Summer 2010 was all about the flip flop, the canvas plimsoll and for the smarter man among us the deck shoe. Easing itself in last summer the deck shoe or boat shoe was championed by American brand Sperry Topsider, Timberland and Sebago footwear all of which had a strong release of leather, suede and canvas deck shoes all with the original features that made them popular from release in 1935 by Paul Sperry. The current deck shoe trend is simple, its a smarter summer shoe option that can be worn with chinos, jeans or shorts and gives a comfortable, lightweight shoe with a thin rubber sole and then generally a leather upper. Some people may argue that their dad, grandad and great granddad wear or have worn deck shoes but the 2011 offering is very different to the shoes of an older gentleman’s wardrobe with electric blue suede deck shoes, multi coloured panels on leather boat shoes and some eye catching mono leather, suede or canvas uppers meaning that there are going to be some very dazzling shoes available over the next couple of months to team up with your tapered jeans, beige or sand chinos and smarter chino material shorts and then either polo shirt or short sleeved shirt to complete the full summer sun look.

Another question that I have seen asked quite a lot over various blogs, forums and even heard asked down the pub, do you wear some trainer socks, ankle socks or no socks. Now at Designer Shoes and Trainers, I’ve read a couple of conflicting articles so my answer isn’t quite as clean cut. Originally, back in the 30s and 40s this is, the shoes were designed for use on boats hence the rubber sole and ‘sipping’ of the rubber that Paul Sperry designed based on the pads and paws of his dog. With boats obviously being used on water socks weren’t required as they hold water when wet and would lead to all sorts of medical problems so in 2010 socks weren’t worn, unless you could sneak a pair under your jeans. This season I have seen a couple of articles that claim the trend is to wear a pair of ankle socks with your deck shoes or trainers, especially when wearing shorts, however personally I would stick with sockless as a first choice for summer 2011.

 

The main thing to remember for spring summer 2011 footwear is to make sure its comfortable. Wide and thin feet can be accommodated in the world of deck shoes so there really is no excuse to not be a part of this fantastic summer fashion.