I'm On a Boat....Shoe

The Boat Shoe has been a staple in the world of fashion for quite sometime. Invented first by Paul Sperry in 1935, Sperry got the idea after watching how well his dog ran across snow and ice he cut sipings in to the bottom of his shoes which helped him repel water more easily whilst out boating. Also known as Deck Shoes, the Top-Sider shoe was initially made for boating/sailing, but as fashion would have it around the 1980's the shoe was assimilated into the world of fashion in America and England as everyday foot wear. The photo pictured here is courtesy of my good friend Wilablog @ BOB. The quandary exists within the perimeters of this outfit and its merits to wearing the shoes pictured. I will take this approach from two angles. The first will be from a point of style, the other from that of fashion.

     Stylistically, I have to say no. That was easy. The first problem starts with the slacks' approach to the shoes. I can only assume, due to the cuffless nature of the pants themselves that these are flat front trousers. Be that as it may, there is not crease in the center of the leg so what needs to be adorning the foot is a laceless loafer. Secondly, boat shoes were made for shorts, jeans, and linen pants that do not require a crease.

     Fashionably, this is quite acceptable. If you walk around most just about any high school campus, particularly a private school you will notice that the slacks the boys are wearing have cuffs, you will also notice them wearing boat shoes (this is also true in the case of no cuffs). So it is only fair that the shoes be accepted outside of the realms of style for this motif. What needs to take place at this point is the upper portion of the outfit needs to be as lazy as the bottom, because that what these shoes are, lazy. That is why, I imagine, they are so popular in our generation. They are a quick and easy fix to any outfit one chooses to wear. The laces are frivolous as they serve no real purpose to secure the shoe to the foot, the leather is unrefined giving the listless look of a laid back atmosphere.

     I believe fashion and style have their place in society. There is a time to overlook certain standards of style and indulge in the self-made individuality of fashion, as it seems there is always a time when an aspect of fashion has become a staple of style. So to this photo at hand, I say its a go for everyday wear. With a nice polo shirt or V-neck T shirt it can makes it way to a good look. Thanks for the pic.