Boat Shoes are Back in a Big Way
Why everyone is dusting off their Sperrys this spring.
Five years ago, if you told me that I’d be frantically scouring my childhood home for my two-tone Sperry Top Siders — a relic from my teens — I’d have sneered at the suggestion. But style is cyclical, and the boat shoe is back.
On a recent jaunt to New York, I touched down at Newark, dropped by bags and set out to a most unlikely destination: the Bally store in the Meatpacking District. I charged toward the shoe shelf and asked to try on the Plume—a reimagined boat shoe with a slight heel and pointed toe—in a dark brown leather. “We’ve sold four today,” the sales associate told me, practically rubbed his hands together assuming I’d be lucky number five. (I wasn’t, sorry!)
Since debuting for Fall ‘24, the Bally boat shoe has become a menswear sleeper hit. Other designer versions for men and women from Miu Miu and Dries Van Noten have even fuelled a Sperry resurgence. I first noticed GQ golden boy Samuel Hine wearing the Bally bad boys on Instagram with everything from vintage Levi’s and ‘70s tailoring. Naturally, I took this as a personal taunt because I needed them, but couldn’t find anywhere to try them on. If I could just try them on, I thought.
Well, I did. And guess what? They were perfect. The shoes instantly elevated my casual fit —loose black jeans and a cropped zip up—and I could see myself wearing them to a summer wedding with any number of suits. I decided against spending $1,000 immediately upon landing in Manhattan, and am considering a more affordable, less fashion option from the Italian brand Scarosso. But my obsession with these shoes have left me wondering: why does the wrong shoe feel so right?
Runway References
The shoe that arguably started it all. For Fall/Winter 2024 the boat shoe was shown with both men’s and women’s looks on the runways. Here it’s paired with another item that, in retrospect, screams 2024: the long denim skirt. May the boat shoe enjoy greater longevity.
For its Spring/Summer 2025 menswear show, Emporio Armani was all about aspirational ease. Tonal, chill suiting was presented in shades of concrete to signal the kind of relaxed sophistication that can only be exuded by the trust-fund set. No wonder the models actually smirked down the runway.
Also for Spring/Summer 2025, Loewe kept the signature moccasin details but exaggerated the toe and added an asymmetrical knotted lace detail typically found on the handles of the brand’s bucket bags.
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