My 13-year-old daughter has informed me
that my opinion concerning teen couture is irrelevant.
I’m not enrolled in middle school and, according to Anya, I don’t
have a clue how teenagers should dress. She attends the Museum
School, a junior high in Manhattan. As in most middle schools,
what one wears is an indicator of the clique that child belongs
to and whether he or she is "cool."
Wearing clothing deemed "not cool" can turn a once
popular kid into a social pariah.
Last year, hoping to save some cash and still dress her fashionably,
we went to Old Navy where she stocked up on T-shirts, jeans,
sweaters and a backpack. The next day she marched off, dressed
in her new gear only to be dubbed "Miss Old Navy,"
a name she endured for months.
I spoke with Anya and her friends Annie and Katie Appleman, 13-year-old
twins who live in Park Slope, about their wardrobe choices for
fall. Annie attends the Churchill School in Manhattan; Katie
will enter the eighth grade in Park Slope’s Middle School 51.
Anya, Katie and Annie fall into the "tween" (8- to
13-year-old) classification that, after the red-hot infant market,
is the fastest-growing area of the children’s wear industry.
Manufacturers and retailers have begun catering to this opinionated
group who, with the help of their parents’ charge cards, hold
plenty of buying clout.
The girls had definite ideas about updating their look come September.
"Since I’m going into the eighth grade," Anya said,
"I want a bold, new look." Tentatively scheduled for
her first day’s appearance, is a psychedelically colored, striped,
knit vest with a handprint on the chest, worn over a white T-shirt
and jeans. Her shoes are still open to debate.
The girls favor 4playbk, a shop on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope
that caters to women in their teens to early 30s.
"They [tween girls] come in with their friends, look around,
then come back with their mothers," said owner Laura Kleinman.
She deems the term back-to-school "suburban," akin
to the shopping done in malls, not the esoteric, small boutiques
to which Brooklyn kids have access.
Kleinman’s tween customers buy lightly before school begins,
making the bulk of their purchases after the beginning of the
semester.
"It’s important for them to see what others are wearing,"
she explained.
What will the girls be wearing? T-shirts. And they’re specific
about the styles. Anya’s first choice is the faded T-shirt printed
with Swee’ Pea, the infant from the "Popeye" cartoons
because, "The baby is so cute!"
Kleinman cited cartoon images like My Little Pony, Oscar the
Grouch and Emily – a cartoon character who serves as a child’s
negative alter ego (her motto is "seeing is deceiving")
with her own Web site, www.EmilyStrange.com – as big sellers.
"Everyone tries to find a shirt that will make their friends
say, ’Oh my gosh, I want that shirt!’" said Katie.
Kleinman agrees. "T-shirts are the number one item in my
store," she says.
The perfect jeans to wear with T-shirts were discussed at length.
Anya likes boot-cut, low-rise styles from Old Navy that she’ll
mix with items from other stores. (No more Miss Old Navy.) Petite
Katie prefers the slim-cut jeans from Limited Too that fit her
snuggly.
Annie also likes Limited Too’s styles because, "They just
fit right." No mention was made of the looser, big-pocketed
cargo pants that are selling briskly at 4playbk.
While mothers usually frown on 13-year-olds wearing makeup, the
girls agreed that no-color lip-gloss with a glittery sheen is
OK for school. (This mother concurs.) And for special occasions,
sparkly eye shadow in very pale tones makes them feel pretty.
Younger children I spoke to had little to say.
Five-year-old Claudia Mallea, who lives in Windsor Terrace and
attends the Children’s School, in Carroll Gardens, said she didn’t
"have the slightest idea" what to wear to school, but
likes the white tutu from ballet class, and her 9-year-old sister
Cara’s green, terrycloth pajamas.
Cara, while technically a tween, sticks to stretch pants and
T-shirts.
"It’s all about comfort," said Tamara Ehlin, their
mother. "They’re not into fashion yet."
To see if the Mallea girls represent the younger set, I called
Bridget Williams, the proprietor of Hot Toddie, a children’s
boutique in Fort Greene.
"They shop with their parents," Williams said of her
infant to 7-year-old customers, "but they have opinions,"
she added. Williams’ customers love Little Pack Rats "cute,
funny" backpacks appliqued with zebras, lion heads and butterflies.
Like Kleinman, T-shirts in Williams’ store are "blowing
out the door." Her customers favor tops printed with the
word "Brooklyn," or vintage-style looks that say, "Breuckelen"
(the Dutch spelling of Brooklyn, that means "broken land").
I looked at my daughter before she left for camp a few weeks
ago. She was wearing lip-gloss and eye shadow that she hoped
I wouldn’t notice. Her T-shirt, printed with a faded Bambi, exposed
a couple of inches of skin above her low-cut jeans. I wondered
if her outfit was more revealing than the Land Lubber’s and the
belly-baring shirts I wore at her age. I realized that in the
years since I was 13, tween dressing has come full circle.
Her look was no worse than mine had been; it was identical.
4playbk (360 Seventh Ave. between 10th and 11th streets in Park
Slope) accepts Visa, MasterCard and American Express. For information,
call (718) 369-4086.
Hot Toddie (741 Fulton St. between South Portland Street and
South Elliott Place in Fort Greene) accepts Visa, MasterCard,
American Express, Diner’s Club and Discover. For information,
call (718) 858-7292.
