These Dapper Boat Shoes Ain't Your Dad's Timbs
The return of the boat shoe might've been the most compelling comeback stories of recent memory, no less for how it helped introduce an onslaught of fashion-y hybrid designs that helped push the shoe's country club boundaries.
One of the latest reinventions of the leather deck slide come in form of Timberland's collaboration with Shanghai-based retailer DOE. Using the former's 3-Eye Classic Lug model as the canvas, the Chinese label created what it calls an "Urban Utility" style of the shoe enhanced with modern touches.
That means the maritime slipper's transformation from earth-toned Hamptons kicks to thick-soled city moccasins in a licorice shade of glossy black.
Vibram-soled and bungee-laced, these aren't the good ol' Timbs your dad used to wear.
These dressy slash gorpy boat shoes have successfully evolved to travel off slippery wood surfaces onto grimy metropolitan asphalts, keeping one's feet comfy, luxurious-looking, and secured.
Available shortly on Timberland's website, DOE's Timberland shoes are a season-appropriate retooling of a beloved summer silhouette, and a welcome left-turn for a giant of WASP footwear.
That's not to say Timberland's ever shied away from experimentation. In fact, it has made a point of surprising, regularly rolling out projects to prove the unexpected versatility of its decades-old bestsellers, from newly pony-haired boots to Telfar's lugged pull-tab loafers.
Suddenly, DOE's dusky downtown boat shoes seem almost conservative by contrast. Needed or not, even preppy cleans up nicely.
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