Fashion Venture ‘Tween Mattel, Too Inc. Hopes to Get Young Girls All Dolled Up

Nolee, Chelsea and Madison are fashion mavens who wear navel-revealing tops, low-riders and platform shoes. This fall, your second-grader could look like them.

The Mattel Inc. dolls are the inspiration for a back-to-school clothes collection aimed at girls ages 7 to 14 that will be sold at Too Inc.’s Limited Too stores.

Like so many other firms with an eye on the $11-billion so-called ‘tweens market, analysts say, Mattel and Too Inc. are eager to grab the attention of shopping-happy young girls whose tastes range from glittery makeup to flip-flops to faux leather pants.

And these shoppers are almost entirely dependent on their parents’ largess.

“That’s the biggest challenge in the whole ‘tweens category: the fine line between fashion and something that parents would approve of,” said Liz Pierce, a retail analyst with Sanders Morris Harris. “You have to make sure the tummy isn’t showing, the neckline is not revealing or the armhole is not revealing or the skirt is not too short.”

That’s why the new apparel line will be a toned-down version of the garb worn by Mattel’s My Scene dolls, who typically feature a more sophisticated adult look than the average 10-year-old might wear. The girls’ clothing will be less revealing: Shirts will cover the belly, and the minis won’t be so microscopic.

“We’re taking fashion cues and not specifically copying” what the dolls wear, said James Shimizu, Limited Too’s vice president of marketing promotions and events.

Terms of the deal, in which Limited Too will create fashions under the My Scene brand for only a three-month back-to-school season through September, weren’t disclosed.

The 520 Limited Too stores will carry trendy cargo pants, velour tracksuits, denim skirts and tops, and a vest with faux fur border. The clothes, whose labels will read “My Scene by Limited Too,” will hit stores in July.

“There’s a lot of products and services that could be developed for this demographic and money to be made,” said Laura Groppe, president of research firm Girls Intelligence Agency in Los Angeles. “Both companies have been very targeted, very focused and very strategic about getting those ‘tween consumers.”

El Segundo-based Mattel, the world’s largest toy maker, launched the My Scene toy line last year as part of a strategy to keep girls buying dolls after they outgrow Barbie, the firm’s popular toy line for girls 3 to 8.

With My Scene apparel, Mattel is hoping to strengthen the new doll brand among 8- to 12-year-olds, the key ‘tweens age group.

“A lot of the work when developing the brand went into developing other categories relevant to the girls,” said Richard Dickson, Mattel’s senior vice president for worldwide consumer products.

Mattel previously extended the Barbie brand to apparel and has licensing agreements for Barbie clothing targeted at girls ages 3 to 8 at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Kohl’s Corp. and a number of other national chains.

This is not the first time Too Inc.’s Limited Too stores have sold clothes that are tied to other brands. For last year’s back-to-school season, the New Albany, Ohio-based company’s shops carried an apparel and accessories line inspired by “Lizzie McGuire,” the popular Walt Disney Co. television program.

Limited Too’s newest partnership may help lift the company’s performance, Pierce said.

The firm has experienced a “measurable decline” in traffic and sales over the last several months, according to Pierce’s latest report.

In the most recent quarter ended May 3, net income slipped 29% to $4.2 million compared with the year-ago period.

Mattel shares rose 13 cents to $20.46 and Too Inc.’s shares fell 9 cents to $18.05, both on the New York Stock Exchange.