The Unexpected Shoe Trend You Didn’t See Coming Is Now the Hot-Ticket Item of Spring

Even as a seasoned fashion editor whose job it is to stay ahead of the fashion curve, I’ll admit sometimes fashion throws me a curveball. Case in point? Boat shoes. The preppy deck shoe is officially the hot-ticket fashion item of spring thanks to its dominance on the spring Miu Miu runway, acting as the perfect finishing touch to Miuccia Prada’s modern, preppy-athletic looks.

So this week I found myself (unbelievably but excitedly) shopping for boat shoes—a style that’s never been associated as “cool” per se but rather is synonymous with a certain type of conservative East Coast prep. But fashion—or should I say Miuccia Prada?—has a propensity to turn an unexpected piece into something cool and desirable. And listen, you don’t have to style them with primary-colored bikini bottoms (if you don’t want to). In fact, the fashion set have been showing us that deck shoes are surprisingly easy to wear within your everyday looks. We’ve spotted fashion people styling them with everything from miniskirts to baggy jeans. Keep scrolling to see how the style set have been wearing the trend (albeit on dry land), and shop my edit of cool—yes, cool—boat shoes for spring and summer.

Boat shoes are taking off this season thanks to their presence on the Miu Miu S/S 24 runway, where they were styled with preppy polos, bikini bottoms, and blazers.

For an easy off-duty look, style them with loose jeans, layered preppy polos, and a bomber jacket.

Blanca Miró’s boat shoes from Mango look effortlessly cool when styled with slouchy separates.

Lean into a British countryside look and style them with a barn jacket, Sloane Ranger sweater, and ankle jeans to show off the shoes.

One of my personal favorite ways to style boat shoes is with a casual miniskirt or dress topped with an oversize blazer jacket, like Pernille Teisbaek’s outfit.