As an arts and entertainment reporter, I like to think that I know what’s hip and cool with all of the kids these days. I watch the movies about the teen stars, read the gossip pages, and force myself listen to top 40 music. However, there is one segment of pop culture where I am consistently far out of the loop.

Shoes.

Unfortunately, in recent days, the state of my current pair was becoming a bit too ragged to ignore. Though they started off white, they were now the color of cardboard and had about the same inability to keep in heat and keep out water. It was apparent that I was going to have to do my best Liam Kyle Sullivan impression and go get some shoes.

The first step of buying shoes is obviously knowing where to get them. However, the last time I needed a pair was for basketball tryouts freshman year in high school, so the young adult section of Target was definitely out.

Luckily, a  friend of mine was able to point me in the direction of Journeys. I suppose recommending a shoe store that can be found in just about every shopping mall in North America costs me some indie cred. However, you don’t always need your shoes to vibrantly display your anti-mainstream sentiments. Sometimes, you just need a solid fitting shoe with some style at a reasonable price.

For that, Journeys is absolutely footwear Valhalla.

Walking into the little shop at Brookfield’s Mayfair Mall, I found a wide variety of intriguing brands. Each type of shoe, ranging from classy Sperry to more flamboyant Osiris, had something interesting about them that I had to consider. Except for Crocs, of course.

The important thing, though, was that they had some classic Chuck Taylors. Journeys had all of the basic colors and styles for a shoe rookie’s first time. Obviously, if one wants a more customized pair, there’s the Converse site. It’s admittedly cool, but waiting almost a month for a pair of shoes seems a bit excessive.

The big surprise was the price. The pair of Chucks I found were only about $40, and the friendly staff informed me that a second pair would come with ten dollars off. I was used to shoes costing a lot more, so I was admittedly enamored with the prospect of savings. Therefore, I snagged a pair of PF Flyers — mainly so I could have flashbacks to ‘The Sandlot” ringing in my head every time I put them on

In total, the two pairs of shoes were a combined $80. The experience of finally having some respectable shoes to wear: priceless.