Shoe trends express teens vision of style

Shoes: an item teens love to get their hands on and be able to jump onto the bandwagon of current trends. When it comes to specific types of shoes — Hey Dudes, Crocs, boots — the Midwest went crazy in the number of these specific pairs being purchased. The craze for these high-demand shoes has people like freshman Jake Hall craving to buy more. 

“Hey Dudes are some of the softest shoes I have ever worn,” Hall said. “They have a good structure to them, and I can wear them in any situation. Ever since I saw them on Instagram, I was hooked.”

Hall believes the craze for Hey Dudes began on Instagram and eventually made its way on TikTok to attract a larger audience. Hall has approximately 18 pairs of Hey Dudes with different styles and colors. 

“I like having more than one pair because then I am able to wear them continuously and add a little splash of a difference between what I wear,” Hall said. “Wearing different colored Dudes and having their own style pattern is a cool way for me to tie them into clothing. I just really like having many pairs to choose from.”

Just like Hall having multiple pairs of the same shoes, junior Samantha Pressnell owns five pairs of boots. 

“Boots are the one item I can’t say no to buying,” Pressnell said. “I know they are expensive, but I use each pair for different reasons. It gives me more options to choose from, and I love having multiple pairs.”

Pressnell uses her boots for different reasons like going to a rodeo, working in a pasture, hunting and just having a nice pair of boots to wear for special occasions. To Pressnell, boots are a prized possession item that shows how hard she has worked for her boots.

“Boots are very expensive and can even be priced around $200,” Pressnell said. “Being a high schooler, you don’t get to work as much because of school, so when I do work, my money goes towards a reward for myself. Each time I do good in school, I reward myself, which makes me work harder in school.”

While Pressnell works for her shoes, sophomore Emily Wells receives many pairs of Crocs from her family as gifts. With the shoes, she also receives Jibbitz–Croc charms– for them as well. 

“My family knows I wear Crocs almost every single day,” Wells said. “With that being said, I get them for birthdays, holidays and whenever I buy them as well. I have many different colored pairs, but my favorite would have to be the blue or white ones because they are simple but still cute.”

Wells feels that Crocs are very comfortable, and they are a reliable shoe when you need them.

“Crocs are great because they are made out of a strong, stretchy resin that stays intact,” Wells said. “You can wear them any type of day, and it is really hard to damage them unless it is intentional. Wearing crocs also matches with any outfit usually, too.”

Shoes show different personalities in each person and give them their own sense of style. Having many different styles and selections of shoes gives a wider variety of how one can express themselves.