These were
all the rage in the early to mid
80s.
Duck shoes have
seamless rubber bottoms, with a
leather top that is stitched to it, and where the
laces go. I don't even know if
Sporto exists anymore, but fifteen years ago or so, if you didn't have a pair of these, you simply weren't
cool. The
cheap knockoff duck shoes surely wouldn't count.
The fun thing about these is that they're actually useful for stomping in puddles or when it's otherwise rainy out, and was one of those times when preppy clothing made sense--for instance, a lot of people wore Docksiders even though they were never anywhere near a boat, and furthermore, I never understood why deck shoes would be good for a boat anyway.