It’s a Breeze as Sperry Topsiders Sails into Fashion

If you’re in with the yachting / sailing crowd then you probably own a pair of classic Sperry Topsiders – the original boat shoe. Designed for life on the ocean wave, these authentic deck shoes have specially treated leather to withstand repeated wettings, anodized aluminium eyelets to prevent rusting and non skid soles. Worn with shorts they look casually stylish; have a French Riviera chic feel paired with Capri pants and give a cute quirky touch to dresses.  

Although keeping anchored to its nautical heritage, for SS13 Sperry Topsiders hoists up their trendy sails and gets a firm grip on to the slippery fashion scene.

New for women SS13 are:

Animal Tri Print – the boat shoe goes really wild with a trio of python, zebra and leopard prints. Colours are black/white; sand/brown and a fun mix of bright berry tones.  All are textured in pony hair.  Note: You need to be early to catch a pair of these as they are special editions

Delancey – inspired by the men’s Derby shoe, this masculine style is made girlie with colours of bright pinks and blues; looks sexy in all over black and white zebra print made from tactile pony hair and glams up with pewter and gold sequins.

Cloud Pop / Neon bright soles – there is a functional reason for the boat shoe to have a white sole. The white colour prevents the shoe from leaving marks on a boat’s deck.  But for those of us keeping our feet firmly on dry land, the classic white sole has been given a makeover and shines brightly in neon aqua, yellow, fuchsia and coral, some with matching eyelets and leather laces.  And for you boat lovers the neon soles are apparently still non marking.

The men have not missed the fashion boat either:

The Authentic Original 2-eye boat shoe has been giving a vintage weather worn look without the shabbiness. Stone washed full grain leather comes in faded shades of deep red, blue and burnt orange. A tri-colour block of tan/orange and blue is also available.

Neon blue and orange show a fun and carefree side to the classic Oxford Boat style.

In 1935 Paul Sperry was intrigued on how his dog Prince could run over ice and snow without slipping.  Inspecting Prince’s paws he noticed they had tiny cracks and cuts going in different directions. So he decided to copy this effect by slicing and cutting grooves in his own rubber sneakers. This siping pattern provided traction on wet surfaces and the boat shoe was born.

www.sperrytopsider.co.uk

By Karen Grace

Personal Shopper & Image Consultant for Frumpy to Funky http://www.frumpytofunky.com