From Work Boot to Slip-On: Timberland’s New Convertible Clog
Published: by Peter Coyne
The internet started cutting the tops off Timberland boots for fun. After Telfar popularized Slip-On Timbs Loafers last year, what began as viral DIY creativity is now official.
Timberland has introduced the Premium Convertible Clog, a pair that removes the heel of its signature work boot to create an easy slip-on version.
The lower half of the this pair looks just like a classic wheat Timberland. It features a nubuck upper, a chunky injection-molded rubber sole, and the familiar rounded toebox. But this time they have scrapped the tall shaft and reinforced, quadruple-stitched heel that define the original boot.
In their place is a matching strap that calls to mind the Crocs Classic Clog, while the overall silhouette is closer to a Blundstone chef-style clog. Even with those changes, these are unmistakably Timberland.
When Nathan Swartz built the first Timberland 8-Inch work boot in 1973, he could not have imagined it becoming a cultural symbol, let alone evolving into a slipper.
The idea of clogs on a construction site seems unlikely, but this release fits into a broader trend, a growing wave of slip-on versions of shoes that were never meant to lose their heels, from hiking boots to Nike Air Max models to Vans skate shoes. In an era of mule-ification, almost no footwear is safe from reinvention.
