The Best Men's Boat Shoes To Help You Sail Into Summer
- 1/13
The Best Men's Boat Shoes To Help You Sail Into Summer
We’re back on board with boat shoes, convinced by the likes of Ferragamo, The Row and Duke and Dexter. We’re talking styles that eschew any undesirable connotations via contemporary details and modish colours; pairs you needn’t be a member of a swanky health club to get away with.
And you too should jump on deck – that’s if you haven’t already – as the boat shoe is one of the hardest-working footwear silhouettes the world has ever known. Think about it: it transcends dress codes, works well with everything from jeans to chinos to cargos and is typically made to last. Plus, it can tackle most types of weather conditions since it was literally designed with wet floors in mind.
The story goes that when Connecticuter Paul A. Sperry (founder of Sperry Top-Sider) noticed his Cocker Spaniel running across the ice with ease one snowy day in 1935, he was inspired to invent a shoe that imitated his dog’s paws – something with grip that could’ve prevented a fall he had whilst sailing on the Long Island Sound earlier that year. The result was a rubber-soled kick with excellent traction, ideal for sailors, like him, who regularly confronted slippery surfaces.
In the almost nine decades since, boat shoes have floated in and out of vogue umpteen times, but this time it's docked and here to stay. Here are the top 12 styles for 2023.
Duke and Dexter/Russell and Bromley - 2/13
1) Russell and Bromley
Colour is out, neutrals are in and Russell and Bromley’s classic Bowline boat shoe has gone monochromatic.
£175; russellandbromley.co.uk
Russell and Bromley - 3/13
2) Duke and Dexter
Having said that, Duke and Dexter is doing a top job at convincing us to rock the boat in ‘med’ (a very alluring deep ocean blue) this season.
£180; dukeanddexter.com
Duke and Dexter - 4/13
3) G.H. Bass and Co.
More formidable than a Royal Caribbean, G.H. Bass and Co.’s Tan Camp Moc III is for those that prefer their shoes sizeable.
£185; matchesfashion.com
Matches Fashion - 5/13
4) Ferragamo
If boat shoes are back and so is Ferragamo (thanks to Mr Maximilian Davis), a Ferragamo boat shoe might just be the waviest thing a man can own in 2023.
£720; farfetch.com
Farfetch - 6/13
5) The Row
Nothing is more telling of the boat shoe’s titanic return to relevance than Mary-Kate and Ashley incorporating the silhouette into their collections.
£950; mrporter.com
Mr Porter - 7/13
6) Timberland
Timberland's Authentic 3-Eye floats many a boat, and has done since the late Seventies. Personally, we like ours in burgundy.
£175; timberland.co.uk
Timberland - 8/13
7) Sperry
The OG boat shoe boys have mixed with punchy California label Pleasures to form a collaborative boat shoe that looks like teen spirit, but also works for everybody.
$140; sperry.com
Sperry - 9/13
8) Filippa K
Filippa K presents a Vibram-soled boat shoe for the kids who once wore creepers to college.
£330; ssense.com
SSENSE - 10/13
9)
Grenson - 11/13
10) EasyMoc
And for those that’ve been wearing driving shoes since day dot, there’s EasyMoc’s boat-loafer hybrid.
£265; endclothing.com
End - 12/13
11) Camper
Camper’s new-season colour block boat shoes are more inner-city cool cat than stuffy sailing dad.
£140; farfetch.com
Camper - 13/13
12) Fendi
To end, we present the Forever Fendi boat shoe: a black leather paragon that does logomania without going overboard.
£580; ssense.com
SSENSE
