Vans at Aldo?

So, I seem to find myself in the midst of consumerism on a weekly basis. Even with all the time and focus on practices like the Compact Challenge, I still find it difficult to resist acquiring new clothes to follow trends. Unfortunately, in spite of my hypocrisy and lack of better self control, I still went ahead and did my shopping.

Although I may not be living consistently with the demands and limitations of the Compact Challenge, I cannot say that I am neglecting its impacts on my life entirely. For example, as I narrow-mindedly continued onto my pursuit of finding a new pair of shoes this weekend, I found myself looking at brands that are not as common for that particular style but at a much more affordable cost. Vans for instance, have for a while been a trademark for their lace-up flat sneakers. Although plenty of other companies have replicated the designs to a certain extent for less, people continually purchase from Vans at a higher cost simply because it holds a status symbol that is desirable in popular culture (D.C., 2005). But rather than trapping myself in the same situation as many other consumers, I went over to Aldo and found another pair of similar designed shoes for $30 on sale - significantly less than some of the simpler designs available at Vans. Although Vans may have originated the design and Aldo replicating their design is in some sense a form of knockoffs (Decker, 2004), the fact that Vans have significantly overpriced their products for a simple design even at such high demand turned me off from their products and the consumption of their business.

I cannot say that I am abiding by every aspect of the Compact Challenge, let alone listening to a lot of it at all. But I can say that since the first mention of the Compact Challenge along with these weekly blogs that are part of our requirements in this course, it has in some way or another impacted my perception of my consumption habits and made me more conscious of how my money is being used.


Hugo Da Rosa - Blog #4
Source: Hans D.C. "Sneaker Freaker"
Melissa A. Decker. “”Knockouts of Knockoffs:” the Global Implication of Fashion Piracy.” Class Reader.
Image Sources: http://www.bmx-force.com/images/vans_era_black.jpg
http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/men/shoes/casual-sport/72761941-duhan/34