Loafers are, as most know, always more difficult to get a good fit on, since you have no opportunity to easily adjust the way they fit with laces or buckles. Most common is that they slip at the heel, for this a simple self-adhesive tongue pad is an excellent solution.
Many of you who like loafers and have one or more pairs will recognise this, that the shoes may already be a bit loose from the start or that after they have been used for some time they have started to be a bit loose, and perhaps above all you start to experience heel slippage. Most do not care about doing anything about this, those who do something usually choose to put in place the fairly common adhesive heel grips that are available. It is understandable that one chooses to fill up at the heel when it is here they are slipping, and it can work fine, but in the vast majority of cases it is an even better option to choose a self-adhesive tongue pad instead.
Loose loafers can be really annoying. Image: Royalty-Free / Corbis
This since the most common reason for the loafers being loose is that the foot is not held sufficiently in place over the shoe’s instep, which means that the foot slides forward a bit and it gets loose around the back. But putting the foot more forward in the shoe with a heel grip can cause the foot to sit slightly in the wrong place in the shoe, while the tongue pad makes the foot retain its natural and correct position while at the same time keeping it in place and eliminating slippage. The best part is that it is so easy to fix, these self-adhesive pads in leather with a soft foam rubber core you can buy from for example us at Skolyx or at your local cobbler, they cost around €10, and then you clean and wipe dry the tongue and attach them yourself.
I have written more about different fit corrections here on Shoegazing, for example in this article.
Both sides of the self-adhesive tongue pads. Photo: Shoesinsoles
Thanks for the very helpful tip Jesper. Such a simple thing that can make such a difference. It is really tricky these days to accurately buy loafers without trying.
Kostas: Cheers! Yeah the easy solutions are the best ones 🙂
Hi, do you know where one could find thicker pads than the Skolyx ones? Thanks.
David: The only proper ones in leather/suede that I’ve seen are similar in thickness. Know there’s some white, fuzzy spongy ones that look like cotton balls sold in the US but they are of bad quality I’ve heard, and not sure if they are much thicker ones compressed.
Hi Jesper, thanks for this tip. I bought the suede ones from Pedag, but I’m nervous to put them on because I see reviews saying that their’s fell off and left a sticky mess of adhesive on their shoes that is hard to get off. Are these concerns legitimate? How do I ensure it doesn’t fall off?
Marc: I’ve never had them fall off, though don’t use Pedag’s but the ones from Skolyx. They are squeezed in between the foot and the tongue so unlike heel grips the wear on these are rather minimal. If they come off though, I’d just insert new ones. Should one want to remove them, yes the adhesive can take a bit of work to get rid off, but with for example acetone it’s doable.