Somewhere in a lot of Canadian closets there is a grey sweatshirt with a small beaver on the chest. It might belong to a parent who bought it in the eighties, a sibling who wore it through university, or the person reading this, who has had it so long it no longer feels like an object anyone chose. That ordinariness is exactly what makes vintage Roots interesting. It is Canadian clothing that became furniture.
Roots started in Toronto in 1973, founded by Michael Budman and Don Green, two friends who had spent childhood summers at camp in Algonquin Park and wanted to bring some of that northern feeling into city life. The company's first big product was not a sweatshirt at all but a shoe. The sweats, leather bags, jackets and the beaver logo came after, and so did some very memorable Olympic moments. Together, they add up to one of the most recognisable stories in vintage Canada.
01. A shoe, a cabin and a city
The first Roots product was a negative-heel shoe, designed so the heel sat slightly lower than the toe. It was an unusual idea, and it caught on in the mid-seventies when comfortable, natural-feeling footwear was having a moment. The shop on Yonge Street became a draw, and the brand quickly widened into leather goods and clothing.
What Roots sold, from the beginning, was a mood as much as a product: canoe trips, cabins, woodsmoke and the north, delivered to people who mostly lived in cities. That mood is why the clothing feels so consistent across decades. A sweatshirt from the eighties and a leather bag from the nineties share the same outlook, even if the details differ.
For anyone collecting vintage Canadian clothing, Roots is a natural anchor. It was founded, designed and for many years largely made in Canada, and its pieces turn up across the country in thrift stores, estate sales and attic boxes. That abundance makes it an accessible place to start, and the variety keeps it interesting.
02. The sweats that made the name
For most people, vintage Roots means sweatshirts and sweatpants. The classic pieces are heavy cotton fleece in a speckled grey heather, sometimes called salt and pepper, with the beaver logo and Roots wordmark printed or embroidered on the chest or thigh. Navy, forest green, oatmeal and black were common too, along with brighter seasonal colours.
What separates a good vintage Roots sweatshirt from a tired one is mostly the fleece. Feel the inside. Good fleece is dense and soft, with plenty of brushed loft. Tired fleece feels thin and matted, and you can sometimes see light through it when you hold it up. Check the ribbing at the cuffs and hem, which should spring back after a gentle stretch, and look at the neckline for stretching or staining.
Crewnecks, hoodies and the classic sweatpant
The crewneck is the most versatile, the hoodie the most relaxed. Vintage Roots sweatpants deserve a mention of their own. They were a fixture of Canadian weekends long before athleisure had a name, and older pairs often have a fuller leg and a cuffed ankle. Check the waistband elastic, which perishes with age, and the drawcord. A pair with a sound waistband and good fleece is a comfortable, unfussy thing to own.
03. Reading the beaver
The beaver logo has been through many versions over the years, varying in pose, detail and the type that accompanies it. Some prints show a fuller, more illustrated animal; others are simpler. Embroidered versions vary in thread colour and density. Collectors sometimes use these differences, together with labels and construction, to place a piece roughly in time.
Labels offer clues too. Many older Roots pieces carry a clear Made in Canada label, and bilingual care and fibre information is typical of Canadian garments generally. Changes in label design, materials and wording can hint at a decade. Treat all of it as a set of clues that should agree with each other. No single detail proves an age, and design elements were sometimes revisited later, so stay open to the possibility that a piece is younger or older than it looks.
Beyond the beaver, keep an eye out for pieces with event or location graphics, collaborations and commemorative designs. These can be more unusual than the standard logo sweats, though the standard sweats are often the ones people wear most.
04. Leather: bags, jackets and the slow patina
Roots built a strong reputation for leather goods, and the brand's leather bags and jackets are a serious part of its vintage story. The bags in particular are everywhere: satchels, duffels, totes, small shoulder bags and the classic soft camera-style bag that many Canadians carried through the nineties. Older bags often use thick, slightly oily leather that darkens and softens beautifully with handling.
When you look at a leather bag, check the stress points. Handles and straps wear first, especially where they meet the body. Corners scuff and can wear through. Zips may stiffen or lose teeth, and stitching can come loose along the top edge. Scratches and darkening are usually part of the appeal. Cracks, dried-out patches and tears are more serious, so decide whether you are prepared to have them repaired.
Leather jackets, including varsity-style jackets with leather sleeves and wool bodies, are another strong category. Check the lining, cuffs and collar, and compare shoulder and sleeve measurements with a jacket you already own.
A good Roots bag looks better after twenty years of being thrown in the back seat than it did on the shelf, and it knows it.
05. The Olympic years
Around the turn of the century, Roots became closely linked with the Olympics. The brand outfitted Canadian teams at several Games in that period and also dressed the United States team for a stretch. The most famous moment came at the Nagano Winter Games in 1998, when a soft, slouchy poor-boy cap from the official kit became a sensation. People queued for it, and for a while it seemed to be on half the heads in North America.
Olympic Roots pieces are a corner of their own. You may find team jackets, sweatshirts, fleece, caps and bags with Olympic rings, country names and Games graphics. Some were team-issue items worn by athletes and staff; many more were retail versions sold to the public. The two can look very similar, and claims that a piece was athlete-issued deserve healthy scepticism unless there is solid documentation.
These pieces are fun precisely because they freeze a moment. A Canada sweatshirt with a particular year and host city on it is a small souvenir of a specific winter or summer. Check prints, embroidery and the condition of any appliqué, and think about how strongly you want to wear the Olympic branding before you commit.
06. What to look for before you buy
- Fleece weight and loft on sweats, felt from the inside.
- Ribbing at cuffs, hems and waistbands that springs back.
- Even fading across the front and back of coloured sweats.
- Leather condition at handles, corners and stitched edges.
- Hardware on bags and jackets that opens, closes and fastens properly.
- Labels and logos that agree with each other, taken as clues rather than proof.
Size labels on older sweats vary, and decades of washing can shrink cotton unevenly. Measure the chest, length and sleeve against a sweatshirt you like, and try sweatpants on if you can, since the rise and leg shape changed considerably over the years.
07. Wearing Roots without looking like a souvenir
A grey Roots crewneck is about as easy to wear as clothing gets. Under a navy peacoat or a tan chore jacket, over a white tee with straight denim, it looks neat and relaxed. A coloured sweatshirt, especially in forest green or deep red, pairs well with grey trousers and a dark overcoat. The beaver is small enough that it rarely dominates.
The full sweatsuit is a bolder choice. Matching grey crewneck and sweatpants can look intentional and comfortable on a weekend, especially with leather sneakers and a simple jacket. For more everyday wear, mix one Roots piece with clothing from elsewhere so the outfit feels personal rather than branded.
Olympic pieces are the loudest. A Canada team jacket works well as the single statement in an outfit, with plain trousers and a quiet knit. Avoid combining multiple pieces with large flags and rings unless you are actually heading to a game or a viewing party.
08. Keeping it going
Wash sweats inside out in cold water and dry them flat or on low, since high heat shrinks fleece and cracks prints. Store leather bags stuffed with paper so they hold their shape, away from direct heat, and condition them occasionally with a product suited to the leather. Brush suede gently. Let damp leather dry naturally, never on a radiator.
If you are lucky enough to have a full Olympic kit or a set of pieces from one era, store them folded in a cool, dark place, and keep them out of plastic bags that trap moisture.
09. Start with the grey crewneck
Vintage Roots is a broad field, but almost everyone should start in the same place: a well-preserved grey heather crewneck with a small beaver on the chest. It is warm, it goes with everything, and it carries a little piece of Canadian history without asking you to explain it. From there, a leather bag, a pair of sweatpants or an Olympic piece can follow if they suit your life. If a piece like that ever turns up on the racks at Queen St or Square One, it is always worth a second look.
