Fashion

Fashion Bullies Attack -- In Middle School
As More Designers Target Kids,
Label-Consciousness Grows;
The Snarky 'Nice Clothes'

By VANESSA O'CONNELL
October 25, 2007; Page D1

Aryana McPike, a sixth-grader from Springfield, Ill., has a closet full of designer clothes from Dolce & Gabbana, Juicy Couture, True Religion and Seven For All Mankind. But her wardrobe, carefully selected by a fashion-conscious mother, hasn't won her friends at school.

Kids in her class recently instructed her that she was wearing the wrong brands. She should wear Apple Bottoms jeans by the rapper Nelly, they told her, and designer sneakers, such as Air Force 1 by Nike. She came home complaining to her mother that "all the girls want to know if I will ever come to school without being so dressed up."

Teen and adolescent girls have long used fashion as a social weapon. In 1944, Eleanor Estes wrote "The Hundred Dresses," a book about a Polish girl who is made fun of for wearing the same shabby dress to school each day. The film "Mean Girls" in 2004 focused on fashion-conscious cliques among high-school teens. But today, guidance counselors and psychologists say, fashion bullying is reaching a new level of intensity as more designers launch collections targeted at kids.

As a result, an increasing number of school and community programs focused on girl-on-girl bullying are addressing peer pressure and the sizable role clothing plays in girls' identity. In Pennsylvania, California, Maryland and several other states, for instance, community groups and some schools have started Club or Camp Ophelia, a pair of programs developed by Penn State professor and author Cheryl Dellasega that teach girls relationship skills. A "Bully Quiz" the girls take asks, "Have you stopped being friends with someone because she wore clothes you didn't like?"

Dorothy Espelage, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, who has studied teenage behavior for 14 years, says she has seen an increase in "bullying related to clothes." She attributes that to the proliferation of designer brands and the display of labels in ads. In the more than 20 states where she has studied teens, she has been surprised by how kids revere those they perceive to have the best clothes. Having access to designer clothing affords some kids "the opportunity to become popular -- and that protects you and gives you social power and leverage over others," she says.

Over the past three years, numerous designers have targeted the lucrative children's and teens' markets. Little Marc, the kids' clothing label by New York designer Marc Jacobs, expanded its line this winter and dropped its price, making it more accessible to a greater number of shoppers. The French luxury label Chloé, Milan-based Missoni and Italian designer Alberta Ferretti are launching new kids' labels for spring or summer next year. Other designer kids' lines include Dolce & Gabbana, Armani and Burberry, while Michael Kors, Coach, Dooney & Bourke and Dior have been targeting teens or kids with accessories.

Retailers, too, have rushed to cash in, opening offshoots of their boutiques specifically for children. Cantaloup and Scoop, which sell designer clothing for women in New York, now have Cantaloup Kids and Scoop Kids boutiques that carry a similar selection of designers for their customers' daughters and sons.

The greater focus on fashion in teen magazines and on TV has increased girls' awareness of designer labels. "The market has become more sophisticated," says Fiona Coleman, children's trends editor for WGSN, a fashion-consulting service. Kids today follow not only what celebrities wear, but also what their children wear, she says. Brooklyn Beckham, the son of soccer star David Beckham, was photographed wearing Junior Dolce & Gabbana in magazines as a toddler, propelling the brand into the limelight. Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon, who has her own stylist, has appeared in magazines wearing Juicy Couture tracksuits.

School guidance counselor Angie Dooley sees the love of labels at Lawrence Junior High School in Fairfield, Maine, where some girls wear the same few brand-name items they own again and again. "They don't want anyone to know that's all they have," Ms. Dooley says.

In one study, more than one-third of middle-school students responded "yes" when asked whether they are bullied because of the clothes they wear. Susan M. Swearer, associate professor of school psychology at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, surveyed a total of more than 1,000 students at five Midwestern middle schools from 1999 to 2004, with about 56% of the sample female. While the prevalence of fashion bullies was greater in wealthy cities and towns, where more designer clothing is available, she found the problem is significant in poorer communities, too.

Teens and adolescents are expected to wear not just any designer brands but the "right" ones. "The better brands you wear, the more popular you are," says Becky Gilker, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Sherwood Park in the Canadian province of Alberta. "If you don't wear those things you get criticized." In many schools, the most expensive designer goods, such as those by Chanel or Louis Vuitton, have the highest social ranking among girls. But popular teen brands such as American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch and Aeropostale are also important. Miss Gilker says Hollister and Roxy are big logos at her school.

But even the wrong color can bring put-downs, Miss Gilker notes. When she wears pink, she says, "I get the snarky 'Nice clothes!' when people walk by in the halls." Her mom, Karin Gilker, who is 44, says she has tried to explain to her daughter that she should ignore such comments and wear what she likes. She also has tried explaining that "pink looks wonderful on her -- she's a blonde -- and she looks really good in it."

Several new programs are trying to help parents, teachers and girls cope with bullying. In Maine, a nonprofit called Hardy Girls Healthy Women has developed a curriculum that has caught on at a number of junior high schools and is being adopted in after-school programs in Florida, Ohio, New York and other states. The program encourages young girls to build coalitions and gets them to look more closely at the messages they get from the media, including those about fashion and clothing.

In June, a national conference on "Relational Aggression, Mean Girls and Other Forms of Bullying" in Las Vegas drew more than 800 teachers, educators and counselors. Many of the sessions focused on the role the media plays in putting social pressure on girls regarding fashion and appearance.

Susan Bowman, vice president of Developmental Resources, a Chapin, S.C., educational consulting firm that put on the conference, told the audience that for many girls, the answer to the question "What do I wear?" seems to define who they are. In 2005, Developmental Resources began holding a series of "Mean Girls" workshops for educators around the country. The workshops, she says, explore why fashion is such an important part of a girl's identity, and how that, in turn, "creates even more social pressure on the 'have nots.' "

Some psychologists believe that fashion bullying is happening at younger and younger ages. Megan Flynn, director of children's services at Westchester Jewish Community Services, says she has recently begun using an anti-bullying program with girls in the fifth and sixth grades, as well as with older students. The program, she says, provides "a process where they can take a closer look at the messages they get" in the media.

Aryana's mom, Ava McPike, feels it is important that Aryana not be pressured to conform to the dressed-down standard at her school. She believes that generally other people favor those who "look good -- the cute kids," says Ms. McPike, who drives to Neiman Marcus in St. Louis, Mo., with her daughter to help pick out clothes. But Ms. McPike does give in every now and then. She recently bought two Ralph Lauren dresses, in pink and green, and her daughter rejected them, because, her mom suspects, they wouldn't pass muster with her classmates.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1193...s_us_nonsub_pj

Not once in the article does it mention how having a school uniform that everyone must wear would stop the problem of 'fashion bullying' in schools.

To be honest I think it is absolutely stupid that people would go out and buy expensive clothes to wear for school. "Oh noes! Someone might see me without my expensive tack on whilst we're all learning! Powers help me!". You're at a school to learn, not preen yourself and try to look the most expensive.

All these brands are a distraction when it comes to school. Make everyone wear the same uniform, and they're not going to be looking at the other kids thinking "Where did s/he get those clothes? I want them! Oh noes, my tack looks bad compared to hers!".

Indeed

Everyone should go to school naked, IMO. And work. Do away with clothes all together, they are just a distraction.

No one would be able to smuggle in weapons ...or could they?

I think that's a horrid idea. Some people should NOT be naked under any circumstances.

What about in the winter?

Haters gettin mad cuz I got me some bathin apes

Not once in the article does it mention how having a school uniform that everyone must wear would stop the problem of 'fashion bullying' in schools. To be honest I think it is absolutely stupid that people would go out and buy expensive clothes to wear for school. "Oh noes! Someone might see me without my expensive tack on whilst we're all learning! Powers help me!". You're at a school to learn, not preen yourself and try to look the most expensive. All these brands are a distraction when it comes to school. Make everyone wear the same uniform, and they're not going to be looking at the other kids thinking "Where did s/he get those clothes? I want them! Oh noes, my tack looks bad compared to hers!".

School uniforms tend to be pretty uncomfortable though. I'd rather people stop being such fucking morons, personally.

I think I would tend to agree with this statement. Why punish the people who DONT do stupid shit like this in school by stripping them of their individuality?

Yeah, although you can't really force them to stop caring about that kind of thing.

I think advertising is ruining the world, heh.

Unless you force people to stop being morons, then they'll carry on. In a case like this, the best option is to strip people of their individuality. In fact, I'm somewhat surprised that American schools don't have set uniforms to begin with.

Why is a uniform a punishment? If you're using that argument, then how different is it from a dress code in an office?

If people went to be arses and bully over fashion, then they can do it out of school and during the weekends.

And if uniforms are too much for a society dictated by names, then why not impose a dress code instead? Collared shirt/blouse, trousers or skirts, proper shoes, no branding allowed on any? It allows a certain degree of individuality that people seem to crave, but at the same time it solves the problem of 'fashion'. Oscar Wilde summed fashion up with his statement, "Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable, that we feel the need to change it every six months". If people wear clothes that are not branded, then not only does it cost less initially, but they don't need to change it every time some higher up decides the country needs a new look, and, more importantly, people can't look at you, decide thta you're wearing last weeks, out-of-season tack, and jump you for doing so.

It's kinda hard to find unbranded clothing out there, from what I can see. A lot of schools here in San Diego have moved to uniforms (my Middle School was one) and Dress Codes are always in effect in schools in America, really.

Honestly, people will find something else to do this over as there's some incessant desire for most people I meet to prove themselves better than you in any way they can. It just so happens to be that they're into flaunting the fact that they spend so much money on clothes at the moment.

Unless you force people to stop being morons, then they'll carry on. In a case like this, the best option is to strip people of their individuality. In fact, I'm somewhat surprised that American schools don't have set uniforms to begin with. Why is a uniform a punishment? If you're using that argument, then how different is it from a dress code in an office? If people went to be arses and bully over fashion, then they can do it out of school and during the weekends. And if uniforms are too much for a society dictated by names, then why not impose a dress code instead? Collared shirt/blouse, trousers or skirts, proper shoes, no branding allowed on any? It allows a certain degree of individuality that people seem to crave, but at the same time it solves the problem of 'fashion'. Oscar Wilde summed fashion up with his statement, "Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable, that we feel the need to change it every six months". If people wear clothes that are not branded, then not only does it cost less initially, but they don't need to change it every time some higher up decides the country needs a new look, and, more importantly, people can't look at you, decide thta you're wearing last weeks, out-of-season tack, and jump you for doing so.

I'm not going to put my response in paragraph form for the most part, because I'm not feeling very eloquent and I just woke up.

Why uniforms are a punishment - It forces everyone to be like everyone else and lose their individuality. This can be a pretty bad thing since school is when most people try to find their identity.

How a uniforms differ from dress code - Dress codes offer much more room for comfort and choice than uniforms do. Students can still personalize their clothing, be comfortable, and still be appropriate for school.

If uniforms aren't good then use dress code instead - I would say that most schools in America have a dress code. Every school I've been to did.

The dress code can't really cover brand names because it's honestly hard as absolute BALLS to find some clothing without brand names plastered all over it.

As I said, I don't like uniforms, but dress codes can't really address the issue, thus it would become 'Uniforms or stop being asshats'.

Try punishing the kids that do it, then, and not everyone that doesn't.

Yep, because it works that easily. You should remember how things like that work...