Posts with tag teenagers

Kimora Lee Simmons is going to be debuting her line exclusively at JC Penney this month. For such a diva, we're a little surprised that she would agree to sell her clothes at a store that's not necessarily considered high end. But maybe she's realized that there's a whole market outside couture that she hasn't yet tapped into.

I'm not so old that I've forgotten the thrilling anticipation of prom. But times have changed since 1999, my dear readers.

Instead of dedicating serious brainpower and considerable parent-begging to just dresses, boys, cars, hairdos, shoes, bags, flowers and makeup, some young ladies have decided to get on the Botox wagon before the big night.

According to an article in the New York Post, pre-prom work is gaining popularity. Dr. Lewis Feder -- a practitioner of juvenile Botox in New York -- said:

"A few rich kids are getting plumper puckers and Botoxed brows for their big night.
Dr. Lewis Feder said two teens came to his Fifth Avenue office for some pre-prom primping that included Botox between the eyes.
"They both had very hyperactive muscles," said the Fifth Avenue doctor. "We gave them each half a syringe, and the muscles are smooth and beautiful."
He said he has also given three other girls - two from Westchester and one from Manhattan - Restylane injections for artfully fattened lips that cost about $600 each.
"Their parents authorized me," he said."

Shocking isn't it? I mean, what parent lets their teenager get shot up with chemicals for a couple of photos that will almost horrify them two years down the road?

And who the hell is this 18-year-old with brow wrinkles?

[via Gawker]

Since the FDA approved the use of Botox injections in 2002, cosmetic treatments have become almost commonplace. No longer the domain of celebrities and west coasters, plastic surgery is often considered the silver bullet for a happier, more fulfilling life.

With teen idols like Ashlee Simpson going under the knife, many young people -- 40% according to the BBC -- are considering plastic surgery. Whether it's a nose job, breast implants or collagen lip injections, everything seems like fair game (and a good idea) to teens.

But is cosmetic surgery appropriate for teenagers?

Part of me sympathizes with teenagers who consider plastic surgery. In a world where you are told that in order to be beautiful you have to have a very specific look, it isn't any wonder that young people find it incredibly difficult to feel good in their own skin.

But I also believe that a lot of these youthful insecurities fall away with time. And if these doubts don't completely disappear, hopefully you start to realize that looks really don't make that much of a difference. (I'm pretty sure that Janet Reno is a lot happier than Kate Moss, all things considered.)

In the end, I find it incredibly tragic that young people are willing to take on a fairly significant amount of risk for a purely superficial change. What do you think? How young is too young for plastic surgery

As Maureen Tcakik noted in the Style section of yesterday's New York Times, the hottest must-have of 2006 is not a handbag, nor a certain pair of earrings, nor even a parasol.

Instead, those who reallly want to be on the cutting edge have accessorized with a teenager. That's right, a teenager. And not one related to them.

Tcakik points out that a number of guerrilla marketers, branding experts, clothing designers and event planners now have taken on an unpaid teenager -- an "intern", as the adults refer to it -- to serve as a guide to youth culture, street lingo and popular trends. The interns get to stack their college applications. The adults get a handle on a world they move ever farther away from: youth.

Is it a fair trade? I can't say. What I can say is that I sure wish all the teenage boys who skateboard in front of my apartment building would go become someone's intern.