atleast at club libby lu girls HAD 🙁 a place where they felt beutiful… and really how you feel is all that matters 🙂

I hope that’s a rhetorical question.

When asked about whether or not she’d heard of Libby Lu my twelve-year-old daughter responded, “It’s the scary store in the mall.”

The scary part isn’t so much the young girls who’ve been sexed up, or the shameful marketing tactics of Libby Lu, it’s the nitwit parents who allow their young daughters to be manipulated into thinking a style passport is needed to enter the land of the beautiful. Or that being a classy, trendy, stylish, cool, rockin’ chick is defined by lots of makeup, a fab-u-lus du and pretty ribbon, shiny accessories, and pink — because you’re a girl — clothing.

After one look through the Club Libby Lu website I now know where to go to create a fashionable trophy-princess-daughter that suits my personality. I can lavish her with style by choosing from a thousand ways 2BU. When I’m done I can tote her around in trendy, designer outfits of my choice — She’ll be the perfect little accessory my wife and I have dreamed of owning and showing off to the world. And we’ll enhance our fashion statement with “Pooch Stuff!”

Yes, lots of stuff! Pamper her with stuff! Stuff will keep her glamorous and attractive; everyone knows it leads to a life of luxury! Stuff will help her to bond with girlfriends and it’ll attract all the the attention our little girl craves — and then some. Stuff will make her sassy and dazzling!

Stuff, stuff, stuff.

More stuff, please! Because not having stuff, a Hannah Montana du, or lips and cheeks caked in makeup is the opposite of fabulous and trendy and funky and fancy; it means you’re not a rock star/dj/diva/glam girl/celebrity/princess. It means: without Libby Lu stuff you’ll be unpopular, unhip, and unhappy.

Scary stuff, indeed.

Funny, your comment about candy cigarettes brought back memories…of candy cigarettes. They sold them with all the rest of the candy at the Altamont Pharmacy in my neighborhood.

I remember playing “Starsky and Hutch” with my friends, and we’d all have them hanging out of our mouths.

I’m not a smoker (I get migraines when I’m around second hand smoke) but I sure thought smoking was cool when I was a tween.

It’s probably been 30 years since I thought of this.

Candy cigarettes! Imagine that.

Delivering products/services in response to a market trend may make sense (for $omeone) but is not necessarily responsible. There are many things that kids do/say/want depending on their age/brain development. Young girls want to act older. Does that mean the market should provide candy cigarettes? No, because we don’t want to encourage something that is so unhealthy.

Ditto with Libby Lu. This is the beginning, when girls first associate value with looks. Getting dressed up and putting on makeup and having your hair done = look how pretty you are! Let’s take photos! Look at all the attention you’re getting!

Perhaps if this was an anomoly — if Libby Lu was the ONLY space in which this happened — it might be acceptable. But it isn’t. Girls hear it and see it everywhere. The fact that Libby Lu has commodified it is just creepy.

I’d urge your readers to review the APA Task Force Report on the Sexualization of Girls http://tinyurl.com/2kxyl6.

All that being said, a trip or two to Libby Lu is not going to ruin any girl’s life. I would hope that girls and boys would get equal time learning how to be critical of the images and messages associated with a place like Libby Lu.

There, I’m done. Notice how I didn’t even go into how these kids are being taught to be good little consumers — that they must pay (literally) for *everything* — even dress-up? And fun?