What to wear in water world

It seems like a no-brainer: Philippines + boat shoes = dry feet. Take a water-pelted archipelago and add tough siliconized leather that resists water way better than regular shoes, and you come up with Sebago, a brand that has adorned the feet of sailing New Englanders and preppies since 1946.

And now, what makes the math even more interesting is that Sebago shoes are available in a wide variety of hip, stylish designs to make them even more fashionable as well as functional.

We don’t have to tell you dry feet are better than wet feet: you have to slog through the rain every day. Why not do so with shoes that are designed to keep the ocean’s brine from sogging your tootsies?

With new styles in everything from snakeskin leather to pastels and Mondrian-style pops of color, these are definitely not your granddad’s boat shoes. Sebago, a bona fide heritage brand, has reinvented itself with retro cool designs.

Big shoes to fill: Gilson and Gifford Chu handle the merchandising and marketing, respectively, for Sebago in the Philippines.

It’s a story that begins in Maine, 1946, where Dan Wellehan, Sr. started making shoes for the many boat lovers in his coastal state; he learned that silicon-treated leather repelled water way better than canvas shoes; plus he patented a stitching method which resulted in shoes that could last season after soggy season.

The upscale Sebago brand became very popular in the ‘70s and ‘80s, when the company sponsored America’s Cup (they still do this today) as well as a favorite fashion among preppy types.

By 2003, the brand was an international success; docksiders were making a fashion comeback among urban hipsters; and the Michigan-based Wolverine company acquired Sebago.

Cut to Manila, where Sebago shoes at that time only had a small (if fond and devoted) cult following; Sebago enthusiasts would go to places like Cash & Carry to scare up an odd pair of tough docksiders.

The eye-catching waterwheel display outside the Greenbelt 3 store demonstrates how water-resistant Sebago shoes really are.

Enter Gemmo Chu, a Marikina shoe magnate who helped bring in the brand with his sons, Gilson and Gifford. While the brand had a small local presence as early as the ‘80s, it wasn’t a huge name yet; Mr. Chu (who was also on hand at the recent Greenbelt 3 launch) saw it as a natural fit for Filipinos.

Gifford, who handles marketing for Sebago (his brother Gilson handles the merchandising), sees the classic look of docksiders coming back into fashion among men, women and emerging hipsters. “For years the fashionable people weren’t wearing Sebago Docksides, you only saw them on dads in their 40s,” he observes. “Then kids started raiding their parents’ closets and wearing them again. Now we have different generations coming into our stores.” Not only hipsters, but celebs like Kate Middleton, Justin Bieber, John Travolta and Bruno Mars swear by the brand. 

I ask Gifford what things he’s picked up from his venerable businessman dad — other than raiding his shoe closet, that is. “Being bold with shoes,” he says. “I tend to be conservative, I tend to compute the numbers. My dad taught me to go with my gut more. There’s this other side of Filipino taste that you have to feel.”

It helps that Sebago has taken its “heritage brand” label seriously, reinventing its look to stay modern under the eye of in-house designer David Dezur and collabs with Ronnie Fieg, rugged outdoor clothing line Filson, NY-based graffiti artist Stash and fashion avatar Eric Poon of Vane. If you’ve got the fashion cajones to pull off the more colorful Sebago explorations, you’ll have the hippest boat shoes in town.

Mr. Gemmo Chu, who brought Sebago shoes to the Philippine market

The Sebago flagship store at Greenbelt 3 is a study in traditional wood and retro leather: the easy chairs laid out for trying on shoes have that worn-but-comfy look; the wood shelves remind you of a Maine souvenir shop.

When you look up-close at boat shoes, you can’t help noticing the laces along the sides held in place by grommets (those are the little metal circles the laces go through). In Sebago shoes, grommets are made of copper, not stamped metal, so they don’t corrode — just a little detail that adds to their endurance. And the grommet look also echoes canvas sails, which are similarly tough and no-nonsense (though in sailing they’re called “cringles”).

The Greenbelt 3 store attracted lots of curious waterworlders.

To underscore their water-resistance, Sebago set up a shoe waterwheel outside the store; as you crank it, each shoe passes through a puddle, but only beads of water remain on the tough surface. No drenching!

Starting with penny loafers in ‘46, Sebago founder Wellehan came up with and patented his own welted design and hand-stitched construction. (The name “Sebago” is a Native-American term meaning “large body of water.”) Though it’s a Maine, USA brand, Sebago prides itself on its Dominican Republic manufacturing headquarters, where each pair is still handcrafted, hand-stitched and treated for water resistance.

Also on hand at the recent Greenbelt 3 launch was Billy Daland, a “freelance image consultant” for Sebago who has been buying the brand since he was a kid. I asked him for some fashion do’s and don’ts when it comes to wearing docksiders.

“They were originally created for sailors,” Daland says, “so I wouldn’t wear them to a meeting in, say, Ayala; I’d wear them just going around walking; you can pair them really well with jeans or khakis and chinos. To wear with a suit, you’d have to be more avant-garde in your fashion, and be able to pull it off. Generally, I’d be conservative with them unless your profession is more avant-garde.”

Me, I’m a little more conservative. I’ll stick with gray. But at least I know they’ll last me for decades, and keep out the rain.