Robb Recommends: A Ralph Lauren Alum Created a Versatile Loafer That’s Equal Parts Rugged and Chic

There’s something happening with loafers.

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First, there was the so-called “post-sneaker moment,” where men who’d previously lived in Stan Smiths began chucking off their trainers in favor of chunky penny or bit loafers with thick lugged soles. Around the same time, a post-pandemic return to tailoring witnessed men suiting up not in laced oxfords, but rather sleek, sophisticated slip-ons that spurned adornment in favor of sexy minimalism.

I bear no ill will toward the latter category of footwear—perhaps best embodied by Baudoin & Lange’s Sagan loafer—which looks great on a wide variety of individuals. But as someone personally allergic to both “sexy” and “minimalism”—my default setting, long before fatherhood, has been “New England dad”—the rise of the statement non-statement loafer has left me in the cold.

Enter August Special . The newfangled footwear brand, which was established by ex-Polo Ralph Lauren and RRL designer Joseph Pollard in 2022, directly sells a tight edit of shoes split between two categories: Goodyear-welted boots and chukkas, and Blake-stitched loafers with rubber soles (both are manufactured in Italy).

It was the latter category that caught my eye, as its two loafers—the Augie Type-P and Augie Type-S, differentiated by the latter’s hand-sewn vamp stitch—superficially resembled the unadorned slip-ons that have recently taken over the menswear world, but somehow seemed different. Sturdier, more substantial… maybe even, rugged?

My speculations were validated when I received a pair of the Augie Type-S in deep espresso calfskin . Sure, its slip of a rubber sole made it lighter and comparatively sleeker than my many Aldens at home, and its silhouette suggested a bedroom slipper. Yet its vegetable-tanned upper was as thick and supple as any shoe with a “heritage” pedigree, and practically teased with its promises of patination to come.

“I wanted these to feel somehow classically American in style, but European in terms of quality,” Pollard told me in an exchange over Instagram, during which he also expressed a mutual affinity for Alden. “As a huge Alden fan, I wanted to buy all the shoes they don’t make—something more elegant like a Belgian, and also more rugged like a Boondocker,” he continued, referring to the WWII-era U.S. Army boot.

A surprise that I couldn’t suss out from web photos was the Augie’s padded midsole, made by wrapping an athletic foam platform in calf leather. This novel construction gave it that most overused of marketing phrases— “sneaker-like comfort”—only this time, the buzzwords rang true.

Like all of August Special’s other styles, the Augie Type-S is made on a proprietary last developed by Pollard and dubbed the “Harry.” Modeled after the shape of a service shoe worn by U.S. Navy officers in the ‘40s, it combines a comfortably rounded toebox with enough closeness on the sides and heel to produce a satisfying suction noise each time my foot enters or leaves the shoe—an audible indication of fit that all loafers should aspire to.

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In my first few weeks of Augie ownership, I submitted them to errand-filled days exceeding 15,000 steps, cobblestone streets in various stages of disrepair, and every type of playground surface imaginable. Through it all, they matched or exceeded the familiar comfort of my everyday runners, with the key advantage of looking several magnitudes smarter. And while smart enough to dress down a suit or a blazer, they aren’t so chic that I’d think twice about pairing them to a threadbare oxford shirt and worn jeans —aka, what most of my days are lived in.

It’s unclear where the shifting sands of menswear will push the loafer next. But with the Augie Type-S, August Special has managed to create a style that’s at once original, comfortable and hard-wearing—and that’s worth far more than any passing trend.

AUGUST SPECIAL AUGIE TYPE-S LOAFER

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