Prey for the Hunted

I have to be honest I kind of dismissed the whoel boat shoe phenomenon as a passing hipster trend, but I am getting the feeling that this trend is still pretty far from sinking as we enter spring 2009.  The original Sperry Top Sider (pictured above) was invented in 1935 by Paul Sperry. The shoes became popular as they were adopted by the US Navy because of the traditional non marking white out soles.

Here we are 70 years later and every hipster kid and shoe brand wants to jump on the boat shoe trend. Where the hell is this trend going? Well when you see niche brands and fashion brands a like jumping on the band wagon you think this trend is here to stay.

Band of Outsiders Sperry Collab

YMC Snakeskin Boat shoes

Lanvin Boat Shoes

So here we have some pretty sweet boat shoes from some no joke brands. The question is will all those Williamsburg Hipsters still be rep-ing this trend as it trickles down to the masses? Expect to see boat shoes coming to every kid in middle America by way of Nike, Vans, and J Crew this summer. I think that if you weren’t riding the boat shoe wave last year now is not the time to climb aboard.

J Crew by Sperry