(AD has some very strong feelings about the resurgence of Sperry Topsiders and this is his blog op-ed... DYING!)
Sperry will always remain a brand that promotes a true spirit of Americana and provides 1.) basic footwear functionality and 2.) an appreciation for a type of lifestyle (preppster, yuppster, classic…whatever the douchey name you and friends subscribe yourselves too)
However, like the bedbug infestation that has paralyzed metropolises up and down the East Coast…I can safely confirm that a new invasion has reached dire heights…the Sperry has swiftly moved onto the shores of our Hudson and East Rivers...from the beaches of MV, ACK, the Gold Coast as well as the hipsterdom side streets of Bushwick and Billysburg….but now onto Murray Hill (I may or may not have resided here for a time myself)?? It can’t be so…
Yes, everyone, I mean everyone owns a Sperry in NYC…in every shade and style… people who have never been on a boat or even a water taxi and whose “base” color is powder or sand (i.e. do not enjoy the sun or beach) and think a dock or a southside is a reference to some line in On the Waterfront (great movie by the way)…now own a pair. I do not judge their appreciation for this great shoe (a classic for sure). However, I question and cringe at the basic idea that an individual who used to call YOU out for wearing a pair (as if this somehow is a negative thing) is now the very same person who is Sperry’ing it up in Fire Island (love me some rocket fuel) or Hampton Bays (Drift Inn – nighttime) in 2010. This very thought truly gives you pause to think, how could something like this have happened??
Immediately, I had a moment of Eureka! Similar to the time I/you may have found yourself in a dungeon of sorts probably in the wee hours of a morning at Marquee, or Bungalow, or Dirty D’s or even Southside and thought to yourself…what am I doing here, why do I like it so much…oh wait I don’t anymore…someone get me the f—k out of here (even though you have undoubtedly given yourself a minimum quota of 3,4, possibly 5 passes to one or each of these fine establishments depending on your state of inebriation for the year). Collectively, it is time to retire those Sperry’s (maybe you will give them a quota as well) and embrace a new bar, a new song of the day, and of course some new footwear. Good bye old friend (Sperry). Here’s to a pair of Bucks, Blucher’s, Minnetonka’s, and the LL Bean Boot for 2011.