Everyone’s talking about Tavi.
The thirteen-year-old StyleRookie (or not) covers Dasha Zhukova’s first POP. She’s also inside, and on one of the promotional images of Katie Grand’s second LOVE.
Damien Hirst’s illustration (at left) made us gasp, while Grand’s editorial made us “Aw”; while we worship the ground Katie walks on, now we’re actually excited to see what Dasha’s done.
Which do you prefer?
posted by guest
Aug 18, 2009 6:37PM
#3, gotta admit, I kind of agree with you, at least in terms of her blog. The way she writes is exactly what you'd expect from a 13 year old... and thus very annoying. Half the time I just skim over it cause it's a bunch of ADHD-and-sugar induced nonsense. (No offense, ADHD people. I just couldn't think of a better comparison.) She admires the intellectual designers like Rei and yet she can't write a cohesive, well-thought out sentence when she talks about their collections.
Although I do think she is simply adorable and I love her quirky sense of style; that's the only reason I read her blog. But I really am hating that POP cover... it doesn't fit her style one bit. It's too stylized. Honestly, if you're going to put a girl on the cover of a magazine, at least wait until they're 15 and know the ways of the world a bit better...
posted by Abby Gardner
Aug 18, 2009 6:45PM
I would like to chime in for a second before this spirals into a nasty place and remind everyone that Tavi is 13 years old. 13. And in my opinion a helluva a lot more interesting than I was at that age. But regardless of whether or not you agree, I'd just ask that you think before you write. Thanks!
xAbby
posted by guest
Aug 18, 2009 6:56PM
im not trying to start a fight or anything abby, and im not trying to be nasty, but i have to disagree with you.
if shes gonna put her self out there everyday on her blog, then she sould be able to handle some negative feedback. not nasty awful insults or anything, but come on. most of the time she looks rediculous, because she's a child wearing clothes made for adults. its only glorified because its alittle more daring then what we dressed up in as kids. and as stated above, her writing style is extremely grating.
if pop wanted a blogger, which i think is refreshing, theres so many better choices out there! a 13 year old has no place whatsoever on a adult fashion magazine.
posted by guest
Aug 18, 2009 7:07PM
I love the crap out of this kid. For a 13 year old to have such a strong writing personality is amazing to me. You can tell exactly what she would be like if you were to meet her. She doesn't come of pretentious, snobby or too old for her age. She is such a gem. In a world where 13 year olds are becomming over-sexed and wearing 4" heels, it's so refreshing to see a real kid with a real passion!!! This girl's gonna go far. The Rodarte girls saw something in her, too. Jealous? I think so...
posted by guest
Aug 18, 2009 7:22PM
I think she looks gorgeous on the POP cover, but both are pretty awesome. Anyway, I'm not sure there's anything refreshing about a magazine featuring a blogger; it's not terribly uncommon anymore, especially in the off beat mags like Pop. And I don't really think it's freakish to dress up a thirteen year old on the cover of a magazine anyway. There are plenty of fourteen year old models out there, and if Tavi grew a few feet in the next year, I'm sure she'd be among them. Maturity is relative, particularly between the ages of thirteen and fifteen.
posted by guest
Aug 18, 2009 7:23PM
I agree with 7. I actually don't read personal blogs very often, as I tend to find most of the writers extremely annoying and narcissistic (I can't stand the Sea of Shoes girl and her blatant display of wealth and privilege). But Tavi is pretty awesome for her age. I actually look forward to seeing how both her writing and personal style will change as she grows up, while I wish Sea of Shoes and FashionToast would just go away.
posted by guest
Aug 18, 2009 7:26PM
the is number 6..no i am not jealous. i am far past the akward teen years, and i can actually fit into the clothes that she wears. i just dont see the point of putting a child on a adult fashion magazine. especially when theres so many more interesting people out there.
and im not saying that my word is final on who goes on what cover, because it certainly isnt, but this is a forum where people have lots of different opinions. variety is the spice of life!
posted by cesarcmma
Aug 18, 2009 7:28PM
I dislike both, Pop is too cluttered and Love's it a blog pic there isn't science in that.
If somebody creates a blog is for people to see...if you put yourself in that blog is up to you...comments will be there no matter what.
and to #7...she's wearing "very high black heels" according to the people at lucky.com(by the way...avant-garde top hmmm);I get what you mean but she's a 13 year old in heels...
It's funny how ppl does not take a minute to create an account..it's much better than said to # and it looks better :P...don't hide boys and girls.
posted by evita
Aug 18, 2009 7:55PM
I for one will announce my jealousy of a thirteen year-old :P She looks adorable and cool in both pics. I know my tween heart would have exploded if that were me at that age... and the fact that a kid is getting attention from fashion editors (and even negative attention from people on here) shows what buzz she has.
posted by guest
Aug 18, 2009 10:22PM
i love tavi, but i miss her blog the way it used to be...she rarely posts anymore and when she does most of it isn't even fashion-related. :(
although i must say i am so proud of the fact that she doesnt care what people think about her AT ALL and she does and wears and says what she wants...she is going to be HUGE one day...even more than she already is of course.
posted by guest
Aug 18, 2009 11:15PM
I too find Tavi annoying and her style overrated. I do, however, admire her for not being afraid to show her personality and dress however she likes. This is just my two cents- I think her expression and the fact that she doesn't seem to care what people think is something that we ought to see more of in the general population.
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 4:19AM
i think maybe it's time we recognize that even 13 year olds deserve to be treated as - well - equals... tavi at least has proven that she is both passionate and creative in terms of fashion, so why do we judge her based on her age? shes mentioned before that she wants to be taken as a PERSON not a kid.
on the topic of her writing style - its what we call fun and, well, personal. i follow her thoughts a lot better than so many others out there (and no, im neither adhd nor 13).
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 5:21AM
I like the POP one way better! Why slate the girl shes obviously got something if both magazines wanted her on the cover. whay cant we applaude young girls who are writing about wht they love and communicating it with the world. shes nt some itsy tot - she was writing about Daur not so long ago for chrst sake.
Did anyone notice that LOVE has Miley Cyrus and the Jonas bros on the cover? Um did they sign a deal with the Disney Devil?
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 5:49AM
Anyone notice Tavi's face almost looks like a miniKate Moss on the POP cover?
I am truly amazed by the fierceness of the comments. Wasn't this post about some cover of two niche magazines?
Both mags obviously want to convey some sort of message by putting Tavi on the cover, not sell 10,000s of copies.
In my opinion, blogs (and especially fashionblogs) are all about freedom of speech, creativity (or lack thereof) and horsing/arsing around. Therefore, bloggers should not be expected to have any responsibility towards their readers regarding their style, stuff, or writing, and should defninitely not be expected to dress appropriately for their age or age group, or their (aspired) age group's wealth/status/intellect.
Hell yeah, Tavi is 13, rants and rambles, dresses up in thrifted and gifted clothes no grown woman with a bit of common sense left in her head would wear (LOL #11) but actually manages to create looks that make you think twice about fashion, the fashion industry and creativity (as well as provide entertainment). Luxirare creates titillating art with limited means (a paper background, FOOD, a decent printer and camera, a sewing machine and a lot of thinking, preparation and meticulous work) yet is slagged off for being pretentious (whahaaaa, smalltownthink of the month!), and EVERYBODY hates Jane and Rumi because they are personally keeping the fashion industry afloat with their unbridled greed for the goods (yet even in their shallowness they remain authentic, genuine, and more 'au courant' and cheaper to read than all those ad-and-star-stuffed fashion mags). Curse modern times for the platform they have to show and tell!! Curse your computer for remembering the URL!
But here's what: you don't have to read the blog, don't have to buy the mag if it has a prepubescent girl on the cover (as if). Or a fatty (sorry Beth).
Taste, after all, is a very personal and subjective thing. Just stick to boring USVogue or any 'approved' blog like the Snore-torialist to gloat and fawn over 10,000$ sequin dresses or mysogynous shoes for your size 10 feet, or boring boring Anna, Carine et al. Feel utterly superior to the sad ones who don't have the latest stuff they dictate, allow yourself to be enslaved by someone else's opinion on style/elegance/in-or-out and feel good about it. Please, don't think or make, just follow.
I in the meantime will be ROTFLMAO, and thanking you time after time for the grand entertainment you are providing!
PS, the name is Rose
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 10:25AM
21 - ROSE, do you have a blog? If so, give us the link asap as you are SPOT ON.
That was refreshing to the point of tantalizing and want to hear more.
Admittedly, my blog needs some serious work but check it out if you get a chance. (P.S its a week old and I am technologically challenged but trying)
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 10:27AM
21, who thinks luxirare is pretentious? she is one of my favorite bloggers and i never see anything negative in the hundreds of comments she receives on her blog. people fawn all over her (and rightfully so). although i have to disagree with the "limited means" comment. luxirare seems to be independently wealthy. but at least she is brilliant and creative with her resources, unlike jane of sea of shoes.
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 10:41AM
the haters are just jealous. on the fashion spot, there is a girl talking trash and saying she doesn't want to see a 13 y/o on the cover of pop. well, in a later post she reveals that she herself is 13. ridiculous. tavi is great and it breaks my heart to hear people ripping into her like this. honestly, i personally hate kids so i guess i get why people wouldn't want to see a kid on the cover...but let me just say that even i think tavi is awesome and she is not like most kids.
posted by nycshoegal
Aug 19, 2009 10:55AM
Hello, Rose (#21) I think I love you a little.
#25 - you misunderstood the luxirare part.
posted by nycshoegal
Aug 19, 2009 10:57AM
#25 - i think i might have misunderstood you too... more coffee, STAT.
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 11:20AM
i agree with the comments that a 12/13 year old GIRL has no place on a high fashion magazine, both aesthetically but mostly morally. WHERE are her parents in all of this? with these editorials/covers she has put herself out there for a HUGE amount of negative feedback which can be extremely damaging for such a young girl. whether or not her blog and her style is cute or not is totally irrelevant- i think it's extremely irresponsible of all involved to put her in this position.
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 11:26AM
I think the eeriness of the Pop cover comes from the fact that you probably can't tell she's actually 13 if you didn't know her. she could very well be some fresh-faced 15-20ish year old model.
It's cool to play dress up, but the look on her face isn't of playing dress up. It's just too adult for a 13 year old.
I think models get younger and younger, and I know it's a job, but sometimes, there needs to be a limit in high fashion.
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 11:33AM
The kid seems ok to me. These days having a blog is like having a diary (for those of us who grew up in the 80's). It's a creative outlet but it comes with the public at large and everyone's opinion. My only concern, and it's not directed at Tavi alone, is that we've become too youth obsessed. I'm growing tired of adults kissing the ass of teenagers. I'm growing tired of pop culture centering around teenagers and their daily to-do's. I'm 31 and I want to see some ladies my age in magazines, in movies, on tv, singing with a band, etc... I want to shift away from gawking at the likes of the 13 (Tavi), 15 (Cory Kennedy) and 17 (Sea of Shoes) year old girls. Sure they wear interesting clothes. Their wealthy ADULT mothers purchase current season designer clothing for them to pose in online. And as far as the jealous arguement, that's the whole point. Envy, curiosity, inspiration, awe and jealousy is why anyone looks in the first place. We're all guilty. Who wouldn't want to be young, beautiful and decked out in fancy clothes all day?? But accusing jealousy for the reason why a person takes issue with a child featured this way is lazy thinking.
posted by louis
Aug 19, 2009 12:58PM
Rose. Rock On.
Also, here's a question to throw out there:
Tavi is 13 (this is the first I'm hearing about the girl), right? She's on a cover of two magazines. She's got a blog. Okay, check.
Now, what was Kate Moss doing when she was 13, two years away from hitting a runway? (Someone out there thought that 15 yr olds on runways was okay, so there's bound to be someone who thinks 13 yr olds on magazine covers is okay).
I think that what we are witnessing here, as it unfolds, is a new Kate. God Bless! Only time will tell as people watch her grow but that was also the case when Kate first appeared. What would Kate being doing now if she was a 13 yr old in love with fashion - watching the world around her, about to be discovered by a dude in a airport. Damn, I bet she'd have a blog. :)
Sure there will be criticisms, there are always ruthless people out there anonymous or otherwise. But, whatever - those out there making a difference, creating Something interesting or unique, doing what others only dream of do not comment on blogs, they do not keep facebook accounts. Hell, they probably don't watch TV either. They are out there DOING. Commenters be damned. :)
Anyway, thanks Fashionista for introducing me to her - I can't wait to see what she does when she's 15 :)
love!
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 1:02PM
ah well said 32! i have no problem with tavi herself, but i think its alittle crazy to give her all this press on adult content. thirteen is not that old, its still a child to me. as models get younger and younger, and more teens score covers for major fashion magazines every month, i have to ask when will it stop? it cant be good for them. as one reader pointed out above, tavi is at an extremely sensitive age, and unfortunatly not all of the feedback is going to be nice and postive.
and besides, isnt this what teen magazines are for?
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 1:22PM
33, that may be true, but that doesnt mean everyone was ok with what kate was doing. i think it was awful. i remember reading an article where she was telling these awful stories about how when she was 14 a photogropher was trying to get her to pose nude or something and she was crying saying how much she didnt want to..eventually i think she did do it. sorry, the details of the story are kinda fuzzy.
i realzie this is getting alittle off topic, but im with the other posters who dont like all these children being marketed towards adults. there just kids for gods sake! let them keep an innocence for as long as possible.
posted by guest
Aug 19, 2009 8:23PM
Since when do we live in a world where everyone that says "I don't like this blog" is suddenly wrong and not free to express their opinion? Since when isn't opposition not good for the soul? I tell you, when someone leaves me a shitty comment on my blog, I step it up a notch. "You look frumpy", you're right . . . I do (you're kind of an asshole but it's nice to not have you bending over to compliment my expensive blouse simply because it's expensive, because lemme tell you . . . people give you the most inane comments on the expensive items simply because). I just don't agree with this whole "everyone should be celebrated" attitude towards fashion bloggers. If someone doesn't like it, they should be free to discuss why or why not . . . especially since most of those bloggers named have hundreds upon hundreds of absolutely boring comments "you're great", "you rock" blah blah blah. I bet for Tavi, it's probably all fun and games (13 is a pretty fragile age) but for anyone near an adults age, all that mind numbing (sometimes pointless) adoration probably gets old.
posted by guest
Aug 20, 2009 12:04AM
she sounds lovely and I wish my cousins were obsessed with her, rather than Hannah Montana. However, a 13 yr old, on a fashion magazine cover and 14 yr old models is harming everybody, not just them. I agree with another commenter, let's put a 51 yr old sans photoshop on a cover if mags are looking to spice things up. I know lots of classy, older women.
As to the covers, I prefer LOVE's, it's simpler.
I saw POP's earlier and didn't realise she was a kid. I don't buy mags with children on them dressed up and marketed to adults, its too close to unpleasant ideas for me. Yes, I don't buy a lot of mags. And I'm in that industry.
posted by rosa
Aug 20, 2009 11:48AM
I like the Pop cover better.
To join the Tavi debate, I ust admit I never really warmed up to her. I have been following her blog for a long time and always found her slightly annoying. I felt glad for her when she got to meet the Mulleavy sisters, I enjoy some of the pictures she posts, but I sometimes wonder why anyone should be interested in what a 13-year-old has to say about her day at school or her holidays etc. I think we are getting to a creepy stage of internet celebrity.
A few months ago I was compiling a list of young fashion bloggers for a feature I was working on, and she refused to be interviewed, posting a note on her blog short thereafter where she declared that what she was doing was just for her own entertainment and at 12 she "didn't need to be on a bunch of fashion magazines". I admired her for her seriousness and maturity, thank god she's not just another celebrity wannabe.
Things have definitely changed in six months for her, and she now buys Tsumori Chisato socks and Chalayan dresses she admits she'll never wear, she travels the world to be on the cover of some of the most anticipated magazine issues of the year and I cannot understand how it all changed so suddenly. It scares me a bit to be honest.
posted by Tavi
Aug 24, 2009 11:27AM
I go away to the beach for a few days and so much crazy stuff happens on the web! Gee wiz.
I considered posting on my blog a response to all this but that would be making too big a deal out of it. In the end, this will not change your life. I am fully aware it will alter mine in some way, but I talked and thought through many of the points made here with my parents and people I trust before going with the cover for Pop, and I feel comfortable with everything that has happened so far. There has been a good mix of positive and negative commentary on the cover and that's exactly what I expected.
Comparisons to Kate Moss? No way. a) I am not awesome/pretty/cool/etc enough, and b) young Kate and I were/are in very different situations.
Concerns over my parents doing their job as parents is something that I'm now used to people criticizing (though I'd be lying if I said it didn't still hurt, obviously I can't demand anyone stop though) and I don't really know how to respond to that as it will all be easily dismissed as my "not knowing any better." There have been a couple trips I have wanted to go on by myself in a typical teen fear of being embarrassed by my parents, but by now they've made it clear to me that isn't happening until I'm an adult, not a kid, not a teenager, not An Adult Accepted In The Jewish Community (I have tried to pull that one before..) and even though they are still embarrassing and, as my parents, always will be, I feel very lucky I get to have at least one of them come along in everything. Blogging is not Myspace, and being on the cover of a magazine once does not mean I'm going to start a modeling career, which I would never be able to do..ever, for various reasons. Somebody here mentioned that Kate Moss had an extremely unfortunate experience at 14 where a photographer tried to get her to pose nude, and I cannot relate to anything like that. The whole team at Pop made me feel nothing but comfortable in the most genuine way.
When I went to London in June, it was for something else I did with them, and the idea of me being on the cover was proposed during the week. At first I was really unsure and I couldn't even say why, it just gave me an uncomfortable feeling (I am usually like this when I get certain emails...) but after a couple days of thinking and getting second/third/fourth/fifth/etc opinions I decided I would regret saying no, and if anything bad were to come out of saying yes, I would learn from it. Also, Pop is read mostly by people in the industry whom I really admire and is not something you see in line at the supermarket, or even in the front magazine racks at Borders. This would be different from book deals and reality tv show offers I've gotten in the past (I mean, REALLY. Who would watch that?! LIFE OF A BLOGGER, how fascinating. And who would spend money on that book? Anyway) and I couldn't have wanted smarter or more down to earth people to work with, and I hope that everybody I get to work with in the future is like that, and even though I can be extremely ignorant it would be terribly ignorant to think I'll be lucky enough for this to always be the case.
Someone brought up the post I made almost a year ago saying no to all press. I'm 13 years old, my opinions and ideas and tastes change all the time. Yep, I just hastily bought a markdown-ed Hussein Chalayan dress that I feel silly about but can't get a refund for, and wear Tsumori Chisato socks that were a gift from the company's PR, and I traveled to London, all expenses paid, initially to work with some great friends and ended up being offered a magazine cover. Even if I think an outfit I posted last year is hideous and stupid or I no longer agree with what I said last November, I don't delete it because I think it's interesting to see how things have changed. I still don't say yes to most of the press offers I have gotten, but of course some publications use my photos or write about me anyway because that's the nature of the press and by now I've realized I can't do anything about it. What drives me to say yes to something is if I can contribute creatively and that's what I was in London for, and I loved every minute of it.
Some people have also said the Pop cover doesn't completely look like me and I agree on some level. I am not exactly the person I am on my blog and in magazines. There has to be a difference between me and blog Tavi because if not I would be someone who runs around screaming about Rei Kawakubo and decorating everything I see with masses of tulle. My blog is my blog and what goes up is as much as I am comfortable with going up, and though it's important to me that I'm honest on my blog, I don't really open up on it for obvious reasons. If I was truly some type of artist I guess angsty ramblings would be somehow interesting to a few people, but I am a dorky middle schooler with Internet who likes pretty hats and not any type of genius or artist.
And, of course, no one has to type in my seriously godawful invented-by-a-sixth-grader-when-I-thought-I-was-supercool URL into their browser if they don't want to, yadayadayada. My writing is indeed very ADHD and sugar high, I have tried the whole coherency thing and though I go back to it when I'm really passionate about something I'm writing about, it usually just comes off as pretentious (even though I can be extremely pretentious.)
This is really long and makes me feel both like a commentator at Cathy Horyn's column and like I have nothing better to do (which is kind of true,) but I would be lying if I said I didn't care /at/ /all/ what people say and these are all things that have come up numerous times before.
Thank you so much to those with kind words, and fashionista, please don't make a whole other post about my one comment even though you seem to be enjoying the juiciness.
School starts tomorrow and I'm actually excited to have a bit more normalcy right now for the next 9 months.
posted by fashionislove
Aug 24, 2009 12:30PM
I guess since you asked our opinion on what cover we perfer, I am going to have to say neither. It's not that I don't agree with the fact that they put a blogger, a 13 year old blogger at that, on their covers, (in fact I really like that they chose Tavi) but the fact that they both just look kind of...terrible.
Pop kind of hurts my eyes to look at, not the mention that it DOESNT LOOK LIKE TAVI AT ALL.
Love is just a photo of Tavi that she herself posted on her blog...not much creativity in that.
All in all I think all the controversy about what model/actress/singer/IT girl/blogger is on the cover of what fashion/gossip/etc. magazine is highly overrated and I really don't think any magazine will ever make a cover girl choice that will please everyone in the world. So there's no point in arguing over it.
posted by Bekah
Sep 25, 2009 3:05PM
I am new to this little girl also. I will say she has courage, but on the other hand, I can't say she actually has fashion. I too think she looks like a little girl playing dress up. I mean, it isn' like she has actually designed anything. I agree that if she is going to be on a blog than she will have to be able to take the negative as well as the positive. After all that is true life and I beleive we still have the right to our oppinion.
I hope that if she trully has "passion for fashion" that she continues her venture but somewhere along the line it will have to get passed "dress up". It may be okay for a 13 year old but she won't be 13 forever. Then agin, the fact that she is 13, this too may pass. Your life and intrest at 13 are subject to change on a whim.
One more thing that I would like to comment on. I cant beleive that you have the nerve to say that you think your parents are embarrasing. I mean you are the one with the clothes that are after all too big, but it does tell me that you probally do have good parents.
Well, good luck young lady. If you are enjoying what you are doing, keep on. Dont get discouraged by negative comments, even mine. Take the negative comments as something to work from. After all if fashion is what you want to do in life than it is the people that you have to sell to, so it is the people you have to satisfy, right?
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posted by nycshoegal
Aug 18, 2009 5:26PM
I frankly prefer the silly LOVE Tavi. She is still a kid and dressing her up in pearls and black sequin is a bit much, in my opinion.
I guess I'd rather "Aww" at this adorably sharp kid.