Plaids And Patterns For Puberty Set
OK, moms and dads, soon the kids will be back in school. (In some parts of the country they're back already.)
No doubt you'll say you try to resist allowing your children to be fashion slaves. But, realistically, if you're going to shell out the big bucks to buy them clothes, you want the kids to wear them at least.
CBS News Correspondent Cathy Moss reports from a New Jersey mall on that annual frenzy: back-to-school shopping.
"You got to go with the designers. So he wants what he wants. Oh, of course, and if you don't get it, forget it. They won't wear it," says Brenda Zipkin of New York who was shopping for her two sons.
"But dressing your kid can really add up," says Seventeen magazine senior editor Melanie Mannarino. "(Sneakers) can even cost as much as $100 or more. Then throw in jeans and jackets and the cost can go higher. That's why you can copy the look and then buy discount."
Mannarino says there's a lot to choose from this year:
"The looks out there this year are not minimal looks. They're textures, patterns, stripes, plaids, prints, leather; leather is pretty big," says Mannarino. "And color."
And she says that teens and even pre-teens love the look of pop stars Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears.
Sixth-grade New Yorker Sarah Schissel and her friends are into pleather (plastic leather) and python (fake python) for pants, jackets, belts and other accessories. Her mother told CBS.com's Justine Blau that the girls are also wearing gold hoop earings and "jeweled stick-on tatoos on their belly buttons, ankles, arms. They come in all colors and shapes; little rhinestone diamonds, stars, dogs, peace signs and hearts. Very beautiful."
At the same time, high school students' political awareness is reflected in their clothes: labels are OUT.
It's a status symbol to have no labels showing whatsoever, so that you're not supporting corporate greed, consumerism, and free advertising.
High school junior Jeff Toll of Los Angeles reports that "bleached blond tips on your hair is out and dying your hair black or black-blue is in."
Here are other back-to-school fads that CBS.com culled from trend-setting kids nationwide:
- Abercrombie & Fitch is in. (The Gap is out.)
- Nike's Presto sneakers are hot.
- Shoulder harness book bags are popular as an alternative to backpacks.
- Go for plaid, flared jeans.
- Scooters are still in.
- NSYNC, clogs, capris and anything Burberry are still in.