Just a few years ago, it felt like the more stylish corners of the internet (circa 2017) had agreed collectively to swear off boat shoes.
A classic Americana staple — popularised in the 1930s — the boat shoe shares many of the same aesthetic traits as the camp moccasin: a casual leather slip-on, with lacy eyelets, modeled on a similar design worn by Native Americans across the centuries.
Despite this credible origin in America’s First Nations, the boat shoe has (at least since the ’80s) suffered from a bit of an image problem.
Its pervasiveness among a certain kind of young American consumer — waspish, male, often in a fraternity — made it shoe-non-grata in ‘serious’ fashion circles: particularly as our culture has become increasingly global, and shoppers look beyond the shores of Maine or New England for personal inspiration.
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But, since mid-2023, we’ve seen a trickle of boat shoes creeping back into the fashion conversation. Obviously, a good chunk of th at visibility has been manufactured by brands who have a vested interest in sustaining the product. Brands like Sperry.
Since its establishment in 1935, the company has been most famous for its ‘Top-Sider’ style and — following a period of uneven revenues — was acquired by Authentic Brands Group this January.
Under new management, the company has pivoted to working more closely with social media influencers and, in a move that will feel familiar to industry watchers, pursued a policy of aggressive premiumisation.
That’s evident in collabs with brands like Palmes or New York designer Todd Snyder. Sperry teamed up with the latter to offer a trio of limited editions ($329): nearly double what shoppers can expect to pay for the brand’s original design.
At almost the polar-opposite end of the spectrum, you’ll find Quoddy: who aren’t mounting a comeback, so much as netizens are becoming hyperaware of it. Billed as the best maker of boat shoes in the biz, the brand’s ‘Classic’ unlined design ($595) costs as much as a pair of mid-tier European dress shoes.
The comparison is a deliberate one, as Quoddy makes its unlined slip-on with many similar techniques: such as a handstitched apron and premium uppers sourced from Horween Leather Co.
As ever, the sustainability of that price tag is down to a mix of factors: the brand’s well-earned reputation and robust demand for comfy slip-on shoes being among them. But, in an ironic twist, younger customers are gravitating toward the brand — having become disillusioned with the empty, never-ending cycles of hype culture.
According to Nick Paget, a strategist at trend forecaster WSGN, specialist firms like Quoddy are a palate cleanser. Or, more specifically, “a bit of a reaction to streetwear, which so painfully wanted to say how cutting-edge it was”.
More brands than ever are taking a stab at reinventing the wheel (or should we say, white rubber sole?) with an array of original designs marketed in unexpected contexts.
The British menswear firm Drake’s, whose tagline is “Relaxed Elegance”, is particularly skilled at this. Last year it worked with Sebago on a capsule of the New England label’s ‘Dockside’ footwear, choosing to showcase them — in classic Drake’s fashion — alongside tailoring, painter’s pants, overshirts, and a range of other garments that more or less smother the nautical connection.
Jian DeLeon, Men’s Fashion Director at the American retailer Nordstrom, explains that this kind of manoeuvre is effective since it re-contextualises boat shoes as “the rug that ties the room together” — not the focal point of one’s entire fit.
Of course, if the social baggage that accompanies a cool, boat-shoe-themed collab is still too much, the advantage of the style is that it’s virtually interchangeable with the aforementioned moccasin.
Both were invented at around the same time (in the early 20th century) but, if we’re being pedantic, the moc’s colour-matched sole and much simpler looking upper allow you to channel the boat shoe’s ‘spirit’ — albeit a version you can wear on dry land.
In this camp of boat-curious footwear, Saman Amel boasts the high watermark. The Swedish tailoring firm’s ‘City Moc’ ($1000) is sleek, classic, and unapologetically pricey — made in a selection materials like brown deerskin or grey cachemire that respond well to prolonged wear.
Shorn of any and all nautical trappings (nowadays, mostly a fiction concocted by marketers anyway) this shoe hones in on the crux of what makes a good boat shoe. There’s plenty of comfort and minimal structure. Plus, in a textured leather like deerskin, they’re just begging to be worn in a dressy setting.
That’s not a feat every ‘viral’ will manage this summer. Nor quite so comfortably.
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