IN RECENT MONTHS, videos of 10-year-olds swarming Sephora, fighting over Stanley tumblers at Target, and dressing in head-to-toe Lululemon have dominated our feeds. If you believe the internet, tweens had suddenly acquired the taste of grown women who love yoga and staying hydrated and have money to spend. But were they really buying all this adult stuff they found on TikTok? We wanted to know where New York City tweens-ages 10 to 13-actually like to shop. So we tagged along with 25 of them as they browsed at their favorite stores, hung out together, and played around with makeup. They talked to us about their personal style, the products they covet, and which trendy items they would never wear.
What we found surprised us. Yes, almost all of them have a skincare routine and they love Brandy Melville, Zara, and thrift shops. But most of them don't use TikTok-and they think Lululemon is overrated.
Aspiring Beauty YouTubers
CLOTHES: Anything Y2K, goth, or from Target. T-shirts and hoodies with pictures of axolotls-the underwater salamanders-on them.
BEAUTY: Wet n Wild, NYX, and whatever's in their mothers' bathrooms ("She has ruined a lot of my stuff, to be honest," Naniya's mom says).
ACCESSORIES: Air Up water bottles, Supreme handbags, Kuromi backpacks, bucket hats with food appliquésPopsicles, watermelons, cherries.
JEWELRY: Bracelet-making kits from Five Below. Naniya swears the Pandora bracelet she bought on a Royal Caribbean cruise last summer is "in here somewhere."
Thrifty Kids
CLOTHES: Sweatpants, flared leggings, Zara jeans, secondhand finds.
"There was a trend at school where people were wearing pants with shorts on top," says Joni, from Prospect Park South. "That's a no, because it's just, Whoa."
SHOES: Air Force 1's.
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