Viva la Vans

I was feeling pretty good when the first day of school came around and I was already "in" on the latest fad. I was starting to see, very clearly, that a trend at a small all-girls school was not practiced by a small group of girls. If a shoe became popular, that meant the entire school would be wearing it. So what is the Doc Marten of my senior year? Not Sperrys, but a sneaker by the brand name Vans.

I'm highly certain I did not even know what Vans were in sixth grade. Converses, sure. But Vans? I had never heard of this brand. Six years later, Vans had become the new Sperry. (Side note: there were other shoe fads that appeared between the Sperry and Van phase... Ugg slippers, Converses, Nike sneakers, etc). Apparently, all the girls at my school purchased these shoes over the summer. They were casual but cute, easily paired with any outfit, and most importantly, inexpensive. Who wouldn't want a pair? I sure did.

So two weeks before school started, I drove to Montgomery Mall with my new senior privileges on my mind. I bought a pair of Vans. By the time school started, I had already worn them out somewhat.

The bell rang, signaling the start of homeroom at the beginning of the day. I walked into the room, and a wave of de ja vu passed over me. It was as if I was in sixth grade all over again... but this time I was a senior-- more independent, more aware of "who I am", and not afraid to be different, if that's what I feel like being.

Yet there I was, with my light blue Vans on my feet, just another addition to the overwhelming majority  of the senior girls who own a pair of these sneakers... classic, right?

At this point, you may be starting to recognize that fads are not necessarily "followed" merely because they are considered "in" at the time. I hope, from my two stories I have shared thus far, that you have come to realize not everyone will pick up on a popular trend just because their peers have. Don't get me wrong, I know plenty of people who do this. And it is not uncommon for me to have my interest in such trends be sparked by my seeing it on another girl first. However, I think it is also important to keep in mind that the definition of a fad can be deceiving at times. The dictionary definition says fads are "especially... followed enthusiastically by a group". This isn't always the case!

Or is it?

The First Fad

Fad [fad]

noun

a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., especially one followed enthusiastically by a group.

Related forms

fad·like, adjective

Synonyms

craze, vogue, rage.

My stomach was in knots as my mother handed me the telephone, urging me to talk to the Holy Child sixth-grader who was going to speak with me about what to expect for my upcoming shadow visit the following day. Being a fifth-grader coming from a public school, and completely unaware of anything that has to do with private schools, I did not even know what a “shadow visit” was, or what it would entail. For those of you who are just as uninformed as I was, a “shadow” is a student who spends an entire school day following around another student who attends a school that you are interested in. In my case, I knew nothing about Holy Child other than the fact that my mom told me I could (and not so subtly, should) go there for middle school. My shadow, Caitlyn, told me that since the school I was currently attending didn’t have a uniform, I had to wear khakis, a white polo, and sneakers.

Um, what? I didn’t own a polo… no one at public school wore polo’s…

So there I was, an awkwardly skinny fifth-grader with her older sister’s oversized polo from Aeropostale, standing in the doorway of Mrs. Kahan’s sixth grade classroom. I stuck out like a sore thumb. People were staring. I was the only girl in the classroom not wearing a uniform, and the outfit I had on wasn’t doing me any favors, either. This was going to be a great day.

I’ve always been a fairly observant person. I pay attention to people and their actions; I take some things way too personally, and I notice what people wear. As I followed these girls around this school, I couldn’t help but be in awe at the plethora of colorful ribbons that seemed to take over. That, along with the fact that every single girl was wearing a pair of heinous, chunky, uncomfortable-looking brown shoes, were two trends that I remember distinctly. But it was the shoe trend that really got to me. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that these people all had the same shoe, let alone that they chose to wear them… they simply were not attractive. I asked Caitlyn what they were called, and she told me they were called Doc Martens. Okay, I thought, note to self: tell mom to get me a pair of Doc Martens for next year.

I know what you’re thinking. Why would you buy a pair if you think they’re so ugly? Well, I’ll tell you why. Clearly, these so called “Doc Martens” were the latest fashion, the most popular choice of shoe. And yes, I decided I was going to purchase a pair and wear them five days a week for nine months at school. I would just have to get used to them. After all, they were going to be in style next year, too, right? Wrong.

Little did I know, Doc Martens would fall under the category of what we call a ‘fad’. A fad is, in fact, a current fashion, something that is popular and in style. I was right to assume that the shoes were so. However, fads are temporary. They don’t usually last until the next school year. I was wrong in thinking that this would be the case for Doc Martens… continue reading to see how the story ends.

Well, it turns out that I got lucky this time. At first, when the saleslady at Nordstrom’s told us that all Doc Martens were sold out, I nearly burst into tears. I instantly pictured myself walking into Mrs. Kahan’s classroom—this time as one of her students—sticking out like a sore thumb, once again. My mom and I left the mall with a pair of shoes by the brand name Sperry. I was convinced I was going to be the only girl in the entire school wearing these shoes, and I was dreading the moment when I would have to model them for the first time. The time came within a week. Bracing myself to relive one of the most scarring moments of my fifth-grade career, I walked into the classroom. The first thing I observed? Eleven pairs of Sperry Top-Siders on the feet of each girl.

This was going to be a great day.