It's Fashion Week: More Cool Tween Brands

In our continuing series during Fashion Week, we're bringing you cool brands that your tween won't see on everybody else in the lunch room. Earlier we brought you beautiful knits Charlotte Tarantola and fun prints from t-bags girls; today's designer is Custo Girls from Barcelona, Spain.

Custo is a bright, funky line for girls that draws its inspiration from a blend of urban and beach artistic influences. Their latest collection includes fun anime drawings that liven up normally plain winter coats. This line is tough to find but worth seeking out for its uniqueness and fun edge. Here are some photos of our favorite pieces:

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A Lesson in Grace For Tweens: Justin Bieber at The Grammys

With the blockbuster opening of his "Never Say Never" movie this weekend and coming off of a very successful My World tour, you'd think Justin Bieber has it made. He performed with his usual style at The Grammy's last night, and our tweens were excited to stay up late and watch the young star and Usher tear up the stage. Despite a sold out concert tour and indeterminable press, the young Mr. Bieber was not awarded his industry's highest honor.

At the tender age of 16, he could well have handled this news poorly, but Mr. Bieber instead took the high road and responded with maturity and grace. He continued to sit at attention in the front row of the Grammy Awards (no doubt the hot seat of the evening and the last place anyone would want to be seen after being so publicly overlooked for the honors) and applauded his fellow nominees, winners and performers. Justin Bieber has historically taken solace with his fans via interactions on Twitter, and notably, he did not turn to his Twitter account until after the awards ceremony was over.  It was a sign of professionalism and respect that he waited until the end of the show to interact with his fans and provide them with his reaction.

And his reaction was gracious and honest: he tweeted:

• "As for the awards...of course I wanted to win. Its been and still is a dream to win a grammy. Was I upset...yes. But I was happy for her also"
• "Someone said to me tonight its not your successes that define u but your failures. I lost..but I don't plan on this being my last chance...."
• "I do this because I love it..and I do it for my family friends and fans who support me. I was grateful for the honor and this..."
• "...Is just the beginning. #NeverSayNever" 
• "Now we have so much to celebrate!! Leggo!"

We were reminded of Taylor Swift's grace under pressure during the Kanye West VMA debacle and are pleased that his reaction lived up to his reputation. (Of course we'll NEVER hear the end of him now that his status as tween idol has been martyred, but we're pleased that thus far he's been a stand-up kind of guy.)

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Valentine's Day Projects For Tweens

Tweens have outgrown the drug-store Valentine card kits, and they're a crafty bunch anyways. Here are some ideas for your tween to make for her class Valentines over the weekend:

Pencil hearts make a fabulous non-candy gift for a crowd. Instructions at alphamom.com

Here's a cute idea for a message in a bottle written with lemon juice invisible ink. Instructions from mini-eco.

This craft will take some time but is sure to be a big hit in the classroom - iPod Valentines made from Conversation Heart boxes. Instructions from FamilyFun.

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It's Fashion Week: More New Tween Brands

As this is Fashion Week, we thought we'd highlight a few tween fashion brands that you may not have heard of. We told you about Charlotte Tarantola's fabulous sweaters; now here's some fun, easy dresses to pair with them from Los Angeles designer t-bags girls. (Moms may be familiar with this designer from their women's or maternity lines.)

T-bags recently launched their line for girls and uses vibrant prints and super soft fabrics to make dresses that drape remarkably well on tweens. The cuts are age-appropriate and really fun to wear.

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A Tween Valentine: Sequin Hearts on Her Toes

We saw these sequined heart shoe clips from Ban.Do and thought they'd make the sweetest Valentine's gift for a tween. We think these would be adorable on a plain ballet flat or even on a pair of white Jack Purcells.

And here are some of Valentine picks from last year.

From Ban.Do, $25

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Fun Fashion Blogs For Tweens

It's Fashion Week, and if your tween is into fashion, here are a few blogs you might enjoy reading together:

• Tween fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson has been writing about fashion for years now. Her writing is years ahead of her age, as is her very sophisticated style. She is a great role model for girls following their own hearts and speaking their minds regardless of peer pressure. Her blog is called The Style Rookie.
• Lola Lourdes, Madonna's daughter, writes on the Material Girl blog about her independent style, the bands she's listening to, and her latest vintage obsession.
• Cynthia Rowley is a well known designer with a quirky, fun style. Her blog includes photos of her latest lines but also snaps from recent trips and musings on fun art.
• Kate Spade is now a fashion icon, and her colorful and retro style extends to her blog. A section called "Behind the Curtain" includes her recommendations for museum exhibits, office supplies, and nail polish.
• Cecilia Cassini is a 10-year old designer with an Audrey-Hepburn-like sense of style and whimsy. She blogs irregularly, but her posts are fun to read, and she includes pictures of her latest work and design inspirations.

What other fashion blogs do you read? Please add to this list!

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Tweens and Fashion Week: The New Tween Style Stars

Fashion Week kicked-off in New York today, and there's a ton going on. We couldn't help but notice that a slew of tween movie stars are now being dressed by MAJOR designers, and this is going to seriously expand the exposure tweens have to big-name fashion (more so than even Project Runway).

Here's a Who's Who of who's wearing who among tween celebs:

• Chloe Moretz, age 13, has recently worn Stella McCartney, Proenza Schouler, Christian Dior, and Chanel (!)
• 9-year old Willow Smith has accompanied her parents to European fashion shows for years now. She was interviewed this week by Teen Vogue about her style (we call it fierce!) and cites Dolce and Gabbana as a favorite.
• Elle Fanning is only 12 and already wearing Marchesa and Rodarte.
• Hailee Steinfeld is now 14 but already Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actress for "True Grit" (did you know that she's in EVERY frame of that film?). She's been dressed by Prabal Gurung and Prada.
• Kiernan Shipka of "Mad Men" fame is 11 years old and favors the young silhouettes of Papo d'Anjo.
• First Tween Malia Obama wore New York designer Chris Benz to the Chinese State Dinner earlier this month.

The above list is for red carpet occasions only as tweens generally keep it cool, casual and comfortable - but it IS interesting to note how much more attention is being paid to tween fashion of late.

Which other tween stars have great fashion sense?

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It's Fashion Week: We're Bringing You Some Cool Tween Fashion Brands

In the spirit of New York Fashion Week, we're bringing you some cool tween fashion brands you and your tween may not yet have discovered.

First up: sweet knits from Charlotte Tarantola Girls. We discovered the line this past holiday season, and our tweens love her sweaters.

Ms. Tarantola is one of the few designers we've seen in a long time who makes sweaters just for tweens that are colorful, comfortable, and truly hip. Nothing too cutesy - just beautiful fine-gauge knits with well-proportioned lines (and these passed the "itch test"!). Price points are $33-$85.

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A Perfect Birthday Gift For Tweens

Remember our New Year's Resolution post about writing thank you notes? We had a terrific response to that idea, and one company, Expressionery, wrote to tell us about their line of stationery created for tweens. Their cards are fun and customizable, but what we REALLY fell for were their custom Hello Kitty zodiac stamps. How cute is this!?!?

We think this is a perfect birthday gift for the next time your tween has a birthday party to attend - it's personalized, unique, and will be adored by the recipient. We chose one with our name (Ms.Twixt), city (Washington, DC), and our horoscope (Gemini). You could have an entire address printed on the stamp, making it ideal for envelopes, invitations, and customizing school supplies and notebooks (which, come to think of it, will help our tweens stick to another New Year's Resolution to pack and keep the right gear).

The company also makes a fun line of invitations, cards and bookplates featuring the Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, and (our fave) the Wizards of Waverly Place.

Hello Kitty zodiac stamp, $45; flat note cards start at $14/set

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First Tweens Sasha and Malia Obama Not Allowed on Facebook

If you've prohibited your tween to go on Facebook, you're in good company. As part of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" tour she has been making rounds on several television shows. On the Today Show this morning, she was asked if Malia and Sasha had Facebook pages.

Mrs. Obama said, "I think we're lucky that there are a lot of real constraints, things like Secret Service and stuff like that. I'm not a big fan of young kids having Facebook. It's not something they need, it's not necessary right now."  She added that the First Tweens may be permitted to create a Facebook page after they leave the White House.

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