Sam Navy

The Sam is our suede loafer. Soft from the first wear, and softer from there. No straps, no fastening, nothing to negotiate. They step in and they are out the door. Suede has a warmth that leather does not. It picks up the light differently, it feels good in the hand, and it wears in rather than wearing out. The shape is classic on purpose. It works with a uniform, a party outfit, and jeans on a Saturday. Made for girls and boys. And because parents kept asking, made in adult sizes too.

The Sam is made in a family workshop in Felgueiras, Portugal, founded more than thirty years ago and now run by the third generation of the same family. The suede is chosen first. Hides are sourced from European tanneries and selected by hand, roll by roll, before anything is cut. A loafer is built differently from other shoes. The suede wraps under the foot in a single piece rather than sitting on top of a separate sole, and the apron across the top is stitched to it by hand with waxed thread. It is slow, and there is no machine that does it as well. Every pair is tested to European safety standards and independently verified for the US.