Probably due to Hollywood’s ever-increasing obsession with youth and beauty comes the slightly uncomfortable but also intriguing rise of the teen (or pre-teen) it girl, or what Grazia Magazine has appropriately coined, the ‘chadult’.
It seems everywhere you look these young ingénues (aka children-who-look-like-adults-and-often-better-than-me) are gracing the red carpet, hardly ever putting a Gucci-clad foot wrong, and winning rave reviews from style bibles including Elle and Vogue.
It’s completely unjust that these 14 year olds look like stunning, graceful swans at an age when most of us were spotty-faced, still in braces and carrying puppy fat. Yet at the same time, is it wrong I find myself looking to them for style inspiration?
With big name designers like Miu Miu and Marc Jacobs scrabbling to get them to front their campaigns directed at adult women, it’s probably no wonder.
All that aside, and not forgetting the fact that they’ve all got top stylists working day and night to disguise any teenaged awkwardness that might accidentally slip out, and as weird as it is given I’m 10 years older than most of them, these girls are fast on their way to becoming fashion icons.
Here are my favourite annoying yet beautiful little fashion plates (sorry Willow Smith, but you don’t make the cut):
Chloe Grace Moretz
Despite the fact that she’s not even 15 yet, this young actress has got talent, attitude and style, and is becoming quite the dab-hand at mastering classic, ladylike style.
Elle Fanning
Not going to lie, kind of obsessed with Elle Fanning’s whimsical, yet age-appropriatestyle. She’s definitely got more panache than Dakota, choosing bold, quirky pieces and looking a lot cooler than a 13 year old ever should.
Hailee Steinfeld
Hailee is the face of the controversial Miu Miu AW ’11 campaign, which was eventually banned for being ‘obscene’ and apparently encouraging teens to put themselves in ‘dangerous situations’ (see the image of Hailee sitting on the railway tracks, crying below).As a side note, Hailee was eventually replaced by a model 20 years her senior (i.e. 34). Weird juxtaposition.
Aside from that though, she has rather enviable red carpet style, including this knockout colourful Prada dress she wore at last year’s Golden Globes.
