 |
Roots clothing got really popular in the '80s. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roots_Canada (May be subject to copyright) |
That is a lot to put on a sweat shirt, and since then, my opinions have moderated a lot, but that is what I think of when I see a “ROOTS” sweatshirt.
A lot of this stuff came flooding back today, when I heard the founders of “ROOTS” are being inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.
High school blues
It all really started in Grade 11, so that would be the 1985-1986 school year. I somehow over the course of the first few weeks of the year developed this crush on a girl.
It all really started in Grade 11, so that would be the 1985-1986 school year. I somehow over the course of the first few weeks of the year developed this crush on a girl.
I am not sure if it was my own teenage insecurity, or the kids around me, but I got this idea she would never go out with me. I wasn’t really good enough for her. Looking back, that may just have been a defence mechanism to keep me from getting hurt.
That evolved into this whole notion that I was not one of the cool kids. I didn’t catch her eye because I was not attractive. Oh, I had those thoughts that it could be because I was not “cute” enough, but then thought I wasn’t wearing the right clothes. I didn’t have that “look”.
The interesting thing, a paradox really, was that I detested that superficiality. I despised people judging others by the way they looked, and what they wore. That hardened my resolve not to be like all those “cool kids”. Conversely, I judged them for being superficial, which in retrospect made me no better.
All of this coalesced around a simple five letter word stenciled on sweatshirts around the school.
It was “ROOTS”.
Back story
Roots Canada was founded in Toronto in 1973 by Michael Budman and Don Green, who were the one’s recently inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.
Roots Canada was founded in Toronto in 1973 by Michael Budman and Don Green, who were the one’s recently inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.
Initially a footwear company, they opened their first store on Yonge Street. A few months later they opened their own leather factory. By the end of 1973, they had spread out with stores in Vancouver, Montreal and several in the United States.
By 1977, Roots had expanded to 65 stores across North America and Europe. They soon branched out to different footwear and hand bags. They began selling wholesale items such as bags, footwear, belts, and leather jacket to Canadian retail outlets such as Eaton’s and Holt Renfrew.
In 1979, Roots introduced its first line of men’s tailored clothing.
Dawn of the decade
By 1980, many stores in the United States and Europe had closed, so Roots expanded in Canada. The expansion launched t-shirts and sweat shirts on a small scale, and the creation of the label “Beaver Canoe”.
By 1980, many stores in the United States and Europe had closed, so Roots expanded in Canada. The expansion launched t-shirts and sweat shirts on a small scale, and the creation of the label “Beaver Canoe”.
I always thought Roots and Beaver Canoe looked very similar but, in my fashion ignorance, thought it was just because that was the style, not the same company.
In 1983, clothing and outdoor items were created under the “Beaver Canoe” brand. Two years later, in 1985, Roots launched Roots Beaver Athletics with the beaver logo. It features a beaver, which is the national animal of Canada, on top of tree branches. The typography of the company below is set in the Cooper font created by Oswald Cooper in 1919.
The history of Roots continues on from there.
Rebel yell
By Grade 12, my distaste for Roots and Beaver Canoe, had not subsided. In fact, I started to rebel in my own, small way. I expressed my views in the things I wrote.
By Grade 12, my distaste for Roots and Beaver Canoe, had not subsided. In fact, I started to rebel in my own, small way. I expressed my views in the things I wrote.
Topping the list was a play I wrote called “The Prep and the Pauper”, where the main character, who is a thinly veiled version of me, rails against vanity. He laments the girl he likes not feeling the same way because of the way he looks and the clothes he wears.
That play is full of music that I had harvested from the radio. My ultimate goal was to write all the music and lyrics, so they would fit perfectly with the story.
I only ended up writing the lyrics of a couple songs. One was called “Labels and Looks”. I recall part of it going, “What can’t you see me for me, and accept what you see?” That explains it all.
There was one other thing. This one was a joint production by me and my best friend of the time Chris Vining. We had a spare, and were hanging out in the library at Kate Andrews High School. There was this Grade 11 student we knew, named Diane, who we sat with and used to joke around with.
One day, she made some comment about Roots and Beaver Canoe, wanting to buy some of their clothes, but not being able to do so.
Vining started improvising this song we called “The Beaver Canoe Blues”. He was in fine form. One of the lines I remember was, “Went into Sears, but through the back door, so my friends wouldn’t see me.”
It was inspired.
Parting thoughts
Being a teenager is a mine field of emotions, insecurity, and angst. Looking back, Roots and Beaver Canoe became a lightning rod for all of that. It was a symbol of all the things I didn’t really like.
Being a teenager is a mine field of emotions, insecurity, and angst. Looking back, Roots and Beaver Canoe became a lightning rod for all of that. It was a symbol of all the things I didn’t really like.
I realize now, the clothes were just clothes.
Yet, a couple times I have had the chance to wear their clothes, and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Being a teenager is a mine field, and it leaves scars, even if they are ever so slight.
No comments:
Post a Comment