The Essentials: 9 Loafers To Brighten Up The Office

Now that spring has officially sprung (there's still frost on the ground, but whatever), it's time to bid adieu to your fur-trimmed winter boots in favour of some lightness south of the ankles. Now's the perfect time to get a head start on fall's flat footwear trend and, let's face it, your feet hate you for making them teeter around in cap-toe power stilettos for the last six months. Enter the flat loafer. This smart, sleek classic has not only become a wardrobe staple for the wolfpack come fashion week (see Caroline Issa, Elisa Nalin and Hanneli Mustaparta); it's also adopted so many fashion personas (neon, studded, embroidered, glittered...) that there's a style for everyone. There's also something to be said about a girl who is confident enough in her own cool to choose flats over heels as a style statement, and it goes something like "I work hard, I look good; my shoes are badass and so am I." Hard to argue with that.

Jeremy Scott for Adidas multicoloured patent leather creeper loafers, $160, shoescribe.com.