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10 of the best men's boat shoes to bridge the gap between casual and formal

Sperry Top-Siders are a classic choice
Sperry Top-Siders are a classic choice

Designed to offer better grip on wet, slippery decks, boat shoes have moved on from their original maritime purpose. Smarter than a trainer and less dressy than a loafer, they bridge the gap that separates casual from formal.

Sperry, Timberland and Sebago are brands synonymous with the boat shoe, and still carry great kudos.

If you are a purist, the Sperry Top-Sider is the most authentic style of all – invented in 1935 by Paul A Sperry, who scored out the soles of his own casual shoes with a knife to stop them slipping on wet surfaces.

The best Top-Sider in my opinion is the two-tone, olive and brown cowhide style with cushioned rubber soles and contrast suede laces.

Docksides is the definitive design from Sebago; the tan suede and chestnut leather bi-colour style is very versatile. For something you can wear with a suit, Timberland’s classic full-grain boat shoe with a moccasin stitched toe is a nod to the traditional penny loafer.

If you mean business, Prada’s contemporary spin on the classic deck style, in tan and black, marries fashion with function. Lacoste has a sportier style in red, white and blue that would look good with a slim-fit chino, and Zara offers one with traditional styling, in four contrasting materials, that benefits from a skate-shoe sole. Perforated fabrics are on trend, too; M&S Collection and Dune have great examples.

Boat shoes should never be teamed with socks and should never have a black sole. White and traditional gum coloured are the most authentic. The more worn in, the better they look.

10 of the best

Perforated boat shoes
Perforated boat shoes

Perforated boat shoes, £35, M&S Collection (marksandspencer.com)

Classic full-grain boat shoes
Classic full-grain boat shoes

Classic full-grain boat shoes, £110, Timberland (timberland.co.uk)

 Two-tone Dockside boat shoes
Two-tone Dockside boat shoes

Two-tone Dockside boat shoes, £155, Sebago (russellandbromley.co.uk)

 Grain-calf Lance boat shoes
Grain-calf Lance boat shoes

Grain-calf Lance boat shoes, £78 (from £195), Grenson (grenson.com)

Nautic supple leather boat shoes
Nautic supple leather boat shoes

Nautic supple leather boat shoes, £110, Lacoste (lacoste.com)

Leather boat shoes
Leather boat shoes

Leather boat shoes, £515, Prada (mrporter.com)

Calf leather boat shoes
Calf leather boat shoes

Calf leather boat shoes, £320, Church’s (church-footwear.com)

Three-tone deck shoes
Three-tone deck shoes

Three-tone deck shoes, £39.99, Zara (zara.com)

Bonavista mesh boat shoes
Bonavista mesh boat shoes

Bonavista mesh boat shoes, £60, Dune (dunelondon.com)

Two-tone Top-Sider leather boat shoes
Two-tone Top-Sider leather boat shoes

Two-tone Top-Sider leather boat shoes, £105, Sperry (mrporter.com)