The CVO may have been Paul Sperry’s first footwear design, but before he debuted the Authentic Original Boat Shoe that’s become synonymous with the brand, his initial foray into the casual shoe market was The Captain’s Oxford.
Made with a higher profile and thicker sole than the Authentic Original, the Captain’s Oxford perfectly toes that line between laid-back and dressed-up. Because of the premium construction that went into the shoe, it’s also traditionally been one of Sperry’s more expensive models, costing $26.00 when it debuted in 1935 (compared to the $8.00 a pair of CVOs would have cost back then). When we decided to reinterpret this shoe for today, we wanted to make the best possible version we could, which is why we chose to manufacture it in Sperry’s USA factory, which puts out a different level of product altogether.
We also switched out the classic grip sole for a hardier lug sole from Vibram, added a full leather footbed, rawhide laces, and a croc-embossed upper made from 100% leather. As a result, our version has a more premium price of $298, but that’s because we had to factor in the cost of making each pair domestically, as well as the higher-end materials we wanted to work with.
Available in brown and black, we like to think of this special silhouette as a thinking person’s dress shoe. It hits the sweet spot between comfortable, casual, and classy—just like Paul Sperry originally intended.