The Best Men's Boat Shoes To Help You Sail Into Summer
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.
Yacht a fan? Allow us to convince you otherwise