Online Only: Facing the North Face

About this time every year, I notice nearly every student is wearing the exact same thing. No, not Ugg boots (because it's usually just the female students who wear those). I'm talking about jackets and backpacks from The North Face that seem to be worn by nearly all college students, both male and female.\n As a college student who doesn't own anything made by The North Face, I've been confused as to why so many students sport the products. Perhaps The North Face just makes good clothing. Perhaps students at IU feel like they are hiking whenever they have to trek across campus, and that's reason enough to buy clothes from a company that specializes in hiking and skiing gear. Or perhaps everyone in college is struggling to be exactly the same. \nTo further investigate this popular trend, I looked at The North Face's Web site (www.thenorthface.com). After looking through some of its basic apparel, I recognized a few of the backpacks I've seen seemingly thousands of students carrying around campus. I clicked on one called "Terra 40" to see what was so special about it. The first thing I noticed was that it was $99. \nNow, I can understand why students might not want to wear an elementary school backpack that has Superman or Barbie on it, but does that really mean someone needs to spend nearly $100 on something that is only used to carry books (books that are obviously not read by the way)?\nNorth Face backpacks go for as much as $379, which is the price for the "Catalyst 75." For its price, I assumed the inside of the backpack was lined with 24-carat gold. However, that was not mentioned among the Catalyst 75's supercool features. It did have easy-grip zipper pulls, though, which is probably worth $100 right there. As I was browsing through the rest of The North Face's site, I assumed the company's jackets would be more sanely priced. But after just one click, I found out I was wrong. The price range for men's North Face jackets was between $65 and $1,200. That's right: $1,200! (I'm not making this stuff up. If I did, my editors would fire me.) This is for a jacket that is not made of precious metals. In fact, this extravagantly priced "M Bariloche Triclimate Jacket" looks like the love child of a motorcycle jacket and a basic nylon jacket. I suppose it's worth every penny, since it's "the warmest, most waterproof and versatile system jacket available" according to the company's site. \nThe North Face's slogan is "never stop exploring." And perhaps this is appropriate because trendy losers with money to burn never stop exploring how to be just like everybody else. My nonfashionable advice, however, would be to never stop exploring for a great price. Unless you actually are an explorer of some kind -- in that case, kudos to you for your bravery (and for having such a nice backpack).