School Fashion Follies: Diagnosing teen dysfunction
Updated: 4 hours ago
This story has received an SPJ award and was previously published in Today Magazine, our monthly publication
By Shayaan Khan — Special to Today Magazine
• Editor’s Note — When this story was first published, Shayaan was in 8th grade at Henry James Memorial School in Simsbury — he is now a freshman at Simsbury High — he has contributed other stories to Today Magazine and Today Online, including two cogent articles about his experience of COVID as a fourth-grader and a fifth-grader
• In this article, he chronicles his middle-school journey vis-à-vis a problematic school issue — brand obsession
SEO keyword: School Fashion Follies
SEO keyword: School Fashion Follies
Starting a new school year and entering sixth grade, I was unsure about how I would fit in — a reasonable worry for most students. The previous school year we did distance learning because of the COVID pandemic, so we could not continue our companionship with most of our friends from fourth grade. However, fifth grade was fun and I enjoyed it.
On the first day of sixth grade, I made friends with relative ease, as someone I had known previously was in my class. He had two other friends, and I became the fourth member of this friend group.
As time went on, however, a few kids started asserting their dominance in the class. They would do everything in their power to demean everyone else, and one of my friends became a close friend with one of the bossy kids.
They called me a nerd, to which I calmly responded that the dictionary definition of nerd isn’t bad — for example, here is how the Google dictionary defines nerd: “a person who is extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a particular subject, especially one of specialist or niche interest.”
They would also make fun of my Reebok sneakers, which until then I liked. I couldn’t understand their behavior. They would be nice to me, just when they needed my help in class. They would like to throw the work of a group project entirely on me, but when they were playing games during recess and free time, they would quickly exclude me from their activities, just because of my unbranded attire and “uncool personality.”
Throughout seventh grade, I felt sucked into this social queue.
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The preferred sneakers are $100 to $150 — for growing youth, that is an inexplicable amount to pay for a pair of shoes
SEO keyword: School Fashion Follies
Brand obsession is probably the biggest example of the severe herd mentality at school. “If you don’t have branded sneakers, you are not cool” and “Imagine wearing that brand” — these are commonplace clichés at school. To break free of the queue is to become an outcast, a major fear for most people.
The pressure is unfair, as many students ask for Nike, Jordan, Adidas or Under Armour, and the preferred sneakers are $100 to $150. For growing youth, that is an inexplicable amount to pay for a pair of shoes.
After the extreme pressure I had in sixth grade, and with seventh grade being a fresh start, I opted for Under Armour, which was still on the low end but somehow an upgrade from my previous Reeboks.
The reason for brand obsession is rather simple: People, especially youth, see their idols advertising different brands. They want to be like their favorite sportsperson or celebrity and think, “If I buy the brand promoted by this celebrity I admire, I will be more like my idol.”
Now this is perhaps harmless enough — everyone wants to be like their inspiration, but the problem arises when so many people buy that product and believe the brand makes them better and therefore the people who do not have such products are less worthy.
A big example of following the icon is when NBA star Stephen Curry signed a shoe deal with Under Armour. The year he signed the deal, there was a 30% jump in overall profit, and shoe sales went up by 64%.
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We circumscribe our vision and narrow our judgment when we don’t see beyond the sneakers and clothes a student wears
SEO keyword: School Fashion Follies
I am not against expensive sneakers — this is a free-market economy. Manufacturers can keep the prices of their sneakers as high as they want, and the quality and specifications of those products are sometimes better than the average running shoe. They are specified for a certain type of use.
The problem lies in associating social status with brands. I know that people who do not have “branded” wear are often humiliated by their peers. Another thing I find interesting is how people care only if it is branded, but not if it looks good. Kids sometimes choose clothes that are not even their size, just so they can wear their branded clothes longer. It is for sure a sad state to see the obsession.
Commercials often emphasize that gear plays an important part in a star athlete’s success. However, in basketball and in other sports, many legends had a tough childhood where they did not even have their basic necessities fulfilled — never mind being able to afford expensive branded gear.
For example, NBA star LeBron James experienced monetary hardship as a child. Yet he was able to rise and make smart decisions in his life, which has brought him to his current stature.
Another example is Pelé, the soccer legend who sadly passed away in December 2022. As a child, Pelé did not have the proper gear or anything that would assist his skill. In fact, his family was so poor that he used a rolled-up sock as a soccer ball.
People need to understand that schools are for developing and grooming skills, and fashion obsession should not be the priority in a school setting. There is a world of knowledge to explore, and we circumscribe our vision and narrow our judgment when we don’t see beyond the sneakers and clothes a student wears. +
Shayaan Khan resides in Simsbury with his parents, Sana Syed and Anwar Khan — this story won a second-place SPJ award and first appeared in the October 2023 edition of our monthly Today Magazine — Award Story
SEO keyword: School Fashion Follies