to include weejuns for women and children,
as well as men. For today's video, we selected two different styles of weejuns.
First is the Logan which is billed as the original style with a dyed edge
leather sole and a flat strap across the vamp. For the Logan, we selected the
medium brown leather that was most commonly seen in many vintage
advertisements for Weejuns. The other style is the Larson in blue which
features a natural colored leather sole and contrast stitching, as well as
decorations on the side of the saddle strap, referred to in the loafer world as
beefrolls. Both of these pairs retail on the Bass website for a price of 110
dollars. This is the standard price for most pairs of Weejuns although Bass does
offer other styles for as little as 95 dollars and as much as 195.
Both of the styles we selected today features smooth leather
soles with rubber top lifts on the heels, as well as a handcrafted welt. As for the
build quality of the shoes, they both seem fairly solid if somewhat
unremarkable. There are a few oddly spaced stitches on
the welt of the Logan's and the beef rolls on the Larson's do seem a bit
asymmetrical. The subtle color variation in the medium brown of the Logan's is
pleasing, though they do have a slightly finish that may suggest that the leather
was either treated or coated somehow. Meanwhile, the blue Larson's have a more
understated matte finish to them. In addition to the uneven stitching on the
sole of the Logan's, there was also a slight tear in the leather on one of the
seams of the upper. There are a small handful of quality American shoemakers
who still produce their products in the United States. Allen Edmonds, for example,
makes most of their shoes in the US. However, as with a great many number of
historic American brands, Bass, at this point, has moved construction of their
shoes to other locations and in this case, both of the pairs we ordered were
put together in El Salvador. As for fit and comfort, both pairs fit
true to size. I ordered an eight and a half in both
and they're fairly comfortable out of the box. More comfortable and better
fitting, in fact, than the dark oxblood penny loafers I recently ordered from
Allen Edmonds. Because by nature, a loafer covers less of the foot however, fit will
vary not only from brand to brand and style to style but indeed from pair to
pair. In this case, both of the styles we ordered did fit me well. On the Bass web
site, most models are offered in full and half sizes and some are also offered in
wider widths, though not all. Moving on from build quality and initial
impressions then, let's answer the question of how we think you might best
wear these loafer styles. Obviously, the contrast stitching and natural colored
sole of the Larson's make them a more casual loafer style. Really more in line
with something like a boat shoe. By the way, if you'd like to take a look at our
guide to boat shoes, you can find it here. And while it's obviously more
traditional, the Logan would probably look best with a smart casual ensemble.
Its overall effect is a bit too mid level in terms of style and formality to
really be paired with something like a full suit. All of this then brings us to
our main question for today, do we think that a pair of
Weejuns from G.H Bass and company are worth it?
While the brand has maintained its classic styles and also expanded into
new territory, we think that the models of today are ultimately serviceable
shoes. That is to say, they're certainly better than something like a cemented
sole model you would get from a typical department store but there are also
higher quality options out there. Something from Allen Edmonds in America,
for instance, or a brand like Loake in England. On that note,
stay tuned because we've got a great video covering the best men's dress shoes
in the $100 to $300 price range coming soon. Generally then, we think that
the $110 price point is just about right for a modern pair of Weejuns. If cared
for properly, they could certainly last you for a handful of years and could be
resold by a skilled cobbler, assuming you have leather soled models. Meanwhile, the
$95 easy Weejuns give off the impression of being somewhat cheaper with features
like a small tag on the side of the shoe and slightly chunkier rubber soles. And
assuming the same general build quality, we'd say that the shoes at the higher
end of the line are probably priced a bit higher than they're worth. It should
be acknowledged, of course, that we've formed these impressions of the shoe
after only having them for a short while and of course, to really get the full
experience, you'd want to wear them for a longer period of time, at least a few
months. Overall then, we'd say that a pair of Weejuns from GH bass and company is
worth it if you're looking to spend just enough money to get a smart casual shoe
with solid but unremarkable built. This historic brand fortunately hasn't become
a shadow of its former self but of course, there are higher quality loafers
out there if you're looking to spend even a hundred or perhaps even just $50
more. And one more thing here, be sure to check out our full playlist of is it
worth it videos here for reviews of other iconic brands and items. Today's
video features a summery casual outfit with a color palette that's based around
the two pairs of Weejuns we selected. My polo shirt is medium blue and there's a
slight color variance in the weave. It also features a light blue inner placket,
dark brown buttons with white accents and light blue contrast stitching. by the
way if you'd like more information on polo shirts and what makes a good one
you can check out our guide on that subject here. My trousers are plain brown
as is my belt which features a silver buckle and my socks feature alternating
light and dark blue in a herringbone pattern I won't go over my shoes here of
course because we've already discussed them in depth and while today's outfit
is exceptionally casual and therefore doesn't feature any accessories if
you're interested in different types of menswear accessories such as
boutonnieres collar pins pocket squares and so on you can check out the Fort
Belvedere shop here