Bass Weejuns are key part of Carolina beach music discussion

Carolina beach music shag dancers of the 1950s and 1960s cherished their favorite pair of comfy leather shoes that “slid just right” across the dance floor. The brand of choice was Bass Weejuns.

These shoes were hot-hot-hot, and Morehead City, N.C., kids had to go all the way to New Bern to buy them, according to Debbie Gray of Newport, who grew up in a dance-crazy family.

She only-too-well remembers the joys of shuffling to the tunes on the wooden floors of the dance pavilions at Atlantic Beach. Debbie preferred the ones with tassels.

G.H. Bass and Co. was a family-owned shoe manufacturer in Winton, Maine, established by George Henry Bass in 1879. He owned a tannery in town and branched out into shoemaking.

 

“Quality leather was to his mind the first requisite of a good boot and shoes, and quality leathers have remained the first consideration in the business Bass established,” historians said.

Early on, Bass focused on manufacturing sturdy footwear for farmers and outdooorsmen that offered the comfort of moccasins.

The company began production in 1936 of a “Norwegian, slipper-type moccasin intended for the purpose of “loafing in the field.” Thus, “Weejun loafers” took their name. Word got around.

 

Through the ensuing decades, Weejuns became the preppy choice of American teenagers and celebrities. Weejuns were seen on the feet of icons such as James Dean, John F. Kennedy, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn.

 

Zoe Dickens of Gentlemen’s Journal, based in London, England, recently recalled: “Weejun was the shoe du jour across Ivy League campuses.”

“Legend has it that students would tuck a 10-cent coin for the pay phone in the shoe’s front slot, and, thus, the penny loafer was born.” (Got it?)

Dickens interviewed Cyril Crentsil, European marketing manager at G.H. Bass & Co., who said Weejuns “straddle the line between casual and formalwear that allows the shoe to be worn in multiple settings by various age groups.”

Weejuns employ the same tubular moccasin technique that George Henry Bass pioneered back in 1876, Crentsil said. “This method uses a single piece of leather, hand-sewn to create a ‘hammock’ for the foot that ensures supreme and lasting comfort.”

“Another point to consider is Weejuns are just great for dancing in! Music and dance have always been a driving force in many subcultures, and our classic loafers lend themselves incredibly well to moving across a dance floor,” Crentsil said.

“Every movement from Rockabilly to Northern soul has reached for a pair of loafers for a night out.” (Northern soul grew out of the rhythm and soul scene of the late 1960s in Manchester, England – a wee bit like the Motown sound but up-tempo.)

Joseph Madda, an architect in Glencoe, Ill., is full of praise for “the greatest loafer ever made, the casual-cool ‘Weejun’ slip-on.” (Socks were and are still optional.)

 

“Because the sole and even the heel were entirely smooth leather, you had to scuff them up a bit to avoid early pratfalls,” Madda said. In his view, the classic Weejuns have an “oxblood” finish, deep brownish red, not cordovan. “The 20-year-old pair I have now is indeed oxblood.”

He keeps them shined with Kiwi brand oxblood color shoe polish.

 

“Why talk about a shoe?” Madda asked. “You know the answer. My Weejuns are a fond reminder of my optimistic youth, too long ago. That mythical time of Camelot, before Vietnam, Watergate….”

All is well. Weejuns were introduced to a new generation of music lovers in 1983, as Michael Jackson donned a pair of black Weejuns for his “Thriller” video.