Camp mocs rock

The boat shoe has become so ubiquitous on city streets that it no longer has any remote connection with boating. The boat shoe, Top Sider, Docksider and variations thereof have proliferated in price and style but owe their lineage to the camp mod which has been around for at least 80 years. That's among the reasons I have opted for the camp moccasin for my casual footwear this summer.

This model in the photo above is modestly priced ($69) from L.L. Bean. The camp moc has not been immune to upscale interpretations such as the offerings from Orvis, Timberland, Eastland and others for three to four times as much. But these are classics and as well made as any of them. No need for models in teal, Nantucket red, Madras plaid or with lime green soles.

My motivation for getting these may be tinged with a certain element of nostalgia and sentimentality. Notice the footwear on my father in the photo below from around 1934. They are still a classic combination of style, comfort and function.