The Great Teen Debate

DOIN' IT HER WAY: Ciara is happy to play with fashion, but does not see why girls feel so much pressure to conform

HOT TO TROT: Kate has business ambitions but also thinks that a bit of glamour makes a girl feel ready for the world

Wednesday February 06 2008

Ciara Cramer, 16, is a transition year student at Holy Faith Convent in Clontarf who enjoys films and recently saw ‘Sweeney Todd’, starring Johnny Depp. She is a talented artist and hopes to work in either theatre or film set design. She regularly meets up with friends in Temple Bar: ‘We generally eat about five times in an afternoon.’
Ciara says: “Fashion tends to be very stereotypical, and girls my age are branded on how we dress, and how much makeup we wear – there’s the D4s, the tracksuits, and the rockers.
“I don’t care whether a dress hails from Penneys or Urban Outfitters. I don’t fit into any category and would describe my style as ‘individual’.
“I really respect a girl who has the confidence to dress how she wants to rather than how she is expected to, even if, in my view, her style is hideous.
“The trend I really despise is the orange skin craze that has hit Dublin in the past year. Girls are flocking to outlets like Brown Thomas to buy bottles of fake tan and it looks like the whole nation has gone orange.
“I now realise appearing naturally sun-kissed is beside the point – and that what matters is whether you have the latest brand of fake tan streaked down your legs.
“The way I see it, orange skin, together with expensive Abercrombie & Fitch clothing and Ugg boots, has become more of a status symbol than a genuine fashion statement.
“I don’t get it that all the girls in the same area want to dress the same.
“I’m told there was a time when a girl with a tube of red lipstick would be the talk of the town. Now the desire for more and more make-up that some girls have is like an addiction.
“That’s not to say I never wear make-up, I do. I just don’t burst into tears if my Mac foundation runs out before I apply the fourth layer.
“Many girls feel vulnerable without their second face on. Some girls have even become so strongly reliant on make-up that to see their own face without it could make them feel ugly, when what they see is simply different and natural.
“When teenage girls cover up their personalities with expensive make-up and ‘clone’ clothing, I think they are stopping themselves from being the great individual they really are.
“I don’t have the desire or money to keep up with these trends.
“And I feel I’m doing just fine as I am.”


Kate Gallagher, 16, is a transition year student at Loreto College in Foxrock and likes to meet friends in Dundrum Town Centre, Eddie Rocket’s in Donnybrook, and enjoys going to the cinema. She loves fashion and wants a career in business; her ambition is to own a chain of clothes shops, beauty salons or restaurants. The young entrepreneur comments: ‘I’ll do market research and see where there is an opening.’
Kate says: “Like most teenagers, I am influenced by the fashion and the beauty business – I buy magazines like Cosmo Girl and Kiss to look at the pictures and see what the models are wearing. And I love watching TV programmes like The O.C. and Desperate Housewives to see the clothes.
“ There is a lot of stereotyping during the teenage years and many of us belong to ‘cliques’ and all watch the same programmes and read the same magazines.
Most of us like shopping in TopShop, Urban Outfitters, Ted Baker, H&M and River Island.
“But you can like the same fashion but wear it differently – you can express yourself differently and show your individuality, even if you follow the same style.
“My friends talk about whether a night out is casual or formal. If it’s casual, we wear jeans with heels and a top, and a dress if it’s more formal. But we never look exactly the same.
“I love it when it’s a special occasion and I’m treated to a new outfit and progget my hair and make-up done professionally.
“I love going out on a Friday or Saturday night and getting all dolled up.
“Fashion and make-up can give a teenage girl confidence. A lot of teenage girls don’t have a lot of confidence and some can feel embarrassed about their image, especially with the pressure that comes from the opposite sex.
“Fashion definitely plays a big part in my life but I’m still unsure whether or not I want a career in the industry.
“It interests me enough that I know the latest styles and the brand names and which hair salons are rated.
Last but not least, I know my Mac make-up.
“But I think I have individual style, and I put my own twist on an outfit.
“My big problem at the minute is that I am an unemployed student and fashion and style costs. So I have to nag my parents all the time for money.”
Source: http://www.independent.ie/