It’s About Dressing Like the Big Kids

If you have visions of little girls marching back to school in demure jumpers and crisp white blouses, get real. Unless they’re forced to wear a uniform, many girls have something altogether different in mind.

They want to make a fashion statement, even starting at age 4. Inspired more by the English pop group Spice Girls than by the immortal French schoolgirl-turned-movie star Madeline, many will be baring their tummies in tight crop tops and not baring their knees in ankle-length skirts that rest on their hips. On their feet will go some sort of seriously clunky platform shoe.

What happened to little girls who look like, well, little girls? Many people in the business of dressing kids say that, first and foremost, children want to dress like the older kids.

“It’s very much about big sister,” says June Rau, Nordstrom’s fashion director for California and Arizona.

“We’re right in line with the junior customer,” says Ellen Shamaskin, divisional merchandise manager for children at Macy’s West. Translation: Girls younger than 12 and teenagers will be shopping for pretty much the same styles, except that the smaller versions aren’t meant to be sexy.

At the top of many wish lists will be skirts falling between knee length and floor length, some gathered with drawstrings at the hip and worn low enough to show a bit of belly. Other essentials continue to include capris, crop tops, sheer shirts layered over camisoles, and sweater sets.

“It’s not about buying a matching outfit like when we went back to school. It’s just cool, great pieces very thrown together. They’re creating a style all their own,” Rau says. “That’s what the Spice Girls do, mix great pieces together in almost an unexpected way.”

To accomplish that, few girls will be without the all-important flared pant.

“Everything is getting wider and wider,” says Shamaskin of Macy’s West.

Indeed, flares are even wider than they were last year, some as wide as 22 inches--that’s bigger than most kids’ waists. Many of these pants are made of denim and embellished with embroidery, a different fabric set inside the flares, cargo pockets or side taping.

This fall, cargo pants pockets on shorts and pants are an important detail for boys, as is anything surf- or skateboard-related.

Whatever you want to call it, there’s no question that the active, action or athletic movement is propelling clothing sales in both girls’ and boys’ departments. Anything with side stripes is hip. That’s because Adidas is hip, and side stripes are the Adidas signature.

“Action gear is driven by Adidas now,” says Milinda Martin, a spokeswoman for Robinsons-May. “In the last year, Adidas has taken over as a trend leader from Nike.”

So stripes, be they solid, printed with an ethnic pattern or made of a fabric that glows in the dark, are appearing on the sides of legs, down arms and across chests on garments such as micro-fiber hooded tops, polyester tank tops and nylon warmup pants.

And for romantics? Don’t despair.. At Robinsons-May, what they’re calling “the ‘Titanic’ look” for girls--tea-length dresses with touches of lace or embroidery--is still going strong.