The Sperry Top-Sider

75th Anniversary Top-Sider,
$90

$4.50

The price of the first
Top-Sider back in 1935.

The story goes that Paul Sperry, inspired by the way his cocker spaniel, Prince, deftly maneuvered across a frozen Connecticut pond, went home and created the Razor-Siping sole so humans could enjoy the same kind of traction. The sole's herringbone cuts would open and close as the foot flexed, allowing one to stay upright on such slippery surfaces as a boat's deck.

Seventy-five years later, the Authentic Original has seen a variety of incarnations—from being manufactured for the U.S. Navy back in 1939 or getting torn apart and put back inside-out by designer Scott Sternberg for his Band of Outsiders collaboration. Though the quintessential boat shoe has been reinterpreted in a variety of colors and materials, the timelessness of the original white sole and leather construction has always been a favorite among stylish seafarers and landlubbers alike.

Which is why the company is celebrating their anniversary by bringing back a true classic: a collection featuring the slightly thicker outsole originally carved by Mr. Sperry, packed in replicas of the shoeboxes in which the shoes were first sold.

Unfortunately, the private yacht is still sold separately.

The Details