Similar to how Canada Goose jackets were originally fashioned for film crews and Arctic researchers, Blundstone boots were once the shoes of farm labourers and factory works before they took over city streets as a fashion trend.
When I lived on Vancouver Island, I would often head straight to the trails after class. I invested in a pair of Blundstones as the boots were practical for navigating between indoors and outdoors with ease.
Though Blundstones do not seem to be nearly as popular in Cambridge, MA as they are in Toronto, ON (they have reached the ranks of Birkenstocks for Canadians), I sometimes feel a connection to strangers sporting these boots on Mass Ave. Despite their appropriation by hipsters, I associate these boots with people who like to wander and don’t mind the clunk for the comfort.
