Loro Piana Summer Walk Dupes

Your guide to Yacht Loafers on a kayak budget.

As we’ve established a couple yap sessions ago — and as you’ve surely noticed — the Loro Piana Summer Walk style of loafer is gaining serious traction. I genuinely believe that you’ll be seeing them everywhere Summer 2025 and 2026. But by “them,” I don’t mean the actual $980 Summer Walk, but instead some iteration or imitation going by the alias of “Yacht Loafer.”

Whether you want to get ahead of the curve or to at least be prepared for the shopping landscape, please allow me to present to you the best Summer Walk dupes the internet has to offer.

But first let’s revisit the essential details that a dupe must nail to even be in the running. At the minimum, the look calls for a suede upper, an apron toe embellishment, and ridged rubber soles.

A suede Venetian loafer lacking those details simply won’t have compare, even if it’s an otherwise-okay shoe.

Another key detail is the high loafer vamp which makes for a dressier silhouette as compared to the lower vamp of a boat shoe or moccasin.

And finally, a very subtle but equally critical detail is the ridged rubber sole which gives the shoe a much sleeker appearance than a true sneaker sole.

So with those criteria in mind, let’s explore your best options for getting the Yacht Loafer look on a kayaker’s budget.

Starting with the cream of the crop — the Duke of The Dupes, if you will — we’ve got the OG imitator: Aurelien’s Yacht Loafers!

Though $400 is hardly cheap, this is still less than half the cost of an actual Loro Piana Summer Walk, while boasting comparable quality. Rumor has it that these are even produced in the same factory as the real deal.

While that claim remains unverified, there is no shortage of endorsement for Aurelien’s quality and craftsmanship when it comes to this featured footwear.

These Yacht Loafers look incredibly similar to the original Summer Walks, but do boast some of their own distinguishing features such as a slightly sleeker toe box, faux 360 lacing, and a zig-zag finish on the tongue. Best of all, they have an incredible array of colors ranging from fun and funky to sharp and dressy.

But as gorgeous as this product is — buyer beware — the company has mixed reviews when it comes to customer service. When items arrive as expected, the reviews are rave! But when a return or exchange is required, things have gotten pretty dicey for some customers, earning Aurelien a less than stellar Trustpilot score of 4.3 with 19% 1-star reviews.

Moving down in price and up in accessibility, we’ve got To Boot NY’s Cassidy loafer.

$365 is not much less than $400 but there is immense value in being able to try on the style in-person. Because To Boot is carried by both Bloomingdales and Nordstrom, this will be the easiest pair on the list to try on and before purchasing.

The color options are limited, but brown, navy, and taupe covers the essentials. There are no particularly noteworthy design elements here, but this is a well-executed, well-made dupe that is widely accessible. Hard to go wrong!

On the other hand, if you’re willing to try your hand at shopping online for the prospect of greater savings and better colors, then look to Velasca’s Feree loafer!

Clocking in at $340, you’re still looking at a noteable investment, but Velasca’s design, craftsmanship, and materials will make you feel justified in your purchase.

They nail all of the key details with of Loro Piana’s OG loafer and offer a well-curated selection of 7 color options.

As a company, Velasca is reliable, predictable, and easy to get a hold of for customer service needs. They boast a 4.5 Trustpilot score with 84% 5-star reviews, 11% 4-star reviews, and 3% 1-star reviews.

If you find a color you dig, then you’re gonna be strolling with big yacht vibes in 3-6 work days.

Now if you like this price point, really want to try it on, and happen to live near a Suitsupply — then boy do I have the shoe for you!

Suitsupply’s suede slip-on loafers look fantastic in their shape, material, and details! The quality is aligned with the price and their two color ways are classic and versatile.

Of course, the glaringly obvious shortcoming here is that they only have two color options. Literally two.

Half the fun of Yacht Loafers are the possibility of choosing a bold and decadent color. Even if you end up with brown or taupe, it tickles your fancy knowing that jade green will be there for you later. Not so with Suitsupply.

That said, their slip-on remains a great gateway into this category of shoe.

Moving down into the sub-$300 candidates, you won’t have the option to try any of them on, but you may be pleasantly surprised by the quality of this menu.

Jack Erwin — a truly underrated shoe brand — launched their answer to Yacht Loafers earlier this year and they are a hit!

$228, 5 color options, and all of the details dialed in to look like its much pricier inspiration, the Tanner loafer has become a go-to recommendation for clients on a tighter budget this summer!

Given its price, versatile color ways, and exquisite styling there’s not much to knock here.

Now for the comfort-fiends, I’m midly pleased to present this $179 option from Amberjack.

Amberjack is known for their hyper-comfy hybrid dress shoes— a combination of words I shudder to even speak. But while most are sinfully ugly, their suede venetian loafer is a solid imitation of the esteemed Summer Walks.

Don’t mind the hideous upwards curl, it only looks that way at rest. When worn, they flatten out to look like normal shoes. Thank god.

While the shoe snob in me hates that upward curl — a typical signifier of poor make — Amberjack did it for the orthopedic benefit. It’s intentional and whatnot.

In addition to the cushy soles, the suede is waterproof, and this loafer comes in 5 colors.

There are also leather options, but they’re remarkably un-stylish, so it’s best to pretend you didn’t even see them.

While a tech/comfort shoe company is a somewhat unlikely place to find Summer Walk dupes, the absolute last place you’d check is an English countryside apparel brand. And yet, if you were somehow possessed to do so, you’d discover that Peter Christian offers a great and affordable option at $175.

With a trim selection of 3 colors, you’d typically expect two versatile staples and a single fun option, but Peter Christian went in the opposite direction. Light brown, sky blue, and mustard yellow: those are your choices.

The details are on point and Peter Christian is known for great quality at an approachable price, so if any of those hues tickle your fancy, this is the best way to get the look for less!

Now if you want it for *even* less, know that you’re swimming in dangerous waters. They may not be shark infested, but there are scams aplenty. When something looks too good and too cheap to be true on the internet, it’s usually a stolen photo next to a Temu product.

So without opening that can of worms, we’ll end on our last and most affordable option: J.Crew factory’s suede Venetian loafer.

One color, well-imitated details, and quality that you’d expect at $99. You get what you get and you don’t get upset.

There are a few other options out there which may have been excluded due to low stock — some of which I really like and have even used for clients. But fear not, they’ll surely be back next summer.

As will Yacht Loafers.