Trend Treasures Found Between the Pages

Selling to Kids, Sept 29, 1999

Fashion, celebs, music, beauty, boys. that's what teen mags are made of. The details the top mags choose to feature give powerful clues to what's on readers' radar screens. or will be. In October, almost all the teen mags preview the fall TV season. In other seasonal news, magazine editors showed they're thinking about Halloween. Fashion news includes leather apparel - jeans, vests, jackets, dresses - and cuff bracelets rule. We also saw a lot of cropped capes and shrugs (which look like open vests that shrunk). Both just cover the shoulders.

If October has a color for teen girls, it's bright turquoise, according to top-selling Seventeen. Girls who look to the mag for fashion tips are advised to pair it with other brights, like yellow, orange, purple, green. Brights also turn up in another fashion trend piece, which extols the virtues of still trendy ethnic wear like Indian saris, long gauzy skirts, mirror-studded handbags, yards of bangle bracelets, and leather cuff bracelets worn on the upper arm.

Actress Leelee Sobieski, Seventeen cover girl, wears a ($90!) turquoise tank top by BCBG Max Azria, with zebra-skin-look pants. Inside, she "dishes" (in the mags' parlance) on boys, breasts and kisses. Maybe to offset the price of the tank, readers also find a feature on "24 funky fashions under $20").

In addition to leather, fashion biggies include long-sleeved tees and thermal tops, menswear drawstringed pajama bottoms worn with sweaters and sneakers, tanks with contrasting colors annd self-dyed vintage slips.

Content includes a story on bullies, beauty cheat sheets, Melissa Joan Hart's movie diary, photos from Seventeen's Teen Choice Awards, "I want her hair!" (feature about two cousins who covet the other's hair type and the stylists who make the wish come true and Halloween party tips.

Up-and-comers: Actress Marisa Coughlan (new ABC series "Wasteland"), Texas singer Jessica Simpson, Scott Bairstow, Countess Vaugn, Rebecca Gayheart, Jason Behr, Simon Rex, Jennifer Garner, Julio Iglesias, Jr., Jerome Childers and Stereophonics.

Still hot and prominent: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Brandy, Monica, Rider Strong, Tatyana Ali, Tyra Banks, Mini-Me and Sandra Bullock

YM

Runner-up YM, the relationship book, shows plenty of gray, which has been called "the new black."

On the cover are "Love Sins" (girls' confessions of cheating, lying, spying), makeovers of 10 readers, one of whom was featured on the cover with proclaimed "hottie" Scott Foley, "8 Tricky Pal Problems Solved," Hot Scoops on TV's New Season: including features on David Boreanaz, Brandy, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Josh Jackson and Courtney Cox, Quiz: "Are you too hooked on hotties?" (the issue also shows pages of them).

Teen People

As usual, in addition to its focus on teen celebs and real-life teen heroes, Teen People also takes stands on issues, like a new program to help displaced teens or skewed body images.

Fashion trends: Bandanas, Capri pants worn with skirts, brunettes in high ponytails, mini tanks, loose blouses, dark lipstick and cargo pants.

Up-and-comers: Very Hot: Tara Reid (American Pie); Hot: Carly Pope ("Popular"), Linda Cardellini and James Franco ("Freaks and Geeks"), Jason Behr ("Roswell"), Julia Whelan ("Once and Again"), Robin Dunne ("Manchester Prep").

Hot issues:Dominique Moceanu breaks away from her father in court, life on the streets for displaced teens, homophobia & the struggles of gay couples, the best beauty Web sites.

Teen

Fashion trends: London-inspired articles (such as school products with British Flags on them and Shelley's shoes), chain chokers, vest jackets, long skirts worn with sneakers, snoods (crocheted hair ornaments with beads spotted on Lauryn Hill).

Up-and-comers: James DeBello (The Hustler), Michelle Kwan (Olympic ice skater), the stars of "That 70s Show," Simon Says (a new rock band).

Hot issues: How smoking affects different parts of your body, a fall TV guide of who's hot, how one girl is coping with being HIV positive.

Latin Girl

If you haven't seen it, relative newcomer Latin Girl is similar to Teen People, but with a Latin flavor and fashion focus, and without as many celebs.

Fashion trends: capri pants, moussed curls, high heels and club clothes, body-clinging shirts and pants

Up-and-comers: Elsie Munez, Gizelle D'Cole, Nadine Renee, George Lamond

Hot issues: Two TV teens - Chelsea Hernandez and Alisa Reyes - inspire women to follow their dreams, money and finances, teen Zapatistas.

Kids' Mags

For younger kids, Sports Illustrated for Kids features Jamal Anderson on the cover. Inside, the World Series' best moments and a farewell to Barry Sanders share space with news about Tiger Woods (won the PGA championship) and Steffi Graf (retired). And, mimicking Teen People's News Team, SIFK is looking for kid editors.

Other features: Mark McGwire's home-run record, Charles Barkley, Julie Foudy, Stanley Cup winners and the NHL and Halloween sports trading cards.

In Crayola Kids, Halloween's front, center and throughout, with games, recipes, costumes and pumpkin-carving tips. And Nickelodeon, featuring Harry Potter on the cover and an interview with the bestselling book series' author inside, also has Halloween on the brain. Tying in with that, the issue's theme is science fiction.