From cargo shorts to fur coats, these kids are ready to go back to

class

Amy R. Spurgeon

NEWPORT BEACH -- Thirteen year-old Ensign Intermediate School

eighth-grader Suzanne Dean knows exactly what she will wear on the first

day of school Thursday: a fashionable midlength skirt along with a tube

top underneath a cardigan sweater.

Students at Killybrooke Elementary School in Costa Mesa also know

exactly what their wardrobe will entail -- navy-blue skirts and

starch-white shirts -- but it’s not by choice. This year marks the first

that Killybrooke will institute school uniforms.

Pomona Elementary school’s new principal, Julie McCormick, said that

in her experience, school uniforms work very well.

“The focus is on learning,” McCormick said. “There is also a reduction

in disciplinary problems. There is no standard to live up to.”

Other campuses that have uniforms are Wilson and Whittier elementary

schools. Uniforms have even been suggested as a solution to combat eating

disorders -- and the pressure for perfection in appearance -- at Corona

del Mar High School.

But for those who do get to select their own back-to-school fashions,

there are a variety of trends to choose from.

For girls, the consensus seemed to be moving toward the simple look of

the 1950s. A knee-length skirt, a soft cardigan pullover or button-up

sweater and peddle-pusher pants, which go to about the midcalf. Tennis

shoes, sandals and the occasional pair of Doc Martens complete the look.

But Newport-Mesa girls also crave the Southern California look

accomplished by the style of Quiksilver’s Roxy brand -- a female version

of the popular men’s surfing and skating clothing line.

Newport Elementary fourth-grader Andrea Adnoff, 9, said she did her

back-to-school shopping last week with her mom.

“I got a very special black fur coat,” Adnoff said of the surprise

find.

Her first-day of-school wardrobe likely will be strategically placed

out on her bed the night before the big day.

“I am going to wear a blue checkered dress with a pair of periwinkle

tennis shoes,” Adnoff said.

But don’t think that girls are the only ones obsessed with their fall

season garb -- young men seem to be just as much into fashion.

Landon Bell, 8, a second-grader at Newport Elementary, said he likes

to wear clothes that remind him of his favorite activities -- surfing and

skateboarding. But his age sneaks up on him every now and then.

“I like to wear Disney Lion King shirts,” Bell said.

A spokesman from The Rail -- Nordstrom’s men’s junior department --

said this year cargo shorts are hot for guys. Cargo shorts hang past the

knee and have pockets on the sides.

“Guys are worse then girls when it comes to fashion” he said. “They are

very picky about how clothes look on them.” Wet Seal, one of the

trendier mall stores catering to young women, has been packed all week

with moms and daughters getting ready to go back to school.

“Anything leopard print is really in right now,” said a store

representative. “Also those little rhinestones with Velcro on the back

are big for hair decorating.”

But is all this hype good for the children?

John Fry, a psychologist in Costa Mesa, said the pressure to obtain

popular and expensive new clothes can cause conflict in the home.

Fry said a mother and daughter were in his office last week because

they could not agree on how much to spend on back-to-school items.

“The daughter wanted to buy more then what was in the budget,” Fry

said.