Eye on Style: Native Shoes

Comfortable and durable, with simple, modern designs for all ages, Native Shoes have become a popular summer footwear item on Nantucket. Ideal for island life—boating, fishing, going to the beach, and outfitting the kids for summer camp—these shoes are made of lightweight, soft, and flexible materials that won’t absorb water or odors. They’re hand-washable and come in many sizes, colors, and styles, including walking shoes, sandals, mules, and even a hiking boot with excellent grip for muddy weather. The Native shop at 40 Straight Wharf even has an exclusive Nantucket collection: designs not available anywhere else.

This Sunday morning, August 18, from 9 to 10 a.m., Retail Manager Beth Lloyd-Thomas and her team from Native will be on the beach at Brant Point during the Rainbow Parade and Harbor Start of the Opera House Cup. From their booth there, they will hold a raffle for Native Shoe prizes. This final festive day of Nantucket’s annual Race Week is the ideal place for Native to host the event: Native Shoes is a sponsor of Nantucket Community Sailing (NCS), the beneficiary of Nantucket Race Week and the Opera House Cup. Their diverse involvement supports NCS and the organization’s scholarship efforts, highlighting the perfect shoe for sailing and water sports. NCS has taught 20,000 children to sail and awarded over $1 million in sailing scholarships since its founding in 1994.

“Every year we create a new Nantucket print to commemorate everything we love about our special island… a design that expresses the joy and uniqueness of the island,” Beth explained. “I told our design team that the Rainbow Fleet and sailing hold a very special place in our island’s DNA. For me, the Rainbow Fleet and sailing here in general have always held a special place in my heart – sunny, warm summer days, sand underfoot, sailing in the harbor around Brant Point and Coatue, hearing the ferry horn, cool wind on your face, and spending time with friends and family. We will be at the Rainbow Fleet Regatta on Sunday and will be giving away Native Shoes for the community for race week,” she added.

Native’s specialty shoe for 2024 is the Nantucket Sail Print. This collector’s shoe is available exclusively at Native’s store on Straight Wharf; it is not available on nativeshoes.com. Each shoe in the Nantucket Collection has a special “license plate” on the back of the shoe that reads ACK!

“Because they are unique and special to Nantucket, we only produce a limited amount of each pattern each season (and design something new each year), so once they sell out, they’re gone. We have families who come back every year and make it a tradition to buy new pairs to add to their collection (since the shoe lasts forever). Often, they’ll hop right off the Hy-Line ferry at the start of their vacation and come into the store.”

Like all Native shoes, the Nantucket Collection shoes are lightweight, waterproof, ideal for an active lifestyle and can be worn year-round. “They’re comfortable for adults and children: a surgeon just stopped by yesterday with his whole crew to get new pairs for himself and his family. He’s been collecting since we opened in 2018 and wears them on the operating room.”

Previous designs in Native Shoes’ Nantucket collection include a nautical flag with the word “ACK,” the Nantucket whale in regatta blue, and the Nantucket whale tails in ocean waves. Although these shoes have become an exclusive symbol of those who live on or have visited the island of Nantucket, a few pairs of some of the designs from the past few years are still available in the store on Straight Wharf. Once they sell out, the special designs will be retired, so don’t delay in getting your Native Shoes from the Nantucket collection!

Native Shoes
40 Straight Quay • 508-221-7223
Open daily from 9am to 7pm during the season