Shopping for a Look That Fits
Summer vacation is on its last legs but it’s the Zone at the Glendale Galleria, not the beach, that’s buzzing with teens on a sunny weekday. The perky, pierced, punked-out and prepped set take in all the latest looks for back-to-school but they don’t seem overly impressed. “I don’t like wearing something that’s a major trend,” says Kat Garcia, 17, wearing an Army issue camouflage jacket, a hand-me-down from a sergeant uncle. “Like, it’s really sad to me that plaid and camo are in again, because they used to be my thing.”
At the age when curves appear and voices fall overnight, back-to-school can be a big fashion moment for a teen--the chance to create a new image with (stores hope) new clothes. But back-to-school shopping isn’t what it used to be. “It’s lame,” as Garcia puts it, and not because of economic jitters or the growing number of year-round schools.
Many teens are forgoing the annual end-of-August stock-up, seeking instead an evolving personal look that can be tweaked or revamped at any time of year. So the back-to-school ritual has become something of a game of cat and mouse with seasoned retailers chasing marketing-savvy teens, who eschew the idea that their identities hinge on buying the same shirts as their peers.
Placing a premium on individual style--even if it is bought and sold at the mall--many treat shopping like a year-round sport. “I shop a lot,” said Samantha Anderson, 17, a Burbank High School junior also in the Zone, the Galleria’s teen-oriented shopping area. “As much as I possibly can.” But far from being a fashion slave, she recognizes the number of brands vying for her dollars and knows that if she holds off buying a pair of hip-hugger jeans now, it’s likely to be on sale next month.
In a teen world defined by fast-paced MTV and the Internet, stores are having to turn over merchandise quickly to keep young shoppers engaged. Instead of shipping to stores two to four times a year, apparel companies--particularly junior wear labels--churn out styles every few weeks, translating looks from television and music videos almost instantaneously.
“We are down to biweekly seasons,” said Brandon Holley, editor of the new Elle Girl magazine. “Kids don’t mind wearing a $7 one-shoulder top because they can discard it. And we’re still seeing that in a soft economy.”
To appeal to the fiercely independent, retailers are offering sweater coats, denim miniskirts and shirts with rips, safety pins and details intended to make them look customized. T-shirts, especially those made to look like they could be vintage--the Gap’s reissued logo shirt from the 1980s for example--are also popular.
Searching for individuality amid the merchandising morass, many scour thrift shops, flea markets and even 99 Cent Stores for one-of-a-kind pieces. “They are doing it so that they can have the one belt or bracelet that no one else has--just a hint of individuality,” according to Sharon Lee, co-president of Look-Look, a youth culture research firm based in Hollywood.
Pop stars such as Britney Spears, Pink, Gwen Stefani and Madonna are sources for fashion inspiration because they have looks all their own. “If teens are mimicking anything it’s style as self-expression,” Holley said. Of course, especially where pop stars are concerned, clothes can be skimpy. And this fall, there’s no shortage of the perennial hand-wringing by parents and administrators about saucy dressing.
“School is a place of business and students should come to school dressed like they are coming to work,” said Benjamin Bushman, the principal at Beverly Hills High School, which has a dress code forbidding tops with spaghetti straps and midriff-baring clothing, among other things. “All of the ads showing women’s clothing are showing bare skin. Kids are trying to follow the rules, but when they go out to shop for clothes, that’s what’s out there.”
Princess Gemoto, 15, picked up a nubby brown sweater coat for $22 at Glendale Galleria’s Forever 21 store, to help conceal the type of skimpy attire that’s prohibited at her school, John Burroughs High in Burbank. “It’s good to have a long sweater around,” she said.
Uniforms are one remedy for an increasing number of schools. Last year, school uniform sales rose 22%, according to a survey by NPD Group Inc., a New York-based market research firm. Instead of showing up for the first day of school wearing an armor of new fall threads, many students are wearing identical, no-fuss pants and button-down shirts. “Luckily she has a uniform policy and I don’t have to worry about what she wears,” said Adriane Jepsen, shopping last week at Montebello Town Center with daughter Ashley, 12.
And as much as teens espouse their individuality, uniforms can be a blessing--particularly the morning before a big bio test. “It makes my choices a lot easier,” said Dylan King, 15, a junior at St. Francis High School in La Canada Flintridge. “I don’t have to think about getting dressed.”
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Marjorie Hernandez contributed to this article.
