This article is the first part of a five article series designed to educate the new members in our Greek system. To suggest topics, please shoot me an email. This week’s topic is boat shoes.Boat shoes are a staple among fraternity men for a number of obvious reasons. 

Boat shoes are a staple among fraternity men for a number of obvious reasons. Our fathers wore them in the 80s, boats are super dope and the shoes are the perfect combination of wealthy- but-I-don’t-care-what-I-look-like and I-want-to-look-good-but-not-too-good. This must be why I own seven pairs. One for each day of the week, I guess. 

When you buy a new pair of boat shoes, regardless if it is your first pair or 15th pair, you are going to go through a phase of hazing, where they will rub the skin right off of your feet in a few places. My advice to deal with this is very simple. Do nothing. It is inevitable and you need to let your feet toughen up. Some brands are worse than others. Sebago is, easily, the worst, but after the initial break in period, they are the most comfortable pair I own. 

I have heard all types of schemes to soften up your new boat shoes to fit easier and after trying a few, I have to debunk them all. Wearing your shoes in the rain the first time really only makes them stiffer, heating them up in the oven is going to burn your house down and oiling them will only discolor them. They are truly just like your old baseball glove, the more you play with them, the softer they get. 

Maintaining boat shoes is really easy, and I judge everyone with really dirty boat shoes. Magic erase the sole and wipe down the leather with a damp paper towel. I have polished pairs with shoe polish before, but any of the generic leather care products that are next to the register at shoe stores will do just fine. Changing laces on these bad boys is very difficult. I’ve done it before. Use a paper clip and I have found that Paracord works best for replacement laces.   

The outside of the shoes are easy to deal with, but every true frat star refrains from wearing socks (rawdogging) any time the weather is acceptably warm enough. This can lead to a terrible stench. Once again, I would like to offer some advice. The best way to fight the smell is to keep them as dry as possible and Lysol the crap out of them when you take them off for bed. It would help to wear those goofy loafer socks or to switch out for another pair half way through the day. Realistically, they are going to smell a little so don’t take your shoes off in confined public spaces.

As soon as you break in your first pair, it becomes really obvious why they are so popular among the bros. They are super comfortable and they reduce the need to wear socks (less socks means less laundry). You can even play golf in these bad boys.  PGA tour pro, Freddy Couples, was famous for wearing boat shoes on the course. They dress up with some khakis and they dress down to sweat pants. They are a timeless classic and I guarantee that they are worth the $60.