For over 150 years Blundstone has made chelsea boots and very little else. This singular focus both makes the Australian footwear brand distinct — how many other brands dedicate themselves to perfecting such a specific product? — and also means it's big news when Blundstone steps outside of its lane. 

When Blundstones go backless, people notice. And when Blundstone releases its first open-toe sandals, it’s just about as shocking as anything it’s ever done.

The Blundstone #2698 Aerocork sandal is completely different from every other Blundstone shoe. The only thing that’s obviously Blundstone is the leather, a water-resistant nubuck similar to that on its boots, which informs the three straps.

Really, the $145 Aerocork sandal looks more like Birkenstock’s cork-soled sandals than a Blundstone.

Which is funny because both brands share similarities like typically keeping their insular shoemaking operations specific to one category, which in turn has helped them become the cool-guy elder statesmen of their respective footwear niches. But as Blundstone steps into sandals, Birkenstock is behaving like a bootmaker.

The 250-year-old shoe company has been expanding its focus to encompass more boots, from thick hiking stompers to traditional Bavarian work boots, and even an expanding range of closed-toe shoes like its chunky moccasins and equally oversized sneakers by Louis Vuitton’s footwear designer. 

Which means, theoretically, that you could have a footwear rotation consisting of Blundstone sandals for summer and Birkenstock boots for winter. Is that such a bad thing?

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