By Marissa Rotolo
MARISSA ROTOLO / UP Blog Writer
The golden days of fashion are accompanied by playgrounds and sidewalk chalk, when life was simple and the only faux paus was if your outfit was suitable to run around in. The fashion of our past holds closely to our hearts, as it is what expressed our carefree spirits and became the foundation for growing up. This led me to wonder what the kids of today are wearing. Surely jelly sandals and guachos have not stood the cultural shifts of 2024. I wanted to talk to someone who could be brutally honest with what the kids are wearing, so I spoke to an eight-year-old named Ava Hall.
Hall is a radiant young girl who grew up loving to play dress up and putting on as much jewelry as possible. As I sat on the phone with her in her school uniform, her pink walls stood out to me. They were filled with books and fun colors. Being eight-years-old is a prominent moment in life; you are still a kid, but you are starting to develop a sense of self. Her walls symbolized this for me: the transition from “little kid” to “big kid.” She told me that her favorite thing to wear when she is going to have a big day is butterfly shorts with Adidas Shorts.
“It’s comfortable to play in,” Hall said.
Eight-years-old is an age where fashion is marked by convenience with personal expression. I asked her to show me her favorite outfit to wear if she can dress up.
“I like this orange dress because I think I look good in orange,” Hall said.
The dress was a one strap, orange sundress – perfect for a family vacation or summer days. Her favorite colors? Blue, purple, pink and sparkles: a young girl’s core four. After talking with Hall, I was quickly brought back to the simplicity of being a young girl.
When we are young, we are not looking for trends, dressing to impress or shopping at the nicest stores. We are looking for comfort. Our clothing is not what defines us, but what makes life easier to live in. Hall was eager to show me her favorite things, as it marks the things that she loves: butterflies, sparkles and functionality. It reminded me that even though we laugh at the fact that we wore jean skirts with leggings underneath, or jeggings, among a myriad of other early 2000s trends, we loved them most innocently and truly. These clothes allowed us to grow up, but still cling onto the playfulness of being a kid. While an eight-year-old in 2024’s clothing looks a little different than ours at that age, the sentiment remains the same.