JUST like PALY students DO IT

Amani Fossati-Moiane

JUST like PALY students DO IT.

text by Amani Fossati-Moiane and Kat Farrell

Buying the latest trends when it comes to fashion may not be the most ethical choice.

Before words are exchanged, first impressions start assumptions. This story focuses on the toes. Or rather what covers them.

Whether you’re wearing giant red boots or common low-top sneakers, you’re sending a message. These messages are part of shoe culture, which has evolved over the years from Converse in the 1980s to the viral MSCHF Big Red Boots in 2023, resembling the 1960s comic, “Astro Boy,” in which the main character, Tetsuwan Atom, wears a pair of red boots.

Shoe culture around Palo Alto High School is constantly changing and in recent years, the trending shoe styles have shifted to comfort shoes, plain shoes and sneakers. Slides, Crocs and Uggs have been becoming more popular: they look good and are comfortable.

Sneakers like Jordans, Nikes, Convers, and Adidas show knowledge in current trends.

Paly students each have their own set of values regarding their shoe choices.

Sophomore Tyler Kramer prides himself on his purple Jordan 1’s. Although he claims other people would think of them as mainstream, his reason behind buying them is deeper than the trend.

“I think a lot of shoes right now that are trending are designed for comfort over style,” Kramer said. “At least in the daily wear scene people seem to be wearing shoes more for how they feel and how easy they are to put on, take off, over styling an outfit with them.”

He buys his shoes from previous owners around Palo Alto, rather than a shoe store.

“The environmental impact of creating a new pair of shoes is much higher than the environmental impact of driving halfway across town to buy a new pair or used pair from somebody,” Kramer said.

An environmental impact is not the first thing most think of when buying a new pair of shoes. Studies by Zero Waste Sonoma, a government agency created to reduce landfill waste show that overconsumption has led to 95% of the 25 billion shoes manufactured each year ending up in the landfill.

For sophomore Hirem Garcia, the most important aspect in picking a new shoe is self-expression.

“I think that the color of my shoes and the design of my shoes show people that I am unique and I like different [styles] than the majority,” Garcia said. “For example, I don’t wear Air Forces like everybody else.

He buys his shoes on the internet and has accumulated 10 pairs over time. This allows him to interchange shoes daily so he can express many facets of his personal style.

Being able to express himself to others in a non-verbal way provides an outlet for his personal expression. It's clear that Garcia's shoes hold importance to him as a self-expression tool, but he also chooses shoes based on their style factor.

"My shoes mean a lot to me because they are one of the key components of my outfit," he said

Garcia doesn't pay mind to coordinating his outfit. His Jordan 1's are the one component he needs to stand out, he said.

Both Garcia and Kramer's shoe styles focus on form over function. Whether it's Air Jordans, Converse, Big Red Boots or Crocs, Paly students express their souls through their soles, Kramer says shoes are a way of expressing someones style without being too bold.

Jeremy Dukes