The Sole of Sperry's

You've heard everyone talkng about Sperry shoes and have seen them for sale at your favorite retailer. From sequins, to calf hair, and even tiny enough to fit a newborn, Sperry's have come in all sorts of styles and variations.  The feature that is often missed besides the fact that they are cute, is they actually serve a useful purpose.  Yes that's right a shoe thats serves a useful and has a life saving feature.  The soles in all Sperry shoes are non slip and by all means a real life boat shoe. Here's the timeline of how the Sperry story unfolds...

From 1895 to 1920, Sperry shoes are in it's early development stages

Paul Sperry was the inventor, designer, and founder of what we know as Sperry boat shoes.  He was born into a family who loved boating and grew up listening to his great grandfather's tales of the seas.  Paul's childhood helped give him the tools he needed to take on the difficult task of creating the perfect non-slip shoe.

Paul entered the US Navy in World War I as a Seaman, first class during this time period and purchased a cutter and named it Sirocco.

A Cutter- A single masted sailing vessel (I had no clue either).  

Enduring rough waters, a slippery boat deck and discovering the need for non-slip shoe.  He began exploring and designing a solution for all boaters

In 1935, a unique sole is born

Caption: Paul Sperry took a gum rubber sole and cut grooves in it mimicking the pattern in his dogs paws. Courtesy of www.Sperry.com

Paul would watch his dog freely jaunt across the ice on a cold Connecticuit day.  He was inspired by his beloved dog and decided to mimmick the grooves on his paws into the bottom of the sole.  In that moment of inspiration, the worlds first boat shoe was born.

He spent years and hundreds of experiments trying to perfect the perfect non slip shoe.  Nothing else kept sailors safe on the slippery boat decks.

During World War II the US War Dept named Sperry Top Sider as one of the official shoes of the US Navy.

Courtesy of www.Sperry.com

Sperry's have become an extremely popular shoe and well known by just about everyone.  We often forget that inventors and designers work very hard at perfecting their craft.  Whether you decide to invest in a pair of Sperry's or not there is years of experience getting this shoe right.  The Sperry story has made its place into our closets and placed a defined footprint in history.  I think it's safe to say that Sperry's will stick around as long as there's a slippery boat deck and that sounds like forever to me!