Finally giving in to a long-standing sea lust, Izzy is determined to become a real sailor this summer. The endeavor, of course, will require just the right shoes. After giving it much thought, Izzy has decided to outfit himself with these classic canvas Top-Siders from Sperry.
This is the current version of the “CVO” model Topsider – the canvas oxford, the original shoe invented by Paul Sperry in the 30s. It is noted in The Official Preppy Handbook of 1980 or so, along with the opera pump, also on The Manolo’s blog. I owned at least one pair of CVOs (being an actual sailor) from perhaps 1975 until about 1992, when I purchased a Korean made pair. They were poor imitations and I haven’t bought any since. The one on your blog is a Chinese made shoe, woefully inferior to the original. Sperry was long ago bought by Stride Rite and all manufacturing moved offshore.
I recommend DuBarry for boat shoes, an Irish maker who as far as I know still actually manufactures in Ireland. Available online, priced in UK Pounds and they discount 17.5% EU VAT.
Comment by jmc — April 16, 2008 @ 5:22 pm