Florida Atlantic at Middle Tennessee State Pick

Students are the ones who decide what’s in

Charleston Daily Mail August 19, 1998 | CHARLOTTE FERRELL SMITH DON’T be fooled by their youth.

They are the experts and they have spoken.

Those in charge of fancy advertising and exotic window displays can try all they want to dictate fashion. But we asked those with the real power – the kids who wear the clothes.

Without them, all highfalutin attempts to set trends are futile.

So, we got the scoop on cool back-to-school clothes from those in the know.

Meet the panel.

David Wroth, 2, is a preschooler at Bream Center for Childhood Development. Beth Slack, 6, is a first-grader at Belle Elementary School. Christian Shamblin, 9, is a fourth-grader at Bonham Elementary School. Emily Myers, 13, is an eighth-grader at Sissonville Middle School. Joshua Cosby, 18, is a senior at South Charleston High.

Even at age 2, David has his preferences. His mother, Lori Wroth, enrolled him at Bream, where his grandmother, Ruth Ferrell, taught for 16 years. Maybe Mom can pick the school, but David knows what he wants to wear when he gets there.

He picked out a backpack with a bright Mickey Mouse on it.

His mother, a seasoned kindergarten teacher, likes him in one- piece outfits. But David wants shorts or jeans and T-shirts with cars, trucks or trains on the front. Even his mother’s expert negotiating skills do not deter him.

He will make an exception. The one-piece, striped bibs with engineer-style hat make him look like a conductor. He loves trains.

The short Oshkosh bibs were purchased on sale for $16 at a Parkersburg store. The hat, a gift from his grandmother, was bought on a trip to Amish country. this web site dress long black

His mom, who likes to shop frequently for David’s clothes, could not name a school clothes budget.

Our 6-year-old expert said clothes were pretty basic in kindergarten, but first-grade will be cooler. Beth Slack has a penchant for platform shoes and floppy hats.

“I like hippie clothes,” Beth said. “That’s like baggy pants and jackets.” April Slack, Beth’s mother, figures she spent about $200 on back- to-school outfits for her daughter. This covers the cost of one dress, two pairs of jeans, one pair of bibs, three shirts, and two shorts outfits. dresslongblacknow.com dress long black

On a recent visit to Kaufmann’s at Charleston Town Center, Beth modeled the type outfit she would like to wear to class.

She chose loose-fitting, wide-legged jeans ($27.99), purple cotton shirt with rainbow emblem ($14.99), shiny purple waist-length jacket ($27), and shiny purple tennis shoes ($29.99).

Meanwhile, our fourth-grade model browsed through the Charleston Department Store.

Christian Shamblin likes everything one size too big with the exception of tennis shoes. He likes Nike and Reebok brands, but it was a pair of Tommy Hilfiger bib overalls ($58) that caught his eye. He tried them on with a red Nike shirt ($15.98). He also picked a pair of brown Timberland boots ($54.98).

However, he admitted he’s more into comfort than fashion and will wear sweats or any brand of jeans. He doesn’t mind that his parents don’t splurge on a lot of back-to-school clothes. They buy the basics, but he gets the bulk of his clothes as birthday or Christmas gifts.

Emily Myers, 13, likes to shop at DEB at Charleston Town Center.

She once found quite a bargain there. Pointing out her black clunky shoes, she said, “These were marked down from $20 to $3 and I got 25 percent off that. I got these shoes and three pairs of socks for $4.77.” Her budget for the entire school year, including clothes and supplies, will run about $300. So far she has a new dress, long black skirt, five tops, and two pairs of shorts.

She figures she still needs tennis shoes and a couple of pairs of jeans.

And she likes the layered look.

Browsing through DEB, she put together an outfit including tan jeans ($24.99), solid green T-shirt ($7.99), and green plaid button- up shirt ($12.99).

Our oldest model, senior Joshua Cosby, likes to shop at The Gap or American Eagle at Charleston Town Center.

“My clothes budget is higher this year because I’m getting stuff for senior pictures,” he said. “I’ll probably spend $300 for tennis shoes, two or three pairs of pants and five or six shirts.

“I like name brands like Tommy, Nautica, American Eagle or Gap,” he said.

“I’m more conservative. Some people call it preppy. I don’t like to wear it hanging off my waist and that kind of stuff.” In quest of clothes for his senior portrait, he shopped at The Gap where he chose putty-colored, front-pleated khaki pants ($29.50), Gap logo athletic T-shirt in gray ($18.50), navy-and-cream plaid flannel shirt ($38), and brown leather belt with brass buckle ($19.50).

So, there you have it. That concludes our back-to-school fashion survey from the true trendsetters.

Charlotte Smith can be reached at 348-1246.

CHARLOTTE FERRELL SMITH