Look down at your feet. Hopefully you’re wearing a pair of shoes. It’s interesting how people can judge each other based off of what is on their feet. All that was popular used to be how your hair looked or what newest apparel was out there. Once you had a fresh cut and some brand new designer clothes to go with it, you were the coolest kid in town. Now, throw some sick kicks in the mix of this outfit salad and you’ve got two times more swag than you did before. It may sound crazy, but it is true. A chart from statista.com reveals that in particular, jogging/running shoes have spiked in prices by at least 20 percent from 2008 to 2014.Companies have increased their prices because the demand trend consistently rises as more people start to buy designer brands. This makes you think twice before purchasing another pair of shoes, doesn’t it? If prices increase, don’t you want to put your money more towards something that will compliment your style? Sometimes shoes can trigger different reactions from other individuals and give you attention that you otherwise may not have received.

Senior Chaitanya Sharma was able to snag a pair of the well-sought after Adidas Yeezy Boosts and explains how people reacted to the popular sneaker pair, “Well, I’m not a shoe expert by any means, but what I can tell you is that after being able to get Yeezys I have been getting a lot of attention over them (all positive), and people that I don’t even know talk to me about my Yeezys, how I got them, what I plan to do in the future with them etc. So I can say I feel it does affect the way people feel about one another. I’ve made a lot of new friends over the Yeezys, which I haven’t even worn once!”

A single pair of shoes caused so many individuals to connect and bond with one another without ever interacting beforehand.

You don’t necessarily have to know a lot about sneakers to know what popular brands DV students buy. Air Jordan is a very popular brand that many sneaker enthusiasts research and enjoy collecting. Compared to prices in 2001 for Air Jordan Retros, prices have increased two-fold. In an interview with  the Livermore Outlets Shoe Palace Manager Gary Dempsey, he claimed that while prices have increased for Jordans, the quality has significantly gone down in the last five years. He primarily blames this phenomenon on the “hypebeast” culture that prompts individuals to buy products that are worn by celebrities or their friends but don’t necessarily pertain to their own style. This type of customer basis encourages companies like Jordans to decrease the quality of their product in order to maximize quantity and profits. The fact that companies like Jordan are doing this furthers the idea that people are more self-conscious about their shoes. So, people want their investment in shoes to be more beneficial, they must develop their own style.

Senior Krishna Chandrshaker comments: “What gives someone their own style is their experiences, influences and background. Your style is how you express who you are, which is why you can tell a lot about a person just by some of the small things they do differently, but are very noticeable. Style is individuality expressed through fashion.”