Vans going “Off the Wall”

Vans are a shoe manufacturing company that specializes in making skating shoes and related apparel, and is also associated with surfing, snowboarding, BMX and motocross. Over the past year or so, Vans have became more and more common, and somewhat of a trend at Big Spring. Looking around at other shoes, the most commonly worn are the classic white slides made by Vans and or the black and white high tops.

One person wearing these shoes throughout the hallway was Cameron Shopp. Shopp said, “I have about six or seven pairs, but I probably have owned over 30 in my lifetime.” Shopp was not a part of the Vans trend that popped up last year, but has actually owned Vans way back from sixth grade. He mostly wears slip ons, high tops and old school styles. Shopp personally wears vans for comfort and style.

Another person that stuck out was Luke Swartz. Just as Shopp, he was into Vans before the Vans trend. Swartz actually is one of the students that actually uses Vans for the purpose of skateboarding. “I started wearing them when I got into skateboarding and wasn’t interested in them before that,” said Swartz. You can catch Swartz cruising around the school with his skateboard from time to time and might actually see him personally riding his skateboard too. Swartz found out about Vans when his one pair of shoes fell apart and he went shopping and ran into a pair of Vans suggested by his brother. He current owns “around six pairs, all old school style.” He also doesn’t own the classic white van slides and or the black and white high tops.

Mackenzi Baker and Scott Tilden also are on the bandwagon of Vans. Baker actually owns both the white slides and the classic black and white high tops. She was also the person with the most pairs of Vans, topping off with nine pairs. She was with the others and owned Vans before the popular upcoming of the brand. Baker use to wear Vans for skateboarding but now only uses them for style. Tilden is on the low side with only one pair of Vans. Scott also said, “I saw them in the store and thought they looked nice.” Tilden is not so into Vans but his point of view is that they’re just shoes that protect his feet.

Most students are claim to be buying Vans for comfort instead of conformity, but the Vans trend is actually not new.  It is actually making a comeback. Vans started as a Southern California skater brand in the 1960’s, but it now has sizable presence in Europe and China. According to Business Insider Magazine, “The VF Corp (which owns the shoe brand) reported a 35% increase in Vans sales year-over-year globally, following a string of up-and-to-the-right sales trends.” It also seems that Vans have the ability to span generations, making them cool for all ages to wear.