The International Herald Tribune has thought-provoking article that considers the fashion industry's current preference for the pre-pubescent girl over the woman. Normally, something this would not sit well with me -- I think people who think too much about the meaning of trends quickly become tedious. But with the recent ban on super-skinny models in Madrid and similar movements in other cities across the world, it raises the question of why any woman would want to dress like a child.

The article points to the Phoebe Philo's Chloe collection in which introduced the baby doll dress back into the fray. And then there's the skinny jeans phenomenon, followed by the jumper with the puffy blouse that also seems ubiquitous this fall. Clearly, these child-inspired trends are selling, even though it seems a little unclear why it is so. It's possible that the return of the child is just the reaction to the super-sexy designs of the late 1990s, but it's also possible that the fashion industry is just diving blindly into Peter Pan territory.