Inside Washington, a curious fashion trend has reportedly taken hold: cabinet members and political allies appearing in identical pairs of classic dress shoes. The footwear, according to multiple reports, is often a gift from President Donald Trump. In Washington, even footwear can carry a message.
The shoes are the traditional Oxford style — a formal lace-up long associated with boardrooms and ceremonial occasions — made by the American brand Florsheim, which is owned by Wisconsin-based Weyco Group. Trump has reportedly developed a fondness for the brand and has been known to buy pairs to hand out to visitors, advisers, and members of his administration.
On its face, the gesture might seem like a quirky presidential habit — a businessman-turned-president giving colleagues a practical gift. But in Washington, where symbolism can matter nearly as much as policy, the ritual has prompted another interpretation: wearing the shoes may function less as a fashion choice and more as a quiet signal of loyalty.
Recipients are said to feel a certain pressure to put them on when the president is around. If the boss notices — and asks whether you got “the shoes” — it may be easier to answer yes if they are already on your feet.
Marco Rubio – Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs” by NATO is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
That dynamic may help explain why some officials appear to wear them even when the fit isn’t quite right. Photos circulating online showed Secretary of State Marco Rubio sporting what looked like a noticeably oversized pair — the kind of fit that might normally be exchanged, but apparently not in this case. The awkward sizing may stem from Trump’s habit of guessing people’s shoe sizes on the spot — a strategy that, like many political calculations in Washington, does not always produce an exact fit.
The attention has brought an unusual spotlight to Florsheim, a company founded in Chicago in 1892 and long known for traditional men’s dress footwear. The brand is now part of Weyco Group, which operates out of Wisconsin and sells shoes around the world.
But the company’s relationship to Trump-era policy is more complicated than the presidential endorsement might suggest.
While the president praises the shoes and hands them out as gifts, Weyco Group is among companies seeking refunds for unpopular tariffs imposed during his administration. The duties applied to many imported products — including footwear manufactured overseas — and companies say they significantly increased costs across the industry.
Following a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States allowing businesses to pursue challenges to the tariff program, Weyco joined other companies asking the federal government to return the duties they say were improperly collected. The company argues the tariffs forced it to raise prices and rethink supply chains while paying millions of dollars in import taxes.
The arrangement has produced a peculiar political image: the president distributing shoes from a brand whose parent company is simultaneously asking the courts to undo part of his trade policy. In other words, Trump may be enthusiastically promoting a shoe brand whose parent company is currently asking the courts to refund tariffs imposed under his own trade policy.
The situation illustrates a familiar feature of Washington politics: symbolism often collides with economic reality. A pair of classic American dress shoes may project an image of domestic craftsmanship and traditional style. But like much of the modern footwear industry, many products are manufactured abroad — the very dynamic tariffs were meant to address.
For now, the story of Trump’s preferred shoes remains a small but telling Washington footnote: a presidential gift that may double as a loyalty signal, cabinet members dutifully wearing them — sometimes several sizes too large — and a company benefiting from the publicity even as it asks the courts to undo the tariffs tied to the policies of the man handing the shoes out. In Washington, it seems, even a pair of Oxfords can become a test.
Editor’s note: SW Newsmagazine contacted Florsheim and its parent company, Weyco Group, for comment, but the companies did not respond before publication. We will update the story if they provide new information.
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