USN Deck Shoes

[Thomas Koehle]

Something which was pretty new to me before i got more active in INSTA was the use of canvas-shoes at the USN

i thought they had their boondockers and thats it

anyway i ran into a guy which is a geek about USN shoes - see his blog here: https://indigoamateur.wordpress.com/2022/08/23/the-usn-deck-shoe-a-blueprint-and-a-review/ and learned the NAVY also used canvas-deck shoes

Even "Papa Boyington" used those shoes (front row 3rd guy from the right)

there is repops available from "McCoys" which are pretty pricey.

The much more economic way to get a pair of "lookalikes" is the personalisation-option at VANS

You just need to get through their "custom options" and they produce your shoes according to your wishes. Mine took about 7 weeks from ordering to delivery in Germany ...

i already posted a photo of them in the "SHOES TO WEAR ..."-thread just to see whether there might be any reaction but no feedback

 

[CBI]

great idea!!!!!

 

[B-Man2]

Something which was pretty new to me before i got more active in INSTA was the use of canvas-shoes at the USN

i thought they had their boondockers and thats it

anyway i ran into a guy which is a geek about USN shoes - see his blog here: https://indigoamateur.wordpress.com/2022/08/23/the-usn-deck-shoe-a-blueprint-and-a-review/ and learned the NAVY also used canvas-deck shoes

Even "Papa Boyington" used those shoes (front row 3rd guy from the right)

there is repops available from "McCoys" which are pretty pricey.

The much more economic way to get a pair of "lookalikes" is the personalisation-option at VANS

You just need to get through their "custom options" and they produce your shoes according to your wishes. Mine took about 7 weeks from ordering to delivery in Germany ...

i already posted a photo of them in the "SHOES TO WEAR ..."-thread just to see whether there might be any reaction but no feedback

Thomas
I think that certain guys can wear these and look great in them. You being one of them. They look good with the clothes you’re wearing in these photos.

 

[asiamiles]

Thomas
I think that certain guys can wear these and look great in them. You being one of them. They look good with the clothes you’re wearing in these photos.

I've always thought deck shoes go with pretty much anything and they were my choice of footwear 40+ years ago...and today I'm wearing NY Mets Vans! Personally, I don't really care for the white with black soles combination, but I guess if you're a USN junky what choice d'you have?

 

[Saint-ex]

Pretty smart !

 

[jack31916]

Smart thinking and those shoes are looking good! Did you choose for the "natural white" option for the shoes and the marsh mellow colour
for the laces?

(BTW: belated happy 60th anniversary )

 

[Thomas Koehle]

Smart thinking and those shoes are looking good! Did you choose for the "natural white" option for the shoes and the marsh mellow colour
for the laces?

(BTW: belated happy 60th anniversary )

color of the canvas is indeed "natural white" - the laces came in "bright white" so i dyed them in coffee

price in Euros was 95.- without any postage from US

leadtime was about 4 weeks

THX for the birthday greetz

 

[jack31916]

Thanks Thomas. Will probably order a pair...

 

[Thomas Koehle]

Thanks Thomas. Will probably order a pair...

They are not 100% copies for sure but more affordable than the current copies i found

Based on your very detailed questions (like what color the laces) i assume you already checked the customer-part of the VANs homepage?

 

[jack31916]

In one of the articles I read that VANs were derived from the original Sperry shoes. I've checked the VANs homepage and I'm about to order a pair.

The USN had these shoes also in a brown colour with black soles but the off-white ones are more appealing to my taste.

Thanks for the lead !

 

[Thomas Koehle]

In one of the articles I read that VANs were derived from the original Sperry shoes. I've checked the VANs homepage and I'm about to order a pair.

The USN had these shoes also in a brown colour with black soles but the off-white ones are more appealing to my taste.

Thanks for the lead !

Yeah I saw some of them in brown also - the white ones are more of my taste

 

[asiamiles]

https://saundersmilitaria.com/soldarchive/ww2-us-navy-canvas-low-deck-sneakers

 

[JonnyCrow]

Yeah I saw some of them in brown also - the white ones are more of my taste

Thomas in my ww2 uk reenactment group years ago one guy had a original German pair of sport shoes almost the same but they were black, he had the sport kit to go with them too haha

 

[Thomas Koehle]

Thomas in my ww2 uk reenactment group years ago one guy had a original German pair of sport shoes almost the same but they were black, he had the sport kit to go with them too haha

I will see whatever info I might get about such shoes - maybe another order at VANs

 

[Sideslip]

Something which was pretty new to me before i got more active in INSTA was the use of canvas-shoes at the USN

i thought they had their boondockers and thats it

anyway i ran into a guy which is a geek about USN shoes - see his blog here: https://indigoamateur.wordpress.com/2022/08/23/the-usn-deck-shoe-a-blueprint-and-a-review/ and learned the NAVY also used canvas-deck shoes

Thanks for sharing your great research, very cool.

 

[Enigma1938]

German Kriegsmarine had indeed almost similar shoes for U-boat crews for example

 

[Pilot]

Yup!… but not to be confused with the „ new“ German Navy… Bundesmarine‘ early Bordschuhe für tropische Gewässer…
Below Kriegsmarine/U-boot WW2

 

[Pilot]

Bundeswehr/Bundesmarine 1954/1960..
But often sold as WWII Kriegsmarine by unscrupulous or ignoring sellers..

 

[Thomas Koehle]

Bundeswehr/Bundesmarine 1954/1960..
But often sold as WWII Kriegsmarine by unscrupulous or ignoring sellers..View attachment 120279

never saw these before - thx for the info

 

[Saint-ex]

Just found this alternative also:

US Rubber Company Lot 010 - Ecru/Black

US Rubber Company, founded in 1892 paved the way for some of the biggest sneaker brands in the world to this date. The mass production of the sneakers during the start of the First World War allowed U.S. Rubber to uniform the U.S. army. The US Rubber Company Lot 010 is an exact replica of the US...

www.americanclassicslondon.com