Students trudge down the halls in their white canvas Vans, holding their Hydroflasks and Vera Bradley lunch boxes, with North Face bookbags strapped on their backs.

Following trends is often a part of being in high school. Some may participate in the trends to fit in, while others purposefully don’t follow them because they want to be unique. At Wahlert, there is a little bit of both.

One of the biggest trends at Wahlert is the shoe brand Vans. There are multiple different styles of the shoe, and almost everyone can be seen wearing them. For instance, Anna Slaght, ‘21, wears yellow checkered Vans everyday.

“I remember seeing them on a classmate, and I thought they looked really cool,” Slaght admits. “So I got a pair for Christmas, and they are one of my favorite shoes.. After I started wearing them, I noticed lots of other students wearing Vans. That’s when I realized they were so popular.”

Some trends can become a little expensive and outrageous for teenagers. “The Fjallraven Kanken bags, a Swedish brand of backpacks, are a little crazy for students to have. I still want one, but for a teenager, they are not necessary,” Slaght continued.

Some other trends include the water bottle brand Hydroflask and the backpack brand North Face. But some students don’t even realize that these things are trends until they look around.

“I got my Hydroflask as a present, so I didn’t get it for any reason. But after I took it to school, I started to notice other students carrying them, too,” said Eric Cerda, ‘20.

Similar to Cerda, Will Poppe, ‘22, realized after his purchase how popular some brands are at Wahlert.

“After I got my North Face backpack, I saw a lot of them in the halls when I would walk to my classes. I didn’t realize how popular they were for high school students.”

Ava Gebhart, ‘21, has a different reason for getting her popular lunch bag from Vera Bradley.

“I saw a lot of people carrying them last year, and since I needed a new lunch bag, I decided to get one.” From shoes to water bottles, trends are taking over Wahlert. Some may participate for the need to fit in, others simply do it by accident. But trends come in waves, so be ready for the next one to hit Wahlert.