Every morning when sophomore Kendall McLachlin wakes up for school, she opens her closet door and selects her outfit of the day. Her clothes may be different colors than the day before, and they might be a different style, but one thing always stays the same – her Converse shoes.
She has 19 pairs.
“I think shoes are such a small detail of your outfit, but they really make the whole thing so cohesive,” McLachlin said. “And I think they can really make or break an outfit, depending on if you have the right matching skills, and if you are able to match your outfit. I think it can really change the whole vibe you’re going for.”
McLachlin’s collection first started with her older sister, Maya, who started wearing them for Halloween costumes. Three years ago, McLachlin later joined in on the shoe trend and began collecting her own pairs. Since they have the same shoe size, the sisters share their Converses, with some being as old as 10 years.
“I enjoy sharing my shoes with her,” Maya said. “A lot of my Converse I don’t wear because I’m pretty basic, and I only wear two colors. But Kendall is a little more bold than me, and she just likes to wear all different styles.”
McLachlin’s collection consists of eight pairs of colorful ones – and 11 pairs of neutrals. Despite having more neutrals, McLachlin said she tends to pick the more colorful shoes.
“My favorite pair is probably my pair with the yellow sunflowers on it,” McLachlin said. “They’re definitely the most noticeable through all my pairs, and they’re the most unique. I’ve never seen those anywhere else before.”
McLachlin purchases her shoes at Journeys, or on the online Converse store. She wears them every day at school unless she has an extracurricular reason, such as the varsity drill team.
“That’s the one thing. They’re not super expensive shoes, and they last,” McLachlin said. “So I think it’s a reasonable thing to be able to build up over time.”
McLachlin said that her shoe collection also allows her to express herself even with the dress code enforced here. Yet, others who choose to convey their personality in the style of various clothes say they feel restricted by it.
“I think everyone should be able to have their own judgment of what they think is appropriate,” McLachlin said. “And some things, yes, are not appropriate to wear at school, but as long as you’re covering what you need to, I think most things should be acceptable.”
However, even with the dress code, other students still see and appreciate McLachlin’s fashion style.
“I’ve known Kendall for a few years, and I’ve always noticed her shoes are one of the best parts of her outfit, and they always manage to tie it together,” sophomore Presley Smith said. “And then when she started wearing them every day, and I got to see how many she had, and then finding that she had 19 was really cool. (It was) just another aspect of her, and it made me love her even more.”
While 19 might seem like a lot, it’s only the beginning. McLachlin said she plans on growing her Converse collection for many more years to come.
“I love fashion because I think that it’s a way to express yourself without even talking,” McLachlin said. “I think it makes you feel confident, too, when you’re confident about yourself.”
