Store Opening: Sperry Top-Sider

By: Angela Giannopoulos

Lexington-based Sperry Top-Sider recently opened its first store in the northeast at the Burlington Mall. The brand’s authentic original shoe – which has become a staple for every khaki-wearing, Nantucket-visiting New Englander – will now be sold closer to home, along with a full range of men’s, women’s and children’s lifestyle and performance footwear, plus products for sailing, boating, and angling.

We can thank Paul Sperry’s cocker spaniel for the shoes which have become not only a fashion statement across nautical New England, but a practical commodity for sailors as well: In 1935, on a winter evening in Connecticut, Sperry noticed his dog was able to sprint across an icy pond without slipping. Sperry used the same structure of a dog’s paw to create a shoe with grooved soles that would prevent slipping on wet decks.

The new outpost is designed to evoke the feeling of a true working boathouse. While you’re picking up your boat shoes, also check out the collection of Sea Bags (eco-friendly totes made from recycled sailcloth) and Tucker Blair belts.

“We have worked hard to create a fun retail experience that offers shoppers a taste of the good life in, on and around the water,” says Craig Reingold, president of Sperry Top-Sider.