Boat Shoes From Dubarry For Stability In Wet Weather

By Author: Rob Crow
Total Articles: 4
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If you want a great pair of shoes that will last a long time, while being both stylish and comfortable, you need look no further than dubarry shoes. Specialising in the boat shoe style, dubarry shoes are made to the highest quality standards.

Boat shoes a loved for their comfort, style, adaptability and ability to be worn in a multitude of styles; for a BBQ, wedding, night out, or dinner date. A timeless style, boat shoes have been in fashion for many years and have not left the public consciousness since.

Boat shoes are worn by all kinds of people, but for a time prior to their becoming fashionable they were worn only by sea goers who spent time on the boat deck (hence the name of deck shoes in some cases).

Common naming variations

Boat shoes are also known as deck shoes or topsiders, depending on your locale or social grouping. They are normally made of a canvas or leather material, with a rubberised sole for added grip on a boat deck. A siping pattern will often be cut in the base of the sole, ...
... in order to create grip on a slippery boat deck. In addition to this, the oiled leather of the shoe is designed to repel water, therefore being perfect for use in wet areas such as the deck of a boat.

The modern day boat shoe was designed by a man called Paul Sperry in 1935 when he noticed that a dog could run easily on ice and snow due to the type of paws that it possessed. After seeing this, Paul took a knife and cut siping into his shoes' soles, thus creating the first pair of boat shoes.

This term therefore originally referred to a type of shoe where the sole was cut with a siping pattern, and while this is still true with modern boat shoes still having this feature, the current day definition of a boat shoe depends more on the look and style of the shoe, rather than the type of grip in the sole.

The modern boat shoe

Modern boat shoes are an angular affair, with a flat top but curved toe. They will appear to be sewn together with a strip of waxed leather. This gives the shoes a very natural and homemade look which is appealing as a sign of quality and longevity. The shoes are fastened with laces which are also, somewhat unusually, made of waxed leather, adding further to the quality feel of the shoe, but perhaps making it slightly harder to fasten them tightly and securely.

Common colours include pale blue and white, but the most common colouring is often navy blue, various shades of brown, or a combination of the two. Soles are usually white or a light colour, due to their non marking nature.