A couple of years ago I was at a thrift store in Decatur, perusing their wares, and came across a pair of Sperry Topsider Authentic Originals. They appeared to be nearly unworn, and were my size, so I picked them up. You can see a picture of them above, from a previous blog post.
In comparing them Sperry's current offerings, it was clear that they were not a style that was currently available. They were most similar to the Sahara color that was being offered, but, in my opinion, there was something about them that made them superior. Maybe it's the gold eyelets or maybe it's the fact that the leather develops a great patina, but I love those shoes and have worn the heck out of them (I wore them today, in fact). I've always hoped that Sperry would release them again, but so far, I've been out of luck.
Although I rarely shop at J Crew nowadays, I was looking at their website the other day and, lo and behold, the Holy Grail Topsiders were on there. I looked over the details and am convinced that it's the same shoe (except, at William noted in the comments, mine have two eyelets and the J Crew ones have three eyelets). The only problem is that, like everything at J Crew now, they're overpriced at $110. Is $110 too much to spend on a pair of Topsiders? Probably. However, these really are great, and so versatile, and I would recommend biting the bullet and picking up a pair. I don't think you'll regret it.
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