PARKE: The brand we love to love...or love to hate?
- Paige Venable
- Oct 31
- 3 min read
Rowdy staff share their thoughts on the Internet's most controversial crewneck
By: Paige Venable
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ve heard of the social media brand that took Instagram and TikTok by storm–Parke. Parke was founded by Chelsea Parke Goles back in 2022. Although the company started off with selling solely denim pieces, Parke launched their first “mockneck” in 2023, which quickly became a fan favorite.
In just three years, the company has had various successful launches, with more recent ones selling out almost immediately. Some of Parke’s 2025 collections were Summerland, Coastal, and Bridal. While each of these drops have different color palettes, the items released are typically similar. For instance, the brand usually releases mocknecks, shirts, sweatpants, shorts, claw clips, and more.
The most unique thing about Parke is the way that they creatively market the brand. Forbes labeled the approach as “transparent marketing” as Chelsea strives to remind supporters of her personal connection to the brand while encompassing all aspects of running a business. In the article, it highlights how she has been committed to sharing with her supporters her successes as well as the obstacles, as each day is different.
She told Forbes, “I truly believe that transparency is key to building a strong brand, in any sense.” This approach has seemed to become increasingly popular, especially with female-owned businesses, and has proven to be extremely successful.
Despite how many people have expressed their love for the popular pieces online, there are several individuals who argue whether the brand is truly worth the hype.
Given that a large percentage of Parke’s target audience is college students, I wanted to know how other individuals my age feel about the brand. So, I reached out to my fellow Rowdy staff members to see what their thoughts were.
When asked if they had ever considered buying one of the pieces, the majority of the staff said that they hadn’t. The main determining factors amongst respondents were the price, the high potential of it going out of style, and the fact that it seems to be just another trend that individuals feed into.
One writer wrote, “I think that the price that they ask for, just to receive a sweatshirt that simply says someone’s last name is a little absurd. The colors are nice and it’s cool that they have things like matching hair clips, but I can’t get over the price.”
Another staff member mentioned, “Their stuff is cute but extremely overpriced and overhyped for what it is. I could find their pieces anywhere else - the only thing setting them apart is the name.”
Did our Rowdy staff lie? I don’t think so…
While each item is priced differently, the number that usually leaves people speechless is the baseline price of $130 for a crewneck…and $100 for sweatpants.
Given the questionable pricing of the crewnecks, amongst other items, I asked how much do you think the mocknecks are actually worth? The options were $25-50, $50-$75, $75-$100, and $130.To no surprise, not a single individual voted that $130 is appropriate for a crewneck. Rather, 60% voted for $50-$75, 20% voted for $25-$50, and 20% voted for $75-$100.
However, despite the jarring prices of the pieces, numerous individuals are willing to pay the price. So, what makes them so popular?
One Rowdy staff member said, “It’s become a signal of high-class (like Aviator Nation). People like it because it makes them look wealthy/fit in with wealthy people.”
Another wrote, “Branding and marketing by the founder, the fact that it went viral on TikTok, their curated collections, it’s not too expensive to feel unaffordable, just enough to feel like a luxury upgrade to your normal sweatshirts.”
Whether you love or hate the brand, you have to give Chelsea Parke Goles some credit for how her items became an overnight sensation. Parke has only been around for slightly over three years and made $16 million in revenue in 2024 alone. It’s evident that Parke is very in tune with its target audience and strives to give them what they want…at a very steep price.
Overall, the brand’s overnight success continues to amaze several individuals and I’m eager to see whether it will continue to thrive or eventually go out of style. Only time will tell…
Paige Venable is a junior studying accounting with a minor in public relations. When she’s not busy with school work, she loves rewatching her favorite tv shows, online shopping, and going on walks!
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