Gucci makes a lot of shoes
Gucci makes a lot of shoes. Not all of them are built to last, and that's fine — some things are meant for a season, a moment, a single night that earns its own memory. But there are styles in the archive that were engineered differently. Styles where the leather supplier matters, where the welt is stitched twice, where the last was cut to accommodate an orthotic if you need one three years in. These are not the loafers everyone bought in 2016. These are the shoes people keep resoling.
What makes a Gucci shoe hold up isn't the logo. It's not the horsebit, though that helps with identification when you're trying to track down a cobbler who knows how to work with the hardware. It's construction. It's whether the sole is Blake-stitched or glued. It's whether the upper is full-grain or corrected leather. It's whether the interior lining will pill after forty wears or stay intact for two hundred. You can't always tell from the product page, but you can tell after six months of subway stairs.
I've been wearing three models on rotation for the past eighteen months. All three are still in play. Here's what they do, and what they don't.
Gucci Jordaan Loafer
The Jordaan launched in 2015 and it looked, at the time, like every other horsebit loafer Gucci had made since 1953. It wasn't. The original Gucci loafer — the 1953 style, the one in the Costume Institute — was a dress slipper. You wore it to the club, to the plane, maybe to the office if your office was your father's. You did not wear it to walk eighty blocks because the 6 train was down.
The Jordaan has a sturdier sole. The leather footbed is thicker. The vamp sits lower, which matters if your instep is high or if you're planning to wear these without hosiery in August. I bought a black pair in March of last year. They're now on their second sole and the uppers look better than they did new. That's full-grain calfskin for you — it doesn't hide wear, it shows it, and if the wear is even it reads as patina.
The horsebit will tarnish. That's not a defect, that's brass. If you want it shiny, take it to someone who polishes hardware. I don't. The tarnish makes them look like they've been around, which they have.
Fit runs narrow and long. I'm a 39 in most Italian shoes; I take a 38.5 in these and they're still roomy at the toe. If you're between sizes, go down. The leather will give at the vamp but it won't stretch lengthwise.
They work best with: trousers that break at the ankle, midi skirts, cropped denim if the leg is wide enough. They do not work with leggings. Don't try.
Retail price: $990. Resole cost at a decent cobbler in New York: $110 to $140 depending on whether you're replacing the toplift too.
Gucci Princetown Slipper
The Princetown is the backless version of the Jordaan, which makes it sound like less shoe. It's not. It's a different shoe with different problems and different strengths.
Mules require more from the vamp because there's no heel counter to hold your foot in place. If the vamp is too soft, your foot slides forward and you're gripping with your toes by midday. If it's too stiff, it cuts across the top of your foot and leaves a line. Gucci got the stiffness right here. The vamp holds its shape but it doesn't fight you.
I've had a pair in burgundy leather since June of last year. They've been to Paris twice, to a wedding in Laurel Canyon, to a mediation in Midtown that lasted six hours and required walking eight avenues in February. The sole is still intact. The lining has compressed where my heel sits, which is normal and actually improves the fit. The leather has creased at the vamp but not cracked.
The backless construction means you can't wear these in rain. You also can't wear them if you're going to be on your feet for more than three hours without a break. They're not unstable, but they're not supportive. Know that going in.
Fit is the same as the Jordaan — narrow, long, size down if you're between. The lack of a heel counter means you have a little more room to adjust with an insole if needed.
They work best with: wide-leg trousers, slip skirts, dresses that end above the ankle. They look wrong with anything cropped tight at the calf. The proportions don't resolve.
Retail price: $920. Resole cost: same as the Jordaan, $110 to $140.
Gucci Leather Ankle Boot
This is the 2019 style with the stacked heel and the almond toe, not the lug-sole combat boot they introduced later. It's a clean boot. No buckles, no zips up the side, no elastic gusset. Just leather and a back zip that sits flat enough that it doesn't catch on trousers.
I bought these in black two winters ago. They've been through slush, salt, that stretch in March when it rains every day for two weeks and you start to forget what dry pavement looks like. The leather has held up because it's treated, but more importantly because the boot is lasted properly. There's a shank in the sole. Your weight is distributed across the footbed, not dumped onto your arch.
The heel is 50mm, which is enough to shift your posture slightly forward but not enough to make you think about it. The boot has structure through the shaft, so it doesn't slouch at the ankle after a season. That structure comes from a stiffer interlining, and you'll feel it for the first week. Wear them around the house. Wear them to the corner and back. Let the leather break in before you commit to a full day.
Fit is consistent with the other two — narrow, long, size down. The almond toe gives you a little more room than the Jordaan, but not much.
They work best with: straight-leg trousers, midi skirts, dresses that hit below the knee. They look off with anything cropped above the ankle unless the silhouette is wide enough to balance the boot's structure.
Retail price: $1,350. Resole cost: $140 to $180 depending on whether the heel needs rebuilding.
On Keeping Them
Leather lasts if you let it rest. Don't wear the same pair two days running. Use shoe trees — not the spring-loaded kind, the solid cedar ones that actually hold shape. If they get wet, stuff them with newspaper and let them dry away from heat. If the leather looks dull, use a cream polish, not a wax. Wax sits on the surface. Cream sinks in.
Take them to a cobbler before the sole wears through to the welt. Once the welt is compromised, the repair costs triple. A resole every eighteen months is cheaper than a new pair every two years, and the shoe fits better the second time anyway. The footbed has already learned your foot.
