If you remember

your treasured Frye boots, fringed suede bag and patchwork denim hat,

and have a young girl between the ages of 6 and 15 years old on your holiday

list, this is your lucky year. Everything you wore during your own junior

high or high school days is as fashionable as frosted lipstick.

If your gift

has some combination of "retro," "bohemian" or "athletic"

style, in fabrics like denim, corduroy, velour or suede, it should be

a Holiday 2002 hit.

According

to Judy Gordon, "Today Show" style editor and founder of www.trendreport.com,

girl's fashion is following the

same '70s trend as women's clothing.

Dina Khalid

of Macy's West in San Francisco, Calif., agrees, "Girls are following

their idols in television and music."

In addition

to must-haves such as flare jeans, hip-hugging cords and outerwear, Macy's

will be featuring an array of unique and not too expensive accessories

to transform a girl's look for hitting the books after the holidays.

Handbags patterned

after Disney Channel's 'tween heroine "Lizzie Maguire" are a

lesson in boho chic from $14-$16. Younger girls will love still-important

mini-backpacks in fashionable denim and corduroy, adorned with "Dora

the Explorer," "Powerpuff Girls" and "SpongeBob Squarepants,"

or athletic themes like "Varsity," "Soccer" and "Cheerleader"

from $12-$18. To go with those bags, a selection of belts with chunky

buckles, fringe and embroidery in faux suede and denim from $15-$18 all

Macy's also

heralds the return of "Best Friend Necklaces" (half a necklace

each for a girl and her very best friend, in traditional hearts, flowers,

circles and other pop designs) and charm jewelry. A top gift from Macy's

is "Charm-it's" bracelet at $5 or matching necklace at $7 for

adding up to 30 individual charms (at $3-$5 each.) Go wild and buy all

30 for a spectacular presentation (each charm has its own individual clasp

for hours of mixing and matching), or solve your gift-giving problem for

the next few years by giving charms as the occasion requires. A new charm

for every "A" could cure the post-holiday blues through sheer

motivation.

Although you

might not see Wal-Mart as the cutting edge of fashion, a relationship

with Seventeen Magazine is keeping the mega-chain's finger on the pulse

of girls of all ages.

Wal-Mart's

fashion experts are banking on entertainment powerhouses Mary Kate and

Ashley Olson this Christmas. Sarah Clark of an Ark., Wal-Mart declares

that "no young girl should be without her newest Mary-Kate and Ashley

accessories to go with her great Mary-Kate and Ashley apparel."

Also on Wal-Mart

shelves will be hats in trend-right patchwork denim and suede in the hottest

new shapes with matching bags and backpacks in fringed patchwork denim

and suede, as well as faux leather ($5.96 to $9.96.)

Expect to find

other up-to-the-minute looks in outerwear, athletic wear, boots and shoes.

Wal-Mart is

also stocking the latest in retro-fashionable back-to-school technology.

Remember that do-everything Texas Instruments calculator that was the

latest back in 1973? The now essential TI-83 calculator ($94.88) or TI-89

graphing calculator ($149.97), can both slip right into that Mary Kate

and Ashley bag, proving girls can make an impression in more ways than

one.

Target is attracting

older girls to their fashion departments by combining flashy advertising

and the products to back it up. Brie Heath of Target in Minneapolis, Minn.,

suggests a total look: Mossimo's leather blazer/jackets with '70s-style

nipped waist, patch pockets and notch collar ($89) which will remind you

of when you absolutely refused to wear that "big coat" your

mother bought you, while coordinating shearling gloves, hats and scarves

still keep the chill away. Add a pair of knee-high Eloise patchwork tall

boots from Xhilaration ($24.99), and you've got an outerwear ensemble

you used to call cool, but they call hot.

Target is also

promoting the charm jewelry revival an Add-a-Link bracelet and charms

can spell out a name, or sparkle with faux stones the basic bracelet in

silver for $7.99 with silver charms selling for $4.99 each.

Fashion specialty

stores are another great hunting ground for unique accessories with up-to-the-minute

style. Check out The Gap for basics and then some. Mix glitter jean skirts

($34.50) and sparkle denim flares ($39.50) just some of the trendy embellished

denim you'll find in specialty stores over the holidays with a "Carnaby

Street"-style suede patch hat ($16.50) and cord and jean Sherpa jackets

and vests ($38-$48). Pair a classic Sherpa pea coat ($58) with a '70s

pom pom ($14.50) scarf. Also at the Gap: retro velour jogging hooded sweatshirt

and pants ($34.50 and $29.50), and the revival of Mary Janes (34.50) and

ankle boots (44.50) in colorful NuBuck. d

Curt Hagedorn

is a New York-based freelance writer.

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