New Year, New Everything

New Year, New Everything

By HATTIE FOOTE

School is back in session, and with a new year comes new style trends and new terminology. Just when we finally understood what “slay baddie” means, BAM, “nobody says that anymore, Mom!” I am no expert; I rely heavily on listening to my kids and their friends’ conversations and TikTok to stay informed.

All I can do is spread my limited knowledge to my fellow parents, in hopes that we collectively can get a grasp on what the youth are up to this year.

We are going to start off strong with a doozy, Labubus! La what-what you ask? Labubus are the so-ugly-thatthey-are-cute stuffed animal (monster?) that are hanging on everything from high-end Louis Vuitton bags to kids’ JanSport backpacks. The allure is that they are sold in blind bags, so you never know which one you will get. As they have become insanely popular, the “Lafufu” emerged, which is the knock-off version that is easily found here in town. I must admit that at the beginning of the craze, we begrudgingly ordered our daughter a Labubu as a graduation gift. The minute she ripped open the bag, I felt a familiar rush, and I was immediately transported to my childhood hobby of collecting Beanie Babies. To this day, I am devastated I never got the Princess Diana bear, but this feels like something I should bring up to my therapist instead of the local magazine. With the Labubu secured, it was off to the mall for back-to-school shopping.

The only acceptable way to fuel for Fashion Valley mall is the tomato basil soup from Nordstrom. It doesn’t matter if it’s a hot summer’s day, because in the Nordstrom Café, it is always soup season. As my kids have gotten older, I have had to reluctantly give up my creative director role when it comes to shopping. Long gone are the days of cute matching sets from Old Navy. I follow their lead now, even when it takes me to stores that frighten me. If you have a preteen/teen daughter, I am sure you have heard of or been to Edikted. It is a fever dream of a store, as in you are walking into an episode of Love Island. It’s loud, busy, and generally overstimulating. We had little brother in tow on our last shopping trip, and when the wave of perfume hit us in the face, he kept loudly exclaiming, “Why does it smell like this?” to the horror of his sister. On the flip side, my daughter has fallen in love with thrift shopping. She and her friends like to go to the different shops in town and find some insanely great and affordable closet staples. She came home with a brand-new pair of Lululemon leggings in her size for $3 from the Opportunity Shop on 9th. They also love the Second-Best Shop on 3rd and Thrift Cottage on 10th. There are some exciting treasures to be found.

Aura Farming, bruh, bet, no cap, delulu, menty b, rizzy, if you are noticing these are in alphabetical order, it’s because I’m reading them off of a list of Gen-Z slang. Some I can explain, and some I simply cannot. Hop on the internet to attempt to familiarize yourself with this strange language in hopes that you understand what the latest scoop from school is. Whether your family is just starting school, in the thick of it, or nearing the finish line, I hope everyone has an amazing school year, and report back to me if you decipher any new phrases. We parents must work as a team, because it takes a (Coronado) village.