When shopping at the mall, one may hear teens begging their parents, claiming they “need” to purchase the latest style of expensive shoes or jeans. Some teens pursue expensive name brands simply for the high status they think $200 jeans will provide.

Compared to Lucky brand jeans, which cost around $140, a pair of jeans that can be purchased at Old Navy, costing around $30, are considered cheap. How do designer jeans differ from a more affordable pair?

“Other than label and the design on the butt pocket, I don’t think there is a difference,” Kelsey Gunner, ’11, said. “If I was given $200, I would rather buy several pairs of jeans, instead of one expensive pair.”

However, the average shopper’s desires and the latest trends are sometimes necessities. Though many consider top brand products a luxury, others depend on them to create clothes available to their body’s requirements.

Ricky Lopez, ’11, was born with Spastic Diplegia, a form of Cerebral Palsy that affects the lower half of the body, including the legs and feet. While some opt to buy expensive shoes simply for luxury’s sake, his condition requires him to purchase particular brands of shoes that allow him to stand and walk comfortably throughout the day.

“I developed CP when I was two years old,” Lopez said. “I had pigeon toes in kindergarten, so my parents had to start buying shoes that helped my feet as well as my posture. I buy the Nike or Shaq brand of shoe online, and they cost around $60-$100.”

Fortunately, Lopez’s parents have contributed the money needed to fulfill his shoe needs.

“My parents have never had a problem buying things that I need even if they are expensive,” Lopez said. “I am sure that sometimes they are unaffordable, but they know I need them. It was also very difficult to find the right shoes when I was younger because I need high top tennis shoes, and they were hard to find back then. My parents never stopped looking, though.”

Lopez’s friend Clark Jacobson, ’10, also purchases shoes online due to his large shoe size, which is not sold in local footwear stores.

“I have to buy shoes online because I wear a size 15 shoe,” Jacobson said. “It has always been difficult finding that large of a shoe in normal stores. In 6th grade, I wore size 12 shoe, and in 8th grade, size 14. I buy the Adidas brand, which cost around $60.”

Due to Fresno’s lack of shopping options, Jacobson and other students must look beyond Fashion Fair Mall and River Park to find clothes that fit.

“It’s really hard to find jeans because most stores don’t make really skinny jeans,” Alyssa Powell, commonly called ‘Shorty’ because of her small stature,’10, said. “I buy most of them out of town, like in Tahoe, because they sell the really small sizes that I need. Most of my jeans are the brand CO2 Jeans [Limited] and they cost around $50-$60.”

Despite the specific needs required by certain body types, designer brands are often only a luxury item, despite their commonly over-priced merchandise.

“My favorite brands are Louis Vuitton, Betsey Johnson and Juicy Couture,” Kory Thompson, ’11, said. “My favorite designer items are purses; they are really big so I can fit a lot in them. I think that designer products last longer and they are cuter, so it’s worth all the money.”

For more information on, visit Cydney Curtis’ Dec. 11 article, Young designer sketches fashion.