Get a Grip

June 19, 2018June 19, 2018

Get a Grip Sperry Shoe Summer 2018 Edition

Photos by Bo, Miller Boatline

The brand Sperry embodies a summer spent on, near and around the water. Even more importantly, Sperry is all about being and looking fuss-free while all the while fashionable onboard the boat.

The construction even makes muah — yes me ladies and gentlemen, look practical.

When the store manager at Dillards gave me access, well to the entire store and a fifty dollar spending limit, my soul sniffed out a Lake Erie lifestyle essential I knew I’d be living in all summer long, a pair of Sperry Haven Chambray Lace Ups.

Deliciously designed with string rawhide laces and a non-marking rubber outsole with (trademark) Razor-cut Wave-Siping to disperse water for the ultimate wet/dry traction, I did not have to search far for why Sperry shoes make the statement “I can navigate an island chain and I’m going to accomplish this via boat.”

Resort owner and developer of the most Lake Erie Island vacation rentals Ed Gudenas put his best foot — and shoe — forward and was wearing a pair along with his logo gear while hosting the ladies from Lake Erie Shores and Islands.

The ladies themselves, took in the Caribbean-style 21-acre resort and lakefront property outfit comfortably in this decadent deck shoe.

The day we boarded the Miller Boatline with Lake Erie’s Lab Pup, stowaway Don Massey had his peds crammed into a pair of Columbia’s…cuz he was only mixing up his footwear. The day before he had on his favorite pair of blue Sperrys and had this to say.

“They fit so nice and they’re comfortable and they got enough arch where my feet don’t get tired after ten hours on this boat with these guys,” Massey made it clear the shoe appeals to all age groups, the guys and the gals, and with that — went in for some affection from our four-legged travel companion.

You’ve seen the pup showin’ off Sperrys before in 2016.

In 2017 we unleashed the low-down on the ferry ridin’ footwear at the edge of Ohio’s Mainland where all vacationers board the Miller Boatline.

#rockmyboat fashion now comes in the oh-so trendy shade of Rose.

This is a collaboration between thre real estate and lifestyle television show and accompanying blog Josie in Paradise, JK PR Sales and Design, the Miller Boatline, Dillards, Estee Lauder, and St Hazards Waterfront Resort and Brewery.

Want the correct makeup for the islands … simply save the contouring for the city — Rock Everyone’s Boat with the Global Cult Favorite Estee Lauder’s Goddess Collection.

Josie has access to the two hundred style count Sperry Shoe collection at Dillards, the Estee Lauder vault of lux skincare and cosmetics, the two bars of exotic rum on MBI and the island vaction rentals. Call 419-862-7143 on the North Coast to buy and for more information. The South Florida number is 305-395-8890.

August 30, 2017August 30, 2017

Episode II: F A S H I O N shoe that intoxicates with tread

The style started when skilled sailor, Paul Sperry, fell overboard. Inspired by the paws of his Cocker Spaniel, who he noticed didn’t slip in snowy or icy conditions, Sperry knew he needed a split shoe sole. One which was white to prevent marks from being left on the boat’s deck. The first patent of the non-slip shoe was marked in 1920 by John Sipe. He applied the technique to Sperry’s and the first sailor’s show emerged in 1935. Over 80 years later, crowds still tout the tread and swoon over the Sperry Style.

Josie in Paradise can be seen ever Sunday at 9:30 p on AT&T U-Verse from Key West to Boca Raton, through any ROKU Box via the Ohio X5 Channel, and here.

November 4, 2016

An Appearance for Ohio’s Aqueous Adventures muddy ground and soused sidewalks overcome with opulence

Pictures by Edmund Gudenas and Matt Anderson

“Don’t stand over there,” photographer Ed Gudenas advised in his Nikeys at the onset of the shoot. “There’s water everywhere!”

Waves from Lake Erie were splashing up onto the deck of the Miller Boatline Ferry headed for the mainland soaking every car and truck aboard as well the stainless steel deck we were standing on.

Newport Dry Goods on Catawba Island is where shoppers seeking style can find Joules, a premium wellie boot made for those who ride.

“They are designed in the UK kind of with the equestrian in mind. They’re really built to last. They’re super tough. They’re waterproof. I have a pair myself that are seven-years old, and they’re still waterproof. I wear them all of the time,” offered Anne-Marie Burlingame about this designer fall and winter footwear brand.

The terrain on the islands and mainland aren’t always dry this time of year. Canvas shoes aren’t conducive to the conditions. Spasmodic weather can create a cramp in style. Coastal Ohio’s on-again-off-again weather, paired with ferry rides to our remote Lake Erie Islands, leaves us ladies hurting for all-weather gear. Gear that protects our feet and the glamour in us.

These Premium Joules Wellies’ claim to fame is that they’re right as rain and can outwit the weather. In 2015 I sensibly skimped on the cost and picked up a name brand pair at an outlet which only lasted two months before tearing.

Burlingame knows the game and offered her insight, “a lot of people make the mistake of getting the cheaper boot which doesn’t have the support for their feet then their back starts to hurt, or like your boots they fall apart and they tear and then you have wet, soggy feet which nobody wants.”

So, I flung my money into the Evedon Premium Wellie fashion from the United Kingdom, ($165.95) and considered this an investment into the tire-inspired outsole for effective water dispersal and grip. The bow on the back and enamel plaque on the front adds just the right extravagance for Ohio’s bespattered spots.

Josie in a former tv anchorwoman, expanded a newspaper into Key West, opened the nation’s southernmost newsroom, and completed her digital media training with CBS Cleveland.

October 20, 2016October 20, 2016

Sperry Saltwater Duck Boot goes Unsalted raising part baby-duck pup, calls for rugged shoes

They’re roughhewn, rugged and unrefined.

The Fall Fashion item is the new Sperry Saltwater Duck Boot showcasing vintage style. A pair of poorly constructed shoes will derail owners trying to take on the Lake Erie and the Ohio coastline elements.

Especially, when there’s an 18-month old Lab pup in tow, accustomed to two to four hours per day of hiking the Coastal Ohio Trail, ferrying to the Lake Erie Islands, and trekking the Ohio State Park System for miles.

There’s too much mud.

Though the Ohio weather has been t-shirt wearing terrific, and The Tribe is playing in the World Series, usually these two Ohio staples are sporadic.

“With our weather, where this week alone the mercury goes from 80 degrees down to 54 degrees so you kind of don’t know what you’re going to get into. Its nice to have a good pair of boots on your side,” advises Anne-Marie Burlingame a sales associate at Newport Clothing and Gear in the West Marine shopping plaza on Catawba Island.

Fall style on the Coastal Ohio Trail and Lake Erie Island System, whether for a man, or a woman, calls for Sperry. Keeping those tootsies toasty isn’t high-living but a sine qua non.

Burlingame emphasizes. “That’s the fun thing about Newport is we bring the beauty to the necessity. You don’t have to have clunky, ugly rubber boots, you can have pretty ones and (this is) where the wellies come in and the Sperrys.”

The $120 price tag is worth every penny for two reasons; shoppers are buying from a thirty-year old locally-owned, family store, and these kicks can take on Ohio’s North Coast elements.