Every other pop tart or starlet on the tabloid radar had stylists dictating their dress. The Olsens did it on their own, creating trends that boomeranged from the red carpet to every dime store from Namibia to Tanzania. Credit Mary-Kate for fine-tuning the boho bag lady trend that had even the most preppy of actresses shirking crisp blouses and pants in favor of floor-sweeping skirts and layers of mismatched sweaters and tanks. When they turned 18, the twins made another mark on the fashion scene – this time taking over billion-dollar company Dualstar, which handles Mary-Kate and Ashley fashion and makeup lines as well as their straight-to-video films.
Designers have been taking note of this so-far-untapped market (at least in the higher price point division), making junior lines that reflect the label’s direction but in a much more wearable, much younger style. Marc Jacobs has Little Marc, while downtown darling Heatherette, a New York-based label that considers trannie Amanda Lepore one of their biggest fans, is coming out with their own line for tweens.
The power, it seems, is with the tweens – kids aged eight to 14 who have their parents’ spending money in one hand and unadulterated shopping needs in the other. The Olsens are responsible for shedding light on a niche market that has every ad exec and brand manager hopping to the mall in an attempt to discover what makes these kids tick.
The thing of it is – these kids don’t want to dress like, well, kids. None of that froufrou communion wear. Although with the advent of girly collections from such stalwarts as Chloe, Calvin Klein and Behnaz Sarafpour, who’ve been sending out a series of frothy confections, that might change.
Tweens have a more playful sense of fashion, compared to say teens 15 and up, one that touches on all the current trends – as Lindsay Lohan and her ilk have repeated far too many times – like leggings, wedge or platform peep-toe sandals, and a range of mini dresses that channel different eras, from prom circa ‘50s to Studio 54.
In the case of Teen Vogue readers, many of which clock in at 12 to 15 years old, it’s transforming the looks in vogue – so to speak – and making it their own. The magazine’s youthful style is the spirit that many tween sartorialists aspire to. Drawing inspiration from runway reviews (Teen Vogue typically has a fashion editorial featuring one straight-off-the-runway look versus their take), they play it up by adding on kitschy colorful accessories and tone it down by layering a T-shirt underneath.
Tweens have it good these days in that they don’t have to answer to anyone – fashion-wise that is. There’s no risk of getting fired or being told off for dressing inappropriately. In the stage where kids are in the middle of defining their identities in the first flush of adolescence, tweens have license to experiment, to dress outrageously without batting an eyelash, to layer underwear over outerwear in the name of experimental fashion.
But today’s tweens are much more conservative. In that prehistoric era before flip-flops and jeans became the uniform – my younger sister flippantly refers to this decade, my childhood, as the ‘80s – dresses were considered casual wear. Hence, my childhood photos were peppered with my chic attempts at dressing up: a colorful dress paired with my mother’s pumps, a fringed vest over an art-deco print top, my friend’s sister’s bra layered over a lacey blouse and skirt. The fashion police may call it overdone but, hey, it was the ‘80s. Socks with pumps were the order of the day.
Before they turn into well-dressed androids who slavishly look to magazines for what’s deemed wearable this season, tweens get to play with fashion. They can rip a shirt to shreds and pair them with cords and boots. Or they can go in a totally different direction and dress up for high tea. And if the results are less visually charming than expected, who cares? At least, they look interesting.
Even Fendi matriarch Sylvia Fendi agrees. "If you’re an interesting person and you have on awful clothes," she says matter-of-factly, "well, you’re interesting anyway."
Age: 13
Personal style: Sporty with a touch of SoCal style
What can’t you live without? Friends, family, sports, TV, my guitar and music because without these things my life would be boring.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Rich, successful and happy.
What do you usually wear? Jeans or capri pants and a tank top or T-shirt.
What’s the best thing about being a tween? Meeting new people, facing new challenges and just being with friends and loved ones. And you can go out without a chaperone.
Age: 13
Personal style: I’m sort of in the middle of girly and sporty, I’m actually fine with both!
What can’t you live without? My friends and family because they’re the people I can count on and who I know will always be there.
Who do you look up to? My mom because of all the great things she was able to accomplish.
Where do you shop? I usually do lots of shopping when I’m out of the country, like in Bangkok. Most of my clothes are from there.
Age: 11
Personal style: Nouveau boho
Who do you look up to? My mom because she’s a great mom and role model.
What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be an actor and singer so I can use my God-given talents.
What kind of clothes do you like to wear? I like to wear long skirts and T-shirts because they’re comfortable and stylish at the same time.
Favorite actor? Emma Watson because she’s a good actor.