G.H. Bass & Co.

For an easy, classic loafer they are a popular entry point. The Weejuns name dates to 1936, and the silhouette is the original American penny loafer, which is much of its appeal. As a first proper pair they look good with little to no breaking-in, though buyers chasing the suppleness of full-grain leather sometimes step up to a pricier shoe over time.

It is the classic loafer debate. Both trace back to the original American penny loafer and pair with everything from jeans to tailoring; many shoppers find the Weejun gives that quintessential trad look, while Sebago is sometimes called softer from day one. If you want the shoe that started the penny-loafer story, the Weejun is the one with that 1936 lineage.

The Weejuns penny loafer, first made in 1936. It is the style that defined the brand and the broader penny-loafer category, and Bass leaned into that heritage in 1988 with a Signature Collection of three styles, the Buc, the Rangeley and the Weejuns. When people picture a Bass shoe, they almost always picture a Weejun.

The original suede "Buc" was created in 1940, a few years after the Weejun. Where the Weejun is the slip-on penny loafer, the Buc is a suede style, and the two sit side by side as Bass classics; both were featured in the 1988 Signature Collection alongside the Rangeley. Choose the Weejun for the loafer look and the Buc when you want suede.

G.H. Bass is an American footwear brand founded by George Henry Bass in 1876. He was born in Wilton, Maine in 1843 and started in shoemaking as a junior partner in E.P. Packard & Co. in Wilton; by 1879 he was sole owner and renamed the company G.H. Bass & Co. In 1887 the factory moved to Wilson Stream to use water-powered machinery.

Yes, and it runs deep. In 1918 Bass made the official Aviation Boot for the U.S. government, designed for high altitudes and extreme cold; Admiral Richard E. Byrd wore Bass ski boots on his Antarctic expeditions between 1928 and 1938; and during World War II the firm developed a cold-weather boot for the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division. The brand also outfitted the American Olympic team in 1948.

Bass built its name on moccasins long before the Weejun. The first Bass moccasin, the "Bass Moccasin Cruiser," was made in 1906 as a light, flexible shoe for woodsmen, followed by the "Rangeley" style in 1910 and a Ski Moccasin in 1917. That moccasin-making craft is the foundation the later loafers were built on.

Ownership has changed hands several times. Chesebrough-Ponds bought G.H. Bass & Co. in 1978 and sold it to PVH Corp in 1987, and in November 2013 G-III Apparel Group acquired the brand from PVH for $50 million. So the company that ran for over a century as a family and then corporate footwear maker is today part of G-III.

Yes. In 2011 Tommy Hilfiger launched a limited-edition footwear collection in collaboration with G.H. Bass & Co., centered on the Weejuns penny loafer. It is a good example of how the brand's heritage styles, especially the Weejun, remain a draw for other designers.

The Weejun is the broad family name for Bass's penny loafer line, while the Larson is one of the named styles within that world of slip-ons. If you are choosing between them, think of the Weejun as the heritage penny-loafer silhouette and pick the specific style, such as the Larson or the Logan, by the leather finish and detailing you prefer.

Very. The penny loafer is one of the most adaptable shoes there is, sliding from jeans to chinos to tailoring without looking out of place, which is exactly why the Weejun has endured since 1936. Treat it as a year-round staple and a leather-soled pair will smarten a casual outfit while relaxing a more formal one.