An Ode to the Knockaround Shoe High-end, long-haul footwear is great and all, but there’s no substitute for canvas kicks built for wearin' and tearin'. Jeffrey Westbrook My grandmother was an unrepentant clotheshorse. No stranger to the thrilling sensation of showing off a new cop, she reveled in cheffing up A1 fits and in complimenting her grandchildren on theirs. Whenever I’d show up at her house for a surprise visit in some freshly unwrapped purchase, she’d say the same thing: “Wear it and tear it.” Whatever new item I bought (or, in true grandmotherly fashion, she’d given to me) wasn’t meant to sit on a shelf. It was meant to be used. Loved. Worn until it was quite literally worn out.