BAND OF OUTSIDERS x SPERRY TOP-SIDER Reconstructed Penny Loafer

As part of the ongoing Band of Outsiders collaboration with Sperry Top-sider, we are pleased to show you this simple and comfy Reconstructed Penny Loafer.
A casual but handsome shoe, this limited edition slip-on will let you approach your down time with effortless panache :-)
(A timeless classic, penny loafers are, apparently, poised for a major comeback -- at the right time, too, as they would look really nice with the continuing cropped trousers trend.)

Justin Long in Band of Outsiders for Sperry Top-sider.

PENNY LOAFER
Penny loafers are moccasin-styled shoes with a strap across the upper part of the vamp that is shaped like a pair of lips. In the 1940s and 1950s, wearers of these shoes started slipping dimes -- the price of a pay telephone call -- into the opening. Pennies, the shinier the better, came later as a fashion statement, hence the term “penny loafer”. The penny loafer got a boost in popularity when famous people like James Dean, President John F. Kennedy and singer Michael Jackson wore them in public.

SPERRY TOP-SIDER
Back in 1935, New Englander and avid boater Paul Sperry took his cocker spaniel, Prince, on a trek across a frozen pond and was impressed with the dog's nimble traction when running over ice and snow. Noticing the grooves in Prince's paws, Sperry used a knife to cut siping into the outsole of an ordinary rubber sneaker, and the patented razor-siping was born.
Now, 75 years later, as interest in American heritage brands help to inspire a renaissance, Sperry Top-Sider is more popular than ever with men and women of all generations.
Excellent collaborations with Band of Outsiders have further put the shoe back into the spotlight.

The original shoe carved with a penknife by Mr. Paul. A. Sperry in 1935 (left) and the outsole today (right).

BAND OF OUTSIDERS
Label du jour Band of Outsiders, which focuses on re-interpreting American classics, was formed in 2004 when former Hollywood agent Scott Sternberg decided to make a dramatic career change and went into fashion.
The collection is heavy on detail, with inspiration drawn from a mix of '50s cool and modern fits.
Sternberg did not climb the ranks at a couture house, nor did he study fashion in school, rather he grew up in and around fashion and learned the rest on his own. Nonetheless, what started as a tiny brand has quickly grown into something much bigger. Sternberg's talent even bagged him the envious Swarovski Award for Menswear from the CFDA in 2008.
Sternberg is also widely praised for Boy., his androgynous, menswear-inspired women's line launched in 2007. The collection has featured various actresses as its campaign face -- Michelle Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Sarah Silverman, and Marissa Tomei, with the latest being Leslie Mann (who, hehe, plays a "Cougar with Two Younger Dudes" in the SS2010 campaign).
A second women's collection, called "girl." (yes, it also comes with a period), less expensive and more feminine, is also in the works from Sternberg.

One of Scott Sternberg’s "partners-in-crime" in presenting Band of Outsiders is Tina Chai, the exceptionally gifted and well-loved stylist. A Columbia University alumna who left law for fashion, Chai is part of a style clan -- she is the sister of designer (and winner of the 2010 Swarovski Award for Menswear) Richard Chai and boutique owner/tastemaker Eddy Chai.