(June 15, 2005) -- Remember this shoe? That’s right, it’s the Puma California, and back when we were but freshmen or sophomores, these kicks were flying off the shelves and were all over Clark’s polished hallways. Trends have come and gone, changing what we wear to cover our little toes.

”I remember back in the day when Air Force Ones were popular,” said senior Peter Lee. At the time he recalls that he bought a pair of high top Air Forces for about eighty dollars. Aside from the ease of matching white shoes with anything, Lee said “they were really popular because rappers at the time used to advocate the shoe, like Nelly having a whole song about it.”

Owning a shoe store in Los Angeles, senior Paul Kim remembers what students were all trying to get their hangs on back then. “Nike Cortezes were really popular too. They were sleek, simple and were good with khakis or jeans. White ones were most common so they got dirty quick.” Another shoe that was hot back then were the Converse Weapons, which “looked like Air Forces but were slightly cheaper,” said Kim.

Melissa Dacher recalls a lot of people wearing Adidas when she was an underclassman. “I think they were called the Superstars. They were low tops, the front looked like a clam, and there were three stripes on the sides of the shoe.” Adidas Superstars were both popular for both guys and girls, but “they became really cheesy when they started coming out with different colored stripes on the side,” said Dacher.

To top off the last four years in shoe fashion, there was the infamous Kobe 2’s, which Harish Venkitaramanan proudly owned. “They cost me a pretty penny,” Venkitaramanan said, as he remembers paying a hundred twenty for them. “They were the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned in my life, no matter how they looked.” Not everyone could see the beauty in them though. “They were like space boots from the future,” said Kim. “Those Kobes seemed radiate their own light.”

We may have changed what goes on our feet in the past few years, whether it was for style or comfort. Who knows what shoes will be on everyone’s wish list once we start college? Maybe light-up LA Gear shoes will make a comeback.