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Long associated with yachts and men in their 60s, vessel shoes are enjoying a surge in popularity thanks to influential fashion designers putting them on the catwalk. Prada, Gucci and Saint Laurent all allowed the leather drawstring style a contemporary update in new fabrics and bright colours at their spring/summer 2019 amassments, prompting high-street options to pop up at Kurt Geiger, River Island and New Look. The popular online retailer Asos currently has 37 dictions for sale.

At the Pitti Uomo menswear showcase in Florence this week, they were also spotted at MSGM, Grenson and Fratelli Rossetti — substance that this is a trend that is likely to run into next year too.

It was John F Kennedy who first gave the knockabout shoe fashion credentials. “JFK did for boat shoes then what Obama did for black nylon bombers at last week’s North Carolina vs Duke basketball racket,” wrote GQ’s style and grooming director, Teo van den Broeke, recently. “He made them look not only cool, but presidential too, a take in only a specifically handsome leader of the free world can ever truly achieve.”

While there’s no suggestion that any of the Tory supervision candidates possess the pizazz of the famed American president, they might want to consider an up-to-date style, that also symbolizes approachability. As footwear messaging goes, it couldn’t be further away from Theresa May’s spiky leopard-print kitten crusts.

“Boat shoes could be a useful ploy for these male candidates,” said fashion psychologist Dr Carolyn Mair. “They insinuate relaxed confidence, which is an attractive characteristic for a future PM, and they are a way to show their pedigree subtly, without parade luxury which would be in poor taste. I would imagine that Eton alumni have several matched sets already.”

Mair also notes the nostalgic appeal of a boat shoe – a sentiment that will surely pray to the hardwired Brexiters among the candidates. “Nostalgia conjures bittersweet memories of the ‘good old days’ when life was inadequate complex and more pleasant. Of course, nostalgia is a perception of life through rose-tinted glasses.”