Made to last: Canada Goose, a rebuttal

It is all too easy to dismiss a Canada Goose jacket if you’ve never tried one on. While other St Andrews students without one of these jackets may be freezing their […]


It is all too easy to dismiss a Canada Goose jacket if you’ve never tried one on. While other St Andrews students without one of these jackets may be freezing their butts off in gale force winds, mysterious sub-zero night fog and a cold dampness that never ceases to leave this town, I, and ‘every seventeenth’ student have the equivalent of a big fluffy polar bear constantly embracing our bodies as we walk around frigid St Andrews.

While the British have their Barbours, Canadians have their ‘Gooses’ (as we ungrammatically/affectionately call them). I love these coats so much that I own two (paid with my own hard-earned money, thank you very much).  I first found out about Canada Goose in 2007, when I moved from the west coast of Canada to Toronto and had the shock of my life: -20C temperatures and enough snow to cover Everest for a solid 4 month winter. I needed an arctic coat and I needed one fast. Suffice to say, my Goose never let me down and kept me toasty warm throughout that depressing winter.

From a monetary perspective, simply put, you get what you pay for. Why are Canada Goose jackets so expensive? They are top-of-the-line, made in Canada, hand-stitched, premium down-filled extreme weather winter coats used during Antarctic and Everest expeditions. If you’re like me (and apparently a lot of other students here), Antarctic/Everest also qualifies for St Andrews. It’s nice not to have to go out looking like the Michelin man because you’re wearing 6 layers under your jacket – instead wrap up in my duvet-coat. Yes, these coats are expensive, but after doing some research it’s easy to see why they are sold at such high price points. The same goes for wax jackets. There is a reason why people choose to buy Barbour. Barbour has become a go-to brand because of its reputation for tradition and quality. If one is so concerned about price, why not buy a cheaper wax jacket? There are many different, less expensive makes available in the UK.

Buying tip: Like many North American products that become popular across the pond, retailers over here adjust prices hoping you haven’t done any research so that they can make a big buck. Amazon UK sells the men’s Chilliwack Parka for over £600, while the same jacket averages around $595.00 CAD (the equivalent of £380!) at various different Canadian retailers. So either ask your Canadian or American friends to pick up your Canada Goose in their homelands or use a North American based online retailer – either way you will save big.

It’s not wrong to point out that St Andrews has had an explosion in the popularity of these jackets in the lapse of one semester. This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, though, since these jackets have been trending worldwide since 2007. Is it really that shocking that this seaside university town has jumped onto yet another trend-bandwagon and has turned a well-made piece of outerwear into a St Andrean staple? Regardless of the cost of the garment, it does suck when a large number of my peers wear the same item as me. However, my Goose is not devalued just because the brand has become popular (last time I checked, Apple stocks were at an all-time high). The sense of occasion has not been lost because I’m wearing my coat around town to keep warm and not to make an avant-garde fashion statement.

 

Headline image ©Canada Goose