Despite what recent shoe history might dictate, Vans knows how to tone it down when it needs to. The Vans Loafer 53 is a slim and trim chocolate loafer that lives blissfully in the golden mean between a business-forward loafer and a thrash-ready skate shoe.

It's also the poster child for Vans' tamer side. 

The sneaker is fitted with a simple suede upper, basic black outer — you know, standard stuff.

Even though the hybrid shoe hoopla is viewed as a new footwear phenomenon, Vans' Style 53 loafer, available on the Vans website for $85, is actually an archive shoe model that first hit the scene in 2019.

The shoe’s first release was actually a collaboration with Vivienne Westwood, which featured several other iconic Vans' silhouettes like the Sk8-Hi, Old Skool, Authentic, and Slip-On.

That is to say, Vans is not new to this, it's true to this Vans lifestyle. Vans has been doing corporate couture for a long time.

This chocolate iteration of the 53 loafer is certainly a tamer approach to the boardroom excellence Vans has become quite fond of in recent years. From the fuzzy Vans LX Loafer 53 with pony hair to the thrasher's blinged-out skate shoe, Vans can turn up freak factor when it needs to.

That's what makes the subtlety displayed by this Vans loafer feel so intentional. This isn't a shoe that was made to stand out, and that's on purpose.

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