If you query the world at large (or the web) about clothing for pre-teen girls and boys, there is an almost overwhelming wave of complaints from parents out there: Clothing for girls is entirely too grown-up and inappropriate. And for boys? One word dominates: Boring.
After my kids outgrew the relative sanctuary of baby and toddler boutiques, I faced the same problems for my boy and girl. If had dared to bring home another horizontally striped polo shirt for my son, he would have revolted and worn his pajamas to school. Except those pajamas were getting awfully small, and no one seemed to sell boys loungewear that was cool and comfy (no more superheroes, please). If I had to say, "no," thirty times on yet another shopping trip with my daughter, arguing over style (or lack thereof), cut, slogans or bling, I would have been the one revolting, putting her in a uniform of...well, there weren't even decent uniform clothes to be found!
So I opened Juvie in the fall of 2006 here in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Our online store opened that December. We've since closed the storefront to focus all our energy right here on the web, Because we're filling a niche here that is pretty big, considering it covers two genders and seven years of growing children. But I think we're covering the tween scene nicely (though we're not crazy about the word tween. It seems to have stuck, so we're stuck too). We carry mostly casual clothing for boys and girls in sizes 7-14 from Europe and America's coolest designers, along with a collection of dressy clothes, loungewear and underwear for kids, tween swimsuits, unique gifts, and a carefully edited selection of books for the middle grades and young adults.
When I'm looking at all of the different designer's lines that we carry for any particular season, or evaluating something new, here's what I keep in mind: Is it modern and up to date? Will the fit be appropriate to the age? Is the styling age-appropriate too? And does it manage to be stylish, up to date, or even a little fashion forward? Does it have a sense of whimsy? Does it pass the "cool" test? Is it the best quality? And will the parents who shop in the store tell us, "I wish you had this in my size"?
We hope that our visitors are as relieved to have found Juvie as we are happy to be curating our collections every season for your awesome older kids. If you ever have any questions, comments, or suggestions about our shop or our site, please don't hesitate to be in touch. You can email us at info@juvieshop.com.
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For more frequent updates on what's fresh, with market reports, living-with-tweens reports, and general tween clothing blah blah blah-ing, please check out our blog at Juvie.
--Kristen Taylor, Pres., Juvie LLC