Magnum's Boat Shoes

[Lt Tanaka]

Boat shoes... *shudders* probably the only thing TM wore that I disliked

I'm with you on that JD. Without socks as well! Boat shoes without socks or sandals with socks. It's a tossup for the greater fashion crime.

[Styles Bitchley]

Without socks as well! Boat shoes without socks or sandals with socks. It's a tossup for the greater fashion crime.

Fashionable or not, if you're actually sailing you'll most likely want to wear 'em without socks. Especially on a small craft when you're likely to get wet.

[Lt Tanaka]

if you're actually sailing you'll most likely want to wear 'em without socks.

Which he wasn't

[Styles Bitchley]

if you're actually sailing you'll most likely want to wear 'em without socks.

Which he wasn't

Haha. But you gotta look like you're about to! It's like the GMT giving the impression that any second you might seriously have the need to know what time it is in two places. Magnum PI: the millionaire playboy with no money!

[Pahonu]

if you're actually sailing you'll most likely want to wear 'em without socks.

Which he wasn't

Haha. But you gotta look like you're about to! It's like the GMT giving the impression that any second you might seriously have the need to know what time it is in two places. Magnum PI: the millionaire playboy with no money!

Styles is right. It's not about fashion; It's all about function. I sail frequently and nobody around the docks wears socks with boat shoes. Maybe a newbie would do that and then spend the day in wet socks! To be honest, most sailors now wear running shoes made out of new materials that drain water quickly and dry quickly as well. But back in the day boat shoes were it. If it's cold and wet (or you're washing down the deck), you pull on some boots.

You'll even see older sailors at the club with a blazer (and throwbacks with the hat) and deck shoes with no socks! Not my thing, though I had them in the past.

[To The Regiment]

I know this is an old thread, but I ran across some Magnum-esque canvas boat shoes that Sperry is now offering: https://www.sperry.com/en/bahama-ii-omb ... al&start=1

Best,
To The Regiment

[Pahonu]

I know this is an old thread, but I ran across some Magnum-esque canvas boat shoes that Sperry is now offering: https://www.sperry.com/en/bahama-ii-omb ... al&start=1

Best,
To The Regiment

Those are a little different than the originals, particularly the sole. Here’s the style he wore most often, though in a lighter color called clay. It was even lighter than the style you linked. I had a pair years ago but they got filthy. He also wore the very popular dark brown color a few times in early episodes.

https://ibb.co/hdqsYYd

[To The Regiment]

Ah, yes. I have a leather pair like those. Love them. I was thinking more of the lighter-color boat shoes that Magnum wore in the first season. They're especially visible in episode 3, China Doll, around 38:55 when TM runs on the beach. I believe these on eBay are a close match: https://tinyurl.com/8kd8pw3r. But I wasn't blessed with size 14 feet. Pity.

Best,
To The Regiment

[To The Regiment]

Here’s a short write-up of the early, canvas style boat shoes with a close-up photo of them half way into the blog post:
https://bamfstyle.com/2020/07/02/magnum ... rrari/amp/

“Magnum’s everyday footwear rotates between classic boat shoes, athletic trainers, and canvas deck sneakers. With this outfit, he seems to prefer the latter, wearing two-eyelet deck sneakers with creamy off-white canvas uppers, white rubber outsoles, and side-lacing that resembles Sperry’s classic boat shoe while lacking the traditional Top-Sider’s more structured, moc-toe profile.”

Best,
To The Regiment

[Pahonu]

Here’s a short write-up of the early, canvas style boat shoes with a close-up photo of them half way into the blog post:
https://bamfstyle.com/2020/07/02/magnum ... rrari/amp/

“Magnum’s everyday footwear rotates between classic boat shoes, athletic trainers, and canvas deck sneakers. With this outfit, he seems to prefer the latter, wearing two-eyelet deck sneakers with creamy off-white canvas uppers, white rubber outsoles, and side-lacing that resembles Sperry’s classic boat shoe while lacking the traditional Top-Sider’s more structured, moc-toe profile.”

Best,
To The Regiment

Very true, there’s even a scene where he holds up a pair of shoes, I’m not certain of the episode, but it’s the canvas deck sneakers. Maybe it was The Case of the Red Faced Thespian. Thanks for the link.

Size 14, ouch. I’m a size 13 but that’s just inside of the range of easily available sizes but I feel your pain. The fact that I’m 6-8 and over 300 pounds puts more than a little outside the normal range for clothes!

[To The Regiment]

Here is an interesting new offering from Sperry that kinda has that Magnum canvas deck shoe vibe: https://www.sperry.com/en/outer-banks-2 ... an&start=1

I would prefer to have laces, but I may have to try a pair on if I see them in a retail store. I could see TM rocking a pair today...

Best,
To The Regiment

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Hi Guys,
Frankly this thread perplexes me. I can see celebrating a beautiful Hawaiian shirt or a watch that borders on being a work of art. But boat shoes? It's not that I dislike them, in fact I am wearing a
pair right now, for padding around the house in comfort. But to me boat shoes are like a belt or socks, utilitarian items of no particular merit aesthetically.
I don't recall any threads about TC's or Agatha's shoes. Or Higgins's smoking jacket. So what's up regarding boating shoes?
Maybe this is a West Coast yachting thing. Are they are an iconic symbol of the boating scene there and sailors take pride in owning certain stylish versions?
I am not being a wise guy, it's just that if the shoes are a "thing" maybe somebody could explain why.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes."
Billy Connolly

[To The Regiment]

Hi Guys,
Frankly this thread perplexes me. I can see celebrating a beautiful Hawaiian shirt or a watch that borders on being a work of art. But boat shoes? It's not that I dislike them, in fact I am wearing a
pair right now, for padding around the house in comfort. But to me boat shoes are like a belt or socks, utilitarian items of no particular merit aesthetically.
I don't recall any threads about TC's or Agatha's shoes. Or Higgins's smoking jacket. So what's up regarding boating shoes?
Maybe this is a West Coast yachting thing. Are they are an iconic symbol of the boating scene there and sailors take pride in owning certain stylish versions?
I am not being a wise guy, it's just that if the shoes are a "thing" maybe somebody could explain why.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes."
Billy Connolly

I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me it’s an East Coast “sailing thing.” It’s also a way of enjoying bits and pieces of the Magnum, PI lifestyle. I’ve also spent a lot of time on the Indiana Jones forums. Those guys have spent 40 years and thousands of posts trying to determine the exact shade of brown of the Alden 405s that Harrison Ford wore in Raiders of the Lost Ark. But I digress…

Best,
To The Regiment

[Pahonu]

Hi Guys,
Frankly this thread perplexes me. I can see celebrating a beautiful Hawaiian shirt or a watch that borders on being a work of art. But boat shoes? It's not that I dislike them, in fact I am wearing a
pair right now, for padding around the house in comfort. But to me boat shoes are like a belt or socks, utilitarian items of no particular merit aesthetically.
I don't recall any threads about TC's or Agatha's shoes. Or Higgins's smoking jacket. So what's up regarding boating shoes?
Maybe this is a West Coast yachting thing. Are they are an iconic symbol of the boating scene there and sailors take pride in owning certain stylish versions?
I am not being a wise guy, it's just that if the shoes are a "thing" maybe somebody could explain why.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes."
Billy Connolly

As a sailor on the west coast, I would say that most of these trends originate on the east coast and are followed here for no other reason than tradition. Yacht clubs here even have opening season galas though there is no season for sailing that closed and then opened. My wife and I decline to participate in the opening season events anymore. It’s pretentious more than anything. I think we bowed out the year we went to the opening and several women wore furs when it was close to 80 degrees out. Ridiculous, to say the least.

Canvas boat shoes had a purpose years ago before synthetic materials made them obsolete. Still, many members wear boat shoes at the club, but almost never onboard. It’s a nod to tradition and anyone who showed up to actually sail wearing leather deck shoes would likely be judged as a newbie.

[To The Regiment]

Hi Guys,
Frankly this thread perplexes me. I can see celebrating a beautiful Hawaiian shirt or a watch that borders on being a work of art. But boat shoes? It's not that I dislike them, in fact I am wearing a
pair right now, for padding around the house in comfort. But to me boat shoes are like a belt or socks, utilitarian items of no particular merit aesthetically.
I don't recall any threads about TC's or Agatha's shoes. Or Higgins's smoking jacket. So what's up regarding boating shoes?
Maybe this is a West Coast yachting thing. Are they are an iconic symbol of the boating scene there and sailors take pride in owning certain stylish versions?
I am not being a wise guy, it's just that if the shoes are a "thing" maybe somebody could explain why.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes."
Billy Connolly

As a sailor on the west coast, I would say that most of these trends originate on the east coast and are followed here for no other reason than tradition. Yacht clubs here even have opening season galas though there is no season for sailing that closed and then opened. My wife and I decline to participate in the opening season events anymore. It’s pretentious more than anything. I think we bowed out the year we went to the opening and several women wore furs when it was close to 80 degrees out. Ridiculous, to say the least.

Canvas boat shoes had a purpose years ago before synthetic materials made them obsolete. Still, many members wear boat shoes at the club, but almost never onboard. It’s a nod to tradition and anyone who showed up to actually sail wearing leather deck shoes would likely be judged as a newbie.

Great insights, Pahonu. I think the same thing can be said for sneakers and running shoes. Anyone serious about athletic performance would be looking at the latest models from the big shoe companies. They've come a long way with sneaker engineering the last few years. However, I don't personally like the trendy, neon, multicolored shoes that are so popular now, especially for everyday casual sneakers. Even Puma has gone down that path with their recent Future and City Rider sneakers. So I searched high and low and found these much simpler, (Magnum-esque) sneakers from Adidas: https://www.endclothing.com/us/adidas-t ... fresh=true. If I were training for a 10K, I probably wouldn't wear these. But man...they are awesome for walking down to the bar to meet a couple of buddies for a beer.

As for boat shoes, me and the family don't race, so I'll sometimes wear boat shoes onboard. But mainly, I'm sailing barefoot, lol.

Best,
To The Regiment