jenni's blog

Bass 最著名的乐芙鞋，问世也已满70周年。一开始由挪威人的手缝鞋所获的灵感而创作出第一双乐芙鞋，并以“Norwegian Loafer”的谐音命名为Weejuns，直到现在都还可见于鞋底或鞋垫上。1950年代的流行指标人物詹姆斯．狄恩穿乐芙鞋被拍后，被杂志誉为“不可不买的鞋”，从此一炮而红，甚至在1961年至1968年间，全美还须以限量配额的方式贩售，供不应求的程度可见一斑。由于当时流行将一分钱硬币放在鞋前片上，也因此获得“Penny Loafer”的封号。

乐芙鞋走过的70年间，设计经过两次大变革。从一开始着重防滑功能，到中间为了因应可以穿到各种正式或非正式场合的需求，出现Dressy的皮底设计。现代的乐芙鞋则强调舒适休闲的tone调，因此鞋中底加入更多的科技，如鞋中段的铁片可支撑足弓，避免走路时足部不正确的弯曲，和其他如避震、增加弹力的设计等，大幅增加穿着时的舒适感。(

======刚才看牛博，wiki解封了，除了中文。呵呵。总算可以查了，于是查到了如下的详细解释

Loafers or penny loafers are low, leather step-in shoes whose tops resemble a moccasin, but have broad flat heels. They first appeared in the mid 1930's. They have no shoelaces or buckles. Penny loafers are made of leather and are often worn in formal situations.

The men's fashion and lifestyle magazine Esquire photographed dairy farmers in Norway wearing slip-on shoes around the cattle loafing area (where dairy cows gather to await milking). American lumber and leather interests owned by the Spaulding family in New Hampshire started making loafers based on these photographs in about 1932 or 1933 - naming them loafers. They were also called ponies by some - often women would slip a foot out of one shoe and rest their toes on the counter (back) thus appeared to be standing as a pony often will with one leg resting on the very tip of its hoof. In 1934 John R. Bass (a bootmaker in Wilton, Maine) started making loafers and called them Weejuns (meant to sound like Norwegian). These had a strap across the upper part of the vamp that was shaped like a pair of lips (said to be John's wife, Alice Bass, kissing each shoe on its way out the door). The mouth opening soon was used to hold an ornamentation - perhaps a penny and thus penny loafers became a style. Penny loafers often held a dime instead of a penny. If a girl's date got out of line she could call home on a pay phone--which accepted dimes during most of the fifties and sixties.

Loafers are worn by both sexes, though more often by men. Women's penny loafers also have many different styles. Wearing socks with loafers depends on the fashion trends of the time.

A particular type of loafer, referred to as a "tasseled loafer," is a shoe which has been associated stereotypically with the profession of an attorney at law. During the presidential election of 1992, former president George H. W. Bush is reported to have said that (then) candidate Bill Clinton was supported by every trial lawyer who "ever wore a tasseled loafer."

这棒极了，不过这里我发现了我的英文真是太差了，于是我又花了很久的时间来看关于shoes的其他词

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shoes

然后看到了一堆简单常见的小词，但是我都不认识，比如丰富的颜色相关的词，oxblood,tan,cordovan等等等等。英语博大精深阿！I'm really really frustrated!