Fashion Forward

The Bayou-kidZ Style Experts Give Their Top Picks

article by Cindy G Foust

I know you’ve been waiting for it, readers, the BayouLife fashion issue, so get ready for it. I know it will be filled with all things couture, lipstick and shoes. As I write this month’s column, I am standing in my closet, so I can show you how to transition your own closet from summer outfits to fall. I’ve also been researching “Everything You Need to Know About Chapstick” and “How to Stay Fashionable in the Rain.” So, take a deep breath readers, help is on the way. I’m just kidding, of course, I shop at CATO and buy my makeup at the Dollar General. As I have said in past fashion editions, what in the ding dong do I know about designer anything?

Listen, if I were in a real fashion pinch, and got invited to meet the Queen, I’d simply call my dear friend Lori French, because she is the definite “It” girl and makes “it” all look so effortless. Gosh, I want to be more like her, but for now, and until she can give me a boot camp that would last for like five years, I’ll just keep her number in my SOS contacts and keep traumatizing the world with my fashion choices.
I thought seriously about rebelling against my editor’s email and write about some cool way to do Pigs in a Blanket for your tailgate party or three different ways to cook squash, but, I decided to go with the flow and just embrace this month’s magazine. And let me tell you, there’s more than one way to skin a squirrel and rather than research the Internet for some kind of clothing epiphany, I decided for the first time in writing this column that I would bring in an expert.

I almost interviewed Lori, but she’s very busy and important, so I decided to go straight to the heart of my column…kids. Yes, this is my first column in five an a half years where I solicited a contributor, and, boy, did I do it right.

I got six experts actually… six 12 and 13-year olds who definitely know their way around the fashion world. Seriously, they study this industry. They might not work at Vogue (yet) or grace the cover of a magazine (yet), but let me tell you, they have their finger on the pulse of everything from clothes to shoes to makeup to boys. Wait, my computer accidentally typed boys even though boys have nothing to do with fashion, right? That’s where you are wrong readers, because if you have a teenage boy, you can bet his wardrobe has been assessed by a teenage girl…and they have plenty to say about it. So, without further ado, let’s get started. Because if you have a teenager in your home right now, this column will be your newest resource, so sit back and get ready to be inspired.

My distinguished panel of experts includes the following: Halle (age 12), Alli (age 13), Claire (with an “E,” she says) (age 13), Anna Claire (age 13), Emma Grace (age 12) and Angel Grace (age 13). This panel consists of lovely young girls full of braces, giggles and lots of confident input.

I will say they might have rolled their eyes at me a few times, for instance, when I ask them what in the cat hair IT makeup was, but I recovered quickly and said “Oh, I thought y’all said BIT makeup! Of course I know what IT makeup is! DUH. (insert my own eye roll here).” However, they were very excited to be first-time contributors, like I was Anna Wintour of Vogue Magazine and made this interview very informative.

When you hear the word fashion, what do you think of first?
Halle: Homecoming dresses, fancy clothes
Alli: Clothes, shoes, jewelry
Claire: Clothes, shoes, jewelry (you stole my answer, Alli) Oh, and people who have their own sense of style
Emma Grace: Expensive and fancy clothes and high heels
Anna Claire: Brand names and expensive clothes
Angel Grace: Books, pictures, and movies about fashion, like Sharpay
Cindy: Isn’t that a permanent marker?

Six sets of eyes look at me like I have a unicorn head. Moving on…

What are some current trends right now?
Halle: Birkenstocks, jeans, shirts and Scrunchies, lots of Scrunchies
Alli: Work-out stuff like Lululemon, Scrunchies, American Eagle jeans
Claire: Adidas shoes, off-the-shoulder shirts and Kate Spade mini-backpack
Emma Grace: Michael Kors purses, anything Nike, Kendra Scott, all of Cara’s clothes
Anna Claire: Tory Burch shoes, Kendra Scott earrings and bracelets, beaded bracelets
Angel Grace: Steve Madden shoes, Kendra Scott, anything from HerringStone’s
Cindy: I thought Scrunchies went out with bellbottoms? Scrunchies were to the 80s what bellbottoms were to the 70s.
Group: Mrs. Cindy, are you drinking?

What is something you must have, that you can’t live without?
Halle: Lululemon
Alli: Lululemon
Claire: Birkenstocks
Emma Grace: Converse
Anna Claire: Uggs
Angel Grace: V-neck Mr. P’s Tees
Cindy: I had a green pair of high-top Converse in 7th and 8th grade, and I have the picture to prove it.
Group: (Silence) They made Converse way back then?

Who is someone whose style you admire? Well, besides Mrs. Cindy’s?
Group: (Simultaneously, without having to think about it) Savannah LaBrant! She inspires us!
Cindy: Mine would have to be Cher…wait, is she still alive? Wait, nobody said Kim Kardashian?
Group: You know who Kim Kardashian is?
Cindy: (Now it’s my turn to say, “Well, DUH!”) (And I’m secretly relieved they don’t admire someone who broke the Internet by balancing a champagne glass on her bare bottom.)

What are your favorite shoes?
Halle: Birkenstocks
Alli: Uggs, I love my Uggs
Claire: Birkenstocks
Emma Grace: Steve Maddens
Anna Claire: Platforms
Angel Grace: Adidas tennis shoes

What are some things in your closet that will have you ready for fall?
Halle: Uggs and all my sweaters
Alli: Uggs and my sweaters
Claire: MY NEW ALTERED STATE SWEATER AND CARA’S BOOTIES! (Yes, she’s screaming)
Emma Grace: Loft sweaters and my Uggs
Anna Claire: My Loft sweaters
Angel Grace: My Sherpas and my Uggs

Anybody still wear smocked dresses? Anybody?
Group: What’s a smocked dress?
Cindy: (Devastated…we’ve let them down as parents)

Flats or heels?
Group: (Simultaneously) HEELS!

What’s the best thing your mom has ever told you about fashion.
Halle: You always have to iron your shirt.
Alli: Your clothes must always match.
Claire: You must always accessorize.
Emma Grace: Don’t color block.
Anna Claire: You must always match your clothes.
Angel Grace: Make sure you straighten the back of your hair.
Cindy: Never leave home without clean feet, clean hair and clean underwear.
Group: (Six sets of eyes on me, thoughtful silence) Mrs. Cindy, no one leaves home without clean underwear, that’s just sick.

Do you ever pay attention to way boys are wearing?
Group: DUH! Mrs. Cindy, like for real, of course we do! We like it when they wear Hulk shirts or their football jerseys, but we only pay attention to their shirts.
Cindy: (SIGH OF RELIEF)

What are the rules of fashion…the do’s and don’ts?
Group: (Collectively)
1. Do NOT wear Bermuda shorts. YES! That’s a huge one.
2. Do NOT wear socks with sandals.
3. Do NOT wear bellbottoms.
4. Do NOT wear loose jeans.
5. DO wear belts.
6. DO tuck your shirt in.
7. DO wear CROCS.
8. DO make sure your toes are painted when you wear sandals.
Cindy: I didn’t think this list could make me feel worse about my own fashion choices, but sadly, it does.

In one word, your favorite fashion item.
Halle: Tarte makeup
Alli: Kendra Scott anything
Claire: IT cosmetics
Emma Grace: Lights, Camera, Lashes Tarte mascara
Anna Claire: Bad Gal Bang mascara
Angel Grace: My dipped nails
Cindy: Makeup seems to be a must.
Group: (Shocked) Well of course…makeup is life!

So, there you have it, readers, advice straight from some of our BayouLife children. Who knew Bermuda shorts were out, by the way? And just so you know readers, I wasn’t always such a fashion mistake, there were years that I subscribed to the trends with my Peter Pan boots and linebacker shoulder pads, just somewhere along the way the wheels came way off the wagon and suddenly I found myself sitting in Dollar General trying to figure out what shade of foundation I needed.

Any questions, readers? Just send them in to our office, and I’ll pass them along to the panel, and who knows, Cassie might ask me to write a feature using these fashion experts (as she secretly hopes some of their advice will rub off on me.) And if you don’t think the Internet and social media affects our kid’s buying decisions, this interview certainly opened my eyes to that!

So, happy first month of fall, readers, which I hope will be filled with food, fun and family. Oh, and I’ll be back next month with more fashion tips like “How to Paint Your Nails for Halloween” and “Thanksgiving Day Beauty Tips” (that one has me stumped already.)