Sugar & Spice Forget what girls are made of--what do they <i>buy</i>?

As we've said before, when it comes to deciphering thecapricious world of trends, it all boils down to what theoh-so-cool, MTV-viewing, Britney Spears-worshipping younger setwants. That's especially true for teen girls, who constitutethe target audience for many a marketing entity. Everyone'spretty curious what next femme-focused fad will sweep thenation-the fad that transcends all age levels and becomes avast crossover-sort of like those pandemic power beads. So weasked a couple experts what their predictions are for thistrend-setting group.

Karen Bokram, publisher and founding editor of Girls'Life magazine, confirmed our suspicions that the power-beadphenomenon was on its way out the door. So what's next?According to Bokram, we'll see a lot of kids heading to classwith child-friendly versions of formerly adult electronic tools.Electronic organizers, such as Vtech's Helio, and wireless"intertainment" systems, like Cybiko (which people canuse to send and receive instant chat messages or play interactivegames), will find their way into the backpacks of many a savvyteen. Beverly Hills, California-based Charmed.com even has a rangeof Internet-ready fashion accessories like necklaces and braceletsthat allow wearers to access the Web and receive and sendvoice-activated e-mail.

"It's kind of interesting that the only trends we wouldassociate with [business]-women are trickling down to suburbangirls," says Bokram. "Electronic organizers are reallythe lead thing."

The cardinal rule when selling to young people? Treat them theway you'd like to be treated, advises Karen Readey, formerresearch director at SmartGirl.com, a trends and opinion Web sitefor girls ages 12 to 18. "Think of how you would want to beapproached," she suggests, "[Teens] don't like to betalked down to."

And take heed, because this is one big market. According toYM magazine, young women ages 12 to 24 spend a whopping $7.9billion on clothing alone.

When watching for trends with teen and tween girls, the bestplace to start is in your own backyard. Readey says the biggestfashion-trend influences on teenage girls are each other."[They pick things] they think are sort of quirky to trywithin their own peer group," says Readey.

Watch what the teens in your town are wearing andsaying-you may have to stock up on the latest glittery hairthingy if your local young'uns decide it's just whatthey're looking for.

In & Out

In:

"Tween" girls ages 9 to 12 have money to burn, andthey love:

• tie-dye
• Christina Aguilera
• glitter nail polish
• jean jackets
• Hanson
• clogs
• rolling
• book-bag-cases

Out:

• Jewel
• cargo pants
• fake tattoos
• Ricky Martin
• platform shoes
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Spice Girls
• extreme sports
• the color pink