We are what we Eat

This field is a broad one - affecting the lives of nearly everyone in the world at all times - and so is almost impossible to address in its entirety. However, we may understand the whole by looking at a part of it, using one set of fashion choices as a metonym for the entire process by which we attempt to integrate who we are by what we buy. Thus this paper focuses on the company Vans, one of those fashion marks that its wearers have turned into a central marker of their identity, their sense of being in the world.

In the arena of youth fashion in which Vans operates, producing shoes as well a clothes for the segment of the youth market that associates itself with skateboarding, being the "in" label is the most important thing. It is the most important thing for the company but it is also the most important thing for those who wear Vans products.

. . .
other, larger shoe companies. Given that consumers do recognize real differences among shoe brands, Vans must use this fact to its advantage. This would not be the case if shoes were an item in a market in which all of the products in that market were regarded by consumers as identical (or at least nearly identical) to each other. For example, think of how different the situation would be if Vans were selling not athletic shoes (to which people attribute a great deal of personal identification) but athletic socks. No one bases their identity on what kind of socks they wear to the gym (although some star athletes may well get paid to wear and promote one brand of socks over another). If Vans were selling socks rather than shoes, it would have to pick a very different marketing strategy. And a different marketing strategy on the part of a company would create a different kind of consumer seeking a different kind of identity. It is important, albeit obvious, to emphasize the fact that in choosing one particular kind of fashion item (the Vans shoe, for example) consumers are quite often not simply choosing a particular identity (in this case an identification with a segment of youth culture that is very much uninterested in growing u
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
, Geoff Rowley, SENT Vans, Mike Tiger, Adidas Nike's, Times Ridgemont, Schoolchildren Mike, Company Retrieved, athletic shoes, Mike Vans, Representative Interview, company vans, shoes mike, shoes item, creation identity, fashion choices, involved creation, star athletes, sense identity, segment youth,
Approximate Word count = 1919
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

More Essays on We are what we Eat