Sorting out the must-haves

Cell phones and a MP3 player are a necessity, skinny jeans and capris are safe bets for girls’ fashion, and shoes with wheels on the bottom are so last year.

Just opinions, no doubt, but in the bubble that is the elementary and middle school world, following or breaking any of these fashion trends can easily brand you as stylish or ... not.

So with the first day of school, Sept. 4, quickly approaching, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa pre-teens have only so much time to get what’s new and popular before their peers label them the always-feared “uncool.”

Like the jock wearing a letterman’s jacket and the nerd wearing a pocket-protector, these kids are finding their place by what they wear, and in some locations of Newport-Mesa Unified School District, what label is showing.

Newport Beach 11-year-old Winter Haltom said she’ll be wearing clothes from Juicy and Hollister and Vans shoes or flats.

Abercrombie & Fitch, Volcom and Etnies shoes were also on the kids’ must-have list for the upcoming school year.

However, what you wear won’t get your books to class. And according to some of the girls at Girls Inc. in Newport Beach, don’t get caught rolling your books to class in one of those roller backpacks. That is, as Haltom sees it, “so first grade.”

Boys seemed to have little to say in the way of fashion, instead focusing their enthusiasm on the gadgets so many want.

“Nanos or video iPods are cool,” said 9-year-old Matt Morton, of Newport Beach. Morton’s peers at the Boys and Girls Club of America in Newport Beach echoed his assessment, prizing either model of the iPod while condemning the iPod shuffle.

But having the latest MP3 player isn’t enough. With generations defined by their music, the iPods of preteens will likely be playing what is heard on 102.7 KIIS FM every day.

For as much coverage as they see of Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan in the media, none of the boys or girls interviewed had anything positive to say about the two. However, Paris Hilton’s upcoming clothing line is apparently gaining interest from the young girls.

While for later generations a cell phone glued to the ear is a recent phenomenon, incoming sixth, seventh and eighth graders are growing up with it. Not surprisingly, the Apple’s iPhone elicits a roar of “I wants” and “I needs,” from the kids.

Whoever has an iPhone in school will undoubtedly be the envy of his or her friends.

But the envy of everyone? That’s not such a sure thing. Proving that what one may like does not set the bar for all, 12-year-old Taylor Crook from Laguna Niguel put it best when talking about skinny jeans.

“They’re in style, but I still think they’re ugly.”

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].