Sperry Topsider is a brand of shoe designed in 1935 by Paul Sperry. Sperry was an avid boater who, like most boaters, risked injury while walking on the slippery deck of his boat. He had tried without success to design a shoe that would provide improved traction. His successful design was inspired by the grooves or cracks on his dog Prince 's feet. He noticed the dogs ability to run nimbly over ice and snow. He used a pen knife to cut siping - small slits - into the outer sole of a rubber sneaker. This substantially improved the traction of the shoe and has remained in production ever since.

Today Sperry Footwear is worn by Boaters , fans of Vintage Cool and Urbanites alike.

c 2012 henri beene