"That is so over!"

A little clip from one of our new shows, "Portlandia". Too funny and so true about fads and hipsters. 

       Mel and I have a friend who works at a very well-known outfitting store and one of his many tasks is to follow clothing trends among different age groups. I haven't spoken to him in a couple of years, but I used to really like hearing his observations about trends he saw among differing age groups and what you could tell about the life expectancy of certain clothing fads or the life expectancy of certain clothing brands. After hearing his observations, I used to love to test them out to see if he was right, by watching all the students at the schools I have taught at to see if he was correct. And a good majority of the times, he was very correct. A school is a great place to do these observations because in a single day you can see the whole family spectrum and observe what they are wearing and listen to what they are raving about. I am not talking about doing so in a "creepy, yellow-tinted glasses, guy sitting by himself away from everyone" kind of way, but more of the just listening to people to talk around you. 

   One of his constant observations was that trends begin in the age demographic of 18-25. If this age group can be talked into sporting a certain look, then a company has "punched their ticket" as far as success goes. This is why most models are this age. And then their "trend" of the moment goes briefly upwards into the 26-30 bracket, but then moves over a slow period of time into the 17-13 bracket. This may sound like a little hypothesis where you don't really think I nor my friend really know what we're talking about at all, but test it yourself and let me know what you see. And my friend, Mark, says that once you see the brand hit lower middle school and start going to the elementary age groups and you also see those same brands on the 36-45 crowd, the death knell for the company is being loudly sounded. A few companies have survived this by hitting that first crowd hard again (Nike), but the list for doing so is short. 

    I will give a short example. In 2004, I purchased my first pair of Chaco sandals from an online store and I paid $25 for them. I got my first teaching job in 2005 and on several occasions would where them to school and the students, middle & high schoolers, would lose it and call them my "Jesus" shoes and other well-crafted names. I am in no way saying I started the trend because thousands of other people where already wearing them and I bought them because the place I had gotten a job at was full of those super-cool guys between 18-25 who were already wearing them. I would take the teasing and move on.  After all the kids teasing me lived at home, had a bed time, and wore braces. And the sandals are comfortable and last like no other shoe I've ever had. Flash forward nine years and I heard two 7th graders talking about how cool Chacos were and how they'd gotten a pair on sale for $75. And on Saturday, FH and I were at a bike store that was selling them for $35. I won't say the time for Chacos has come to an end, but they are nearing an end of some sort. I hope not because Mel and I are still sporting them like there's no tomorrow and they are one of the best companies we've dealt with, but once an 11 year old is sporting them into Pre-Algebra class, some of the "style" and "cool" points got lost along the way. If this example doesn't make much sense, then insert the infamous, The North Face company instead of Chaco. 10-15 years ago, a very quiet minority owned North Face products and they loved them. Now you can buy North Face products for toddlers at every place that sells clothes and the 18-25 crowd has long moved on to Patagonia and Arc'teryx.

   The reason for this post is to be informative. Here is a little list of brands that I see starting to creep into the middle school vocabulary at my school and am starting to hear little elementary kids talk about. I am merely providing a sort of "public service announcement" for those of you who like to be on the cutting-edge of fashion. 

• The North Face-FH and I saw a Denali jacket for an infant at Dick's last month. TNF is over. 
• Chacos-Every high school and middle school girl has a pair. Chacos, you're so over. 
• Instagram-Each of the 10, 7th grade boys in my 6th Period study hall have an Instagram account. You're over. 
• Facetime-Had a 3rd grader ask me if my phone will do FaceTime. It won't. You're over. 
• Starbucks-Each morning, at least 4-6, 7th graders walk in with the "Bucks". You're over. 
• Toms-They sell them at this baby store in Macon called, The Lollipop Shop. Enough said. You're over. 
• Clark's-Worn by every kid in the middle school at my school and by several of the teachers. You're over. 
• Pinetrest-This is a very popular topic among the 6th & 7th grade girls and boys I coach. They all have accounts. You're over. 
• Facebook-I got a friend request from a 5th grader yesterday. You used to be only for "cool and hip" college kids. Now you're for elementary kids and grandparents. You're over! 
• meme's-Elementary kids have, make em', and put them in their cubbies. You're over. 
• Fixed gear bikes-They sell them at Target and Wal-Mart. You're over. 
• Kavu-Each of the middle schoolers in my study hall have a Kavu something. You're over.

    I guess as you can see, you'd better get busy finding the next big thing. Let me know. I am still wearing the clothes I wore in high school and waiting for plaid, khakis, and bow ties to make a come back. I don't really need to be cool anymore. No matter what, I am a science teacher and I've got to keep my street cred up by being the nerdiest guy on the block. And from the things my kids tell me, it seems to come natural! 

Happy reading, 

    David