Pretty Brainy

What’s the Top ’Tween Girl Gift Idea? Let Her Plan Her Own Party.

Gianna — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:44:58 +0000

The Fun of Turning 13 Is in the Planning as Much as the Celebrating, Says Pretty Brainy’s ’Tween Fashion Blogger, Gianna

Dear Readers,

It is that time of the year again!

This week I am planning my birthday!

I almost have more fun planning a birthday party than going to it! Although I am really excited to be planning this party for myself, I personally think it is not a party for me alone; it is a party for my guests and me!

You may remember many of my other birthday parties, such as my Coronation Party last year or the raft trip when I turned 8! For this year’s birthday party I have decided to take my two best friends, Bella, my Number #1 Cousin and BFF, and Shelby, my BFFITWAU (Best Friend Forever in the World and Universe!), to our mountain home in Granby.

I have planned loads of stuff for us to do when we get there! We are going to —

Go swimming at Grand Lake Beach.
Relax in the Hot Sulphur Springs Spa and Bath House.
Play mini putt-putt golf.
Go on an unforgettable hike around Monarch Lake.
Just have fun together celebrating my 13th birthday!

I can almost guarantee my guests will go home speechless!

Last week I made my invitations, planned the menu for the trip, and put together a separate menu for my guests and me for the week of my birthday.

I will be shopping, packing and getting so excited I will probably start hyperventilating for My Birthday (the 29th)!!

I will tune you in with how everything goes!

Gianna

Gianna, who turns 13 years old this week, blogs for Pretty Brainy about a ’tween girl’s look at life, ’tween fashion and ’tween culture. In her last blog post, she wrote about designing and making jewelry, a passion she enjoys with her mother. See Preteen Girls’ Accessories: It’s All about the Beads.

Educating Girls of All Ages on Aggression and Violence Is the Work of Woman of Vision Honoree

Heidi — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:32:22 +0000

“You Are the Decision-Maker for Your Life”

— Pamela Cook, 2010 Woman of Vision Honoree

Introductory note: Displaying self-confidence is one way preteen girls can deflect bullying, or relational aggression, from mean girls. Because bullies of all stripes target those they think are weak, girls and women of any age who communicate self-confidence to the world are thwarting sexual violence and domestic abuse. For a post on how a parents’ self-confidence is a step toward teaching it to their preteen daughters, see “How to Raise a Self-Confident Daughter.”

A Woman of Vision

Tonight Colorado Women of Influence honors twenty-two women whose work in the world demonstrates that they are women of vision. Pamela Cook, who I nominated because of her work in launching Cut It Out, the national program that trains hair stylists to effectively intervene to stop domestic violence, is among the finalists for tonight’s top Woman of Vision award, and I am happy to tell the world why it was exciting for me to nominate Pamela.

Pretty Brainy CEO Heidi Olinger, Debra Benton, Mack Cook, and Woman of Vision Honoree Pamela Cook

When We Let Our Hair Down

The brilliance and insight of training exactly those professionals with whom we literally and figuratively let our hair down struck me when I first read about Cut It Out in a woman’s magazine years ago. I didn’t know Pamela then, and it was only this April when she and Debra Benton and I were driving to a woman’s forum at the University of Northern Colorado that I mentioned Cut It Out and how it was one of the smartest things I’d ever heard. Pamela is a stylist, and that’s when she said she had been instrumental in bringing the program to life.

The Woman of Vision awards presented an opportunity for Pamela to be honored, and here are excerpts from my nomination of her —

“People Find Safety in Their Hair-Dressers”

Cut It Out, a program of the Salons against Domestic Abuse Fund, launched in March 2003 when Pamela Cook took the podium to address an international gathering of salon professionals, educators, and the press. Cut It Out was designed to train salon professionals to recognize the signs of domestic abuse, to effectively intervene, and to connect those abused to appropriate local resources. Professionals and media representatives from 65 countries were present.

In introducing Cut It Out to the world, Ms. Cook was the voice and face that mobilized salon professionals and others in communities across the United States to take direct, effective action to stop domestic violence. Cut It Out recently celebrated 7 years of effective domestic abuse intervention and safely connecting abused people to resources within their communities. Ms. Cook summarizes her work as follows, “I am teaching the abusers, I am teaching the abused, and I am teaching the community.”

Ms. Cook was among the pioneers to train salon professionals to recognize the signs of domestic violence; properly intervene; create safe, open dialogue; and refer their clients to appropriate local resources for further help. She says the following about a salon professional’s unique position to help abused people:

“The salon is one of the few places abused people can get away and be able to talk. The stylist-client relationship is privileged. Body language is a big tool salon professionals use in the industry, and we have a short amount of time to turn clients around and make them feel better, look better and be more confident. People find safety in their hair-dressers.”

“You Are Not Going to Die because You Don’t Have the Love of a Man.”

Back home in Northern Colorado, Ms. Cook’s work of removing barriers, educating others, and advocating for people has helped the lives of her clients, their spouses (sometimes themselves the target of domestic abuse), and their children. Ms. Cook also makes domestic abuse a visible issue by —

Distributing educational materials in public places accessible to everyone in the community.
Presenting educational workshops to children in their elementary though high school years on issues of manipulation, control, what abuse looks like, self-respect, and properly setting boundaries.

Through Cut It Out, Ms. Cook’s message embraces the following:

“You are the decision-maker for your life. You make the decision to either get out [of your abusive relationship] or die trying.”
“The biggest thing I learned is this: ‘You are not going to die because you don’t have the love of a man. Love of self is far greater than the love of any other human being.’”
“Bringing domestic abuse out [into the open] means more people can have a dialogue about it. Teaching the public how to understand the issue is significant — it’s not as easy as just saying, ‘I’m going to leave.’”

Cut It Out is the result of a partnership between Southern Living At Home, the National Cosmetology Association and Clairol Professional.

Pamela Cook (left) and Heidi Olinger at the 2010 Women of Vision Gala. Olinger nominated Cook for her work in launching Cut It Out.

Heidi Olinger is the founder, president & CEO of Pretty Brainy, Inc. She has been a journalist, marketing director, executive director, foster parent, and aunt. She also has assisted in teaching self-defense to women and girls through the program Model Mugging. “Being pretty brainy,” she writes, “is about believing in your capabilities and locating the self-confidence to act on your ambitions.”

American Sheroes & Famous Women in History Jackie Cochran and Babe Didrikson Zaharias: Their Achievements Were like Fireworks

Heidi — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:37:42 +0000

Famous Women in History Jackie Cochran & Babe Didrikson Zaharias Were All-American in Their Ambition, Independence of Mind and Determination to Win

by Heidi A. Olinger
Pretty Brainy founder & CEO

Following are excerpts from the Pretty Brainy biographies of Babe Didrikson Zaharias and Jackie Cochran, the sheroes of the World Champion Babe and World-Class Fly Girl Ts. We choose Cochran and Zaharias as the first heroes to (re)introduce to smart girls because —

They are real women whose accomplishments are genuinely inspiring.
Theirs are stories girls can take to heart and feel confident in knowing, “If they could do this, so can I.”

Cochran and Zaharias grew up in economic tough times, such as we are experiencing now, but even as young girls, they provided the financial backbone for their parents and siblings, whom they supported throughout their lives.

If you are a grown-up choosing Pretty Brainy for the girls in your life, here is some of the info we place up a girl’s sleeve—

USPS Stamp of Babe Zaharias

Babe Didrikson Zaharias, World Champion Babe

“Before I was even into my teens,” said Babe Didrikson Zaharias, “I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. My goal was to be the greatest athlete that ever lived.”

In one afternoon of track-and-field competition, Babe won 5 gold medals, broke 4 world records, and qualified for the Olympics. Despite being the only one on her team, she won the team championship. The morning after the meet, she resumed training.

When one journalist called her unfeminine because of her athleticism, she retorted, “I know I’m not pretty, but I do try to be graceful.”
In 1938, Babe was the first woman ever to qualify for a men’s Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) tournament. Not until 2003, 65 years later, would another woman, Annika Sörenstam, qualify.
Another of Babe’s goals was to be the greatest woman golfer, and, over her career, she won every major professional championship. Through golf, she also met and married George Zaharias, saying, “I always said I could fall in love with a man strong enough to outdrive me [in golf].”

U.S. Airmail Stamp honoring Jackie Cochran

Jackie Cochran, World-Class Fly Girl

In the summer of 1953, Jackie Cochran was the first woman in the world to fly faster than the speed of sound. The speed at which she flew is Mach 1. In the air at Mach 1, everything is silent. On the ground, however, the sound Jackie out-flew made two sonic booms and shattered window panes.
She was determined and tenacious: in 1932 she learned to fly in 17 days. Her boyfriend had bet her she could not learn in 6 weeks, and her instructor had said she needed 2 to 3 months to learn.
She studied advanced math on her own to further her goal of being a top pilot. She accomplished this never having attended school past the second grade.
Jackie first wanted to fly so she could travel the entire United States to sell cosmetics made by the company she founded, Jacqueline Cochran Cosmetics. Actress Marilyn Monroe wore her lipsticks.
Among her best friends was aviator Amelia Earhart.
At the end of her life in 1980, Jackie Cochran held more records than any pilot, man or woman, for flying the fastest, farthest, and highest.

Inspired?

More about Jackie Cochran and Babe Didrikson Zaharias are on World-Class Fly Girl and World Champion Babe Ts — preteen girls’ printed Ts created to match a preteen girl’s eye on the world. These smart goods for smart girls are available here in the Pretty Brainy Girls’ Clothing Boutique.

Coming Next

Look for Pretty Brainy’s summer reading picks on Cochran, Zaharias and other sheroes and famous women in history — top reading recommendations for smart girls of all ages from Pretty Brainy.

Heidi Olinger is the founder, president & CEO of Pretty Brainy, Inc. She has been a journalist, marketing director, executive director, foster parent, and aunt. “Being pretty brainy,” she writes, “is about believing in your capabilities and locating the self-confidence to act on your ambitions.”

Preteen Girls’ Accessories: It’s All about the Beads

Gianna — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:35:29 +0000

Pretty Brainy’s ′Tween Blogger, Gianna, Tells How She Began Making Jewelry and Why She Stays at It!

Dear Readers,

Today I will talk about making jewelry, a favorite among preteen girls’ accessories! When I was 10 years old my Auntie Ro was making jewelry on her deck in Granby, Colorado. It looked interesting to me and she offered to teach me how to make jewelry. I accepted her offer! The first piece I made was a simple bracelet with circular plastic red beads and square plastic orange beads.

I was not very interested in it until I made jewelry a second time! After that things took off! I really enjoyed it because of the colors and patterns of beads and gems and the creative sensation of mixing and matching all of them together in a beautiful arrangement. That was the beginning of my creativity in ’tween fashion beyond designing and sewing clothes.

Now, as part of what I do in ’tween fashion, I make jewelry almost every day! It is amazing to think that I have never lost track of time before! But when I am making jewelry it always feels like time freezes. Now I want to sell some of the pieces that I have made to other girls. Accessories, especially when it comes to what preteen girls want, are a great form of expression!

My mom visited the largest gem show in Tucson, Arizona, this year. Held each year in February, its showcase is always wide in gems, stones and jewelry from all over the world. My mom told me that she would walk into rooms as big as large lunchrooms and they would be filed with tables and tables full of Chinese glass, pearls, and gems! She told me that next year she would take me to it! After my mom’s trip, she started designing jewelry. So now we team together. She designs, and I make the jewelry! Well it is time for me to say goodbye, it is time for me to make some more jewelry!

Sincerely,

Gianna

Gianna is 12 years old and blogs for Pretty Brainy about preteen life, ’tween fashion and being creative. In April she reviewed a stage production of Mary Poppins in It’s a Jolly Holiday When ’Tween Girls Go to the Theatre!.

A Healthy Father-Daughter Bond: A Tremendous Plus in Empowering Adolescent Girls

Heidi — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:41:06 +0000

The Bond between Fathers and Daughters Can Be Remarkable

Decades before I ever designed a girls’ printed tee, my dad bought me two printed tees that I literally wore to shreds. One championed the Cincinnati Reds. The other, the Cincinnati Bengals. He bought those graphic tees for me knowing what I valued and knowing I would feel like me when I wore them.

By contrast, my mother would have given me what she wanted me to wear, based on her notion of who I should be.

That was one big difference between Mom and Dad. And it is anecdotal of the remarkable bond that exists between dads and daughters: our dads, because of their role as our dads, have the capacity to love us without placing conditions on giving us their love.

Dad is 80 this year. Several years ago my step-sisters gave him the perfect Fathers’ Day gift: a pontoon boat from which he fished the full day on a quiet lake. This year I will endeavor to give him a good runner-up: a home-cooked meal (he likes my cooking) and his favorite dessert: pie a la mode.

What would you do for your dad? If you were to spend the entire day with him, what would you plan?

Pretty Brainy asked ’tween girls this question to mark the bond between fathers and daughters for Fathers’ Day 2010. We also asked, “What do you like about your dad?”

Preteen girls have their say:

Photography: Ashley Swett. Interviews: Sandra Tanner.

Angelita, age 12

On Her Dad: “I like that even when the going gets tough, he strives for things. He is a fun person to be around.”

Her Fathers’ Day Plans: “I would probably go out to the mountains and spend the day fishing at a lake. It does not have to be a big lake.”

Keanna, age 9

On Her Dad: “He is a good person.”

Her Fathers’ Day Plans: “I would go to Fort Fun. And play golf.”

Angelica, age 6 ½

On Her Dad: “He takes us fishing and takes us fun places and mom doesn’t have to pay.”

Her Fathers’ Day Plans: “We would go fishing, camping, or hunting.”

Megan, age 12

On Her Dad: “He is very active. He is very nice, easy going, and understands a lot. And if what I want to do is for a good reason, he will let me do it.”

Her Fathers’ Day Plans: “Go to a Bronco’s football game. Afterwards we would have dinner at Old Chicago. We would then go to the Denver Rescue Mission [a homeless shelter], volunteer, and help serve dinner. Afterwards, we go to see the movie Avatar.”

Lauren, age 10

On Her Dad and Plans for Fathers’ Day: “Ride my bike and swim.”

Preteen Girls Declare Career Goals That Embrace Math & Science

Heidi — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:00:18 +0000

Career Goals That Make Young Girls Powerful Girls

Dear Pretty Brainy Friends —

Do you remember being young and knowing, without doubt, what you would do with your life, never seeing any obstacles and being confident in your vision of what you would do and be?

Identifying that passion and believing in yourself are cornerstones of what we stand for at Pretty Brainy, Inc. The ’tween girls for whom we design carry a vision for their lives made up of multiple career roles and goals strung together. For example, a 9-year-old told me, “I want to be a veterinarian and write a novel.” And a 6-year-old said she wants to be a rancher-rock star and singer.

In June 2009, Pretty Brainy began formally to interview girls and to record their statements of what they aspire to do with their lives.

After one year of interviews, a key finding is this: about 77 percent of the preteen girls interviewed have ambitions that embrace math, science, or both fields of study. And it is the spirit and exuberance at the heart of what every girl says — the goals that make young girls powerful girls — that inspire Pretty Brainy preteen clothes.

FYI, full news of the interviews to date, which Pretty Brainy released May 12, follows.

Thank you, too, for being pretty brainy.

* * *

Who Says Girls Can’t Do Math?

Preteen Girls State Career Goals That Rely on Math and Science

Designer of ’Tween Fashion Works with Girls’ Natural Interest in “Hard” Disciplines — Areas in Which They Traditionally Have Been Discouraged

Fort Collins, Colorado – (May 12, 2010) – This spring, colleges and universities are graduating fewer females than males in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM disciplines. At the Colorado School of Mines, males make up 75 percent of the student population, for example. And in the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, males comprise approximately 76 percent of undergraduates majoring in the subject.

Girls in the graduating class of 2018 and beyond, however, will reverse the trend if they follow through on their plans for the future. “I want to be a marine biologist and study Orcas,” one Colorado 10-year-old recently wrote at a career exploration day, and interviews with girls by a Colorado start-up indicate that most girls before age 11 express their aspirations in terms of not one, but multiple disciplines, including math and science.

“I want to be a veterinarian and write a novel,” a 9-year-old wrote.

Another 10-year-old said, “I want to make a store that sells bugs and shows how nature is a lot more interesting than you think.”

These and additional statements show that girls picture themselves in careers that embrace math and science — fields in which they traditionally have been discouraged, says Heidi Olinger, chief executive officer, Pretty Brainy, Inc.

“Girls are as naturally inclined toward math and science as they are in ‘softer’ studies, such as language and literature,” says Olinger. She continues, “When an eight-, or nine-, or ten-year-old speaks up about what she wants to do when she grows up, pay attention. She is speaking from a part of herself that knows she can accomplish anything.”

Paying Attention to ’Tween Girls’ Career Declarations

Olinger advises parents and teachers to note the career declarations girls make before they reach age 11, when, by contrast, their self-confidence and –esteem begin to shrink. “Before a girl enters the hurricane of adolescence and self-doubt, her vision for her life is rooted in self-confidence.” She continues, “At about age eleven, the strong image a girl has had of herself begins to suffer.” She cites the research of Nadya Fouad, distinguished professor and vocational psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Through her work on a 3-year study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Fouad concludes that the expectations and support of parents and teachers are fundamental to girls’ engagement with and academic success in math and science.

Olinger first noticed girls expressing their career aspirations in terms of multiple, combined occupations nearly 10 years ago. In 2009 she began to record what they say. One of her favorite statements comes from a 6-year-old who said, “I want to be a cowgirl-astronaut-princess.” A first-grader in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, said she wants to be a rancher-rock star.

Smart Fashion for Smart Girls

The interviews with girls are part of Olinger’s responsibility, as she sees it, in designing preteen clothing and accessories. Under the brand name Pretty Brainy, the designs incorporate math problem-solving and biographies of accomplished women to capitalize on girls’ energy and interests during their preteen years. Olinger calls what she creates “smart fashion for smart girls.” A former educator who, in 2008, received the Boettcher Foundation’s Teacher Recognition Award, Olinger, in wanting to emphasize the fun and enjoyment in learning, positions the graphic print on her girls’ printed tees like “crib sheets,” or academic notes that face a girl when she’s wearing Pretty Brainy.

Girls that Olinger and an intern at Pretty Brainy have interviewed range in age from 6 to 11 years old. Live conversations with girls have taken place in person and by telephone. Olinger also asks groups of girls to anonymously write down their response to the following prompt, “When I grow up, this is what I want to do.” The prompt is designed to allow girls to express goals in addition to career aspirations.

One 7-year-old told Olinger, “I want to be a vet and go to Paris.”

A 9-year-old from Loveland, Colorado, wrote, “I want to do sculpting and be a small business owner.”

“Approximately 77 percent of girls we have interviewed express goals that will require the study of math, science or both,” says Olinger. “And though it is a myth that ‘girls can’t do math,’ old stereotypes slowly die.” This is why, she explains, Pretty Brainy has designed math problem-solving into its first product on the market, girls’ printed tees. The idea is to keep a girl’s confidence about doing math literally front and center on the shirt she wears. Olinger first had the idea for the girls’ printed tees as a way to help a young niece maintain her self-confidence and aspirations through adolescence.

Olinger had a hunch that her niece would stay confident and maintain interest in her goals if she remained engaged in the math and science studies she would need. Fouad’s research supports the point. When girls feel confident that they can do math and science, it fuels their interest in the subjects, says Fouad. “And confidence comes in the doing,” says Olinger, quoting famous first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Do the Math & Ditch the Stereotypes

Girls who do not learn math, says Carol Bartz, chief executive officer, Yahoo, “are closing [themselves] off to three-quarters of the careers in America.” Bartz made the statement in an interview for Forbes Woman in the fall 2009 issue of the magazine, which profiled women executives who have science degrees and are leading some of the top companies in the world. Bartz holds a B.S. in computer science from the University of Wisconsin.

“Why wouldn’t we want our children to achieve their greatest goals?” Olinger rhetorically asks. “Why wouldn’t we want them to do and be their very best?” Role models, including Bartz, have emerged, and the support of the NSF, for example, in uncovering what educationally must take place for girls to succeed at math and science is significant. To do the right thing in helping girls succeed, the combination of efforts must continue, says Olinger.

Thirty years ago, females made up 5 percent of the student body at Colorado School of Mines, for example. The number of female undergraduates is now 5 times what it was in the 1980s, and if more girls realize the career aspirations they are declaring today, in time the ratio of males to females in STEM disciplines may achieve near balance.

“Pretty Brainy will continue to interview girls about their aspirations,” says Olinger, “and if girls pursue the careers in math and science in which they are picturing themselves, we can look forward to graduation rates reflecting their progress in realizing their dreams.”

Pretty Brainy will keep designing preteen girls’ clothes with this vision: girls will succeed.

Girls’ Printed Tees for Smart Girls Who Do More Than Pay Attention to a Fashion Brand

Heidi — Thu, 06 May 2010 19:18:54 +0000

Clothes, Credibility, and Life’s Priorities

Velvet is the fabric I most recently took the time to handle and contemplate because of its personality and feel. I came upon a swatch in a children’s book and ran my fingers over the nap to experience its softness, its richness. So I am glad to hear from Diana McKinney, Jackie Faught of our retailer Total Elegance Boutique and many others that they find Pretty Brainy Ts soft. Given the complications of the world in which we live, it is something that people would speak up about fabric. And then again, what something is made of has to speak to and reflect the people for whom it is made.

One of my goals in designing Pretty Brainy girls’ printed Ts was to provide this: a Fabric That Behaves like a Girl’s Best, Low-Maintenance Friend. When I first worked on the design nearly 10 years ago, my vision was to bring active, thinking girls and smart women a piece that would take the brain damage out of what to wear to look great, feel confident, and stay focused on what’s important in life.

The clothes you wear contribute to — or detract from — your credibility. And, at the same time, getting dressed and looking great should be easy tasks. They should be a snap so you can take care of life’s greater priorities — work that fulfills you, the people you love, attention to your highest values. So I created a fashion brand for smart girls of all ages so they can engage the things in life that are more important than a fashion brand!

Here Is What Comprises a Fabric That Behaves like Your Best, Low-Maintenance Friend:

A tiny-rib cotton — 100 percent cotton that, besides its tiny rib, is soft because of being ring-spun and finely combed.
A garment that minimally shrinks in the washer and dryer. I personally test Pretty Brainy Ts in the laundry, washing and drying them as if my boyfriend were doing the wash, that is, in hot water and on a high dryer setting. In my own tests over the last 13 months, the Peppermint Pink Ts have shrunk slightly more than Pretty Brainy Ts in our other hues of Chocolate, Black Licorice, and Bright White.

We tell moms and dads doing the laundry that our Peppermint Pink girls’ printed Ts may shrink up to 5 percent, while each of the other hues may shrink approximately 2 percent when washed repeatedly after purchase.

Softness that doesn’t compromise durability. For all the times a girl wears her Pretty Brainy T, our fabric wears well and holds its shape.
Girls’ apparel that is, in equal parts, beautiful and substantial: that was my goal. I was among the young teen girls who crawled the malls for ′tween fashion and teen girls Ts, seeing that “goods” on the racks for girls were flimsy (even cheap) compared to what was made and marketed for boys.

These are among the qualities that go into appropriate clothes for ′tween girls. Girls play hard, think hard, live out loud, and influence the world every day. And to bring them girls’ apparel in which they can be and be their best is work that fulfills me.

My Favorite Girls’ Printed T: The Attitude Redefines “Age-Appropriate Clothes for Girls”

Heidi — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:27:06 +0000

The Girl in the Plain Brainy T

She’s the Girl Who Knows How to Use Her Resources. And One of Her Best Resources Is Her Own Good Self.

She is the one who, when grown, will carry a pocket knife in an evening bag.

She —

Will have reconciled all the great things about herself that the hurricane of adolescence deemed incompatible.
Knows her own mind, even when others try to confuse things.
Is learning now, at an early age, that the right attitude will see her through any situation.
Is smarter for her “mistakes.”
Is realizing, especially between the ages of 7 and 10, who she is and the amazing things she can do with her life.
Will go far in life on just the basics.

For this girl I created the Plain Brainy T.

Why We Call This Girls’ Printed T Plain Brainy

It simply —

Looks good with the 20 percent of the things a girl wears 80 percent of the time because it is made of a 100-percent-cotton fiber that looks neat and together. It is not your brother’s T.
Hitchhikes, which is my way of saying it’s the T a girl wears when she wants quickly and reliably to look her best everywhere she needs to go — library, road trip, dinner, jungle. This is the attitude and versatility at the heart of what Pretty Brainy means when it refers to “appropriate clothes for ’tween girls.”
Is the girls’ printed T that sports the Pretty Brainy name and tagline. Period. No beaded fringe. No math. No famous quotes by women. Just plain brainy.

And it resonates with men shopping for their daughters and sisters and wives.

I suspect they like it because it is the girls’ printed T that does not multitask.

As with each of our current girls’ graphic Ts, the Plain Brainy T let’s a girl tell the world as she’s walking away, “Look Who’s Pretty Brainy.” This tagline, as well as the Pretty Brainy name, recognize smart girls of every age for who they are in the world: pretty and brainy in equal measure.

It’s an identity that says, “You don’t have to sacrifice one personal quality or the other. Be your full, wonderful self.”

Are you the girl in the Plain Brainy T? Check out the Girls Clothing Boutique now.

It’s a Jolly Holiday When ′Tween Girls Go to the Theatre!

Gianna — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:54:00 +0000

Pretty Brainy’s ′Tween Blogger, Gianna, Reviews a Theatre Production of Mary Poppins, as well as the Oceanaire’s Bathroom Interior Design

Dear Reader,

Recently, my best friend and favorite cousin, Bella, and I went to see Mary Poppins. It was a Christmas gift from my parents. We both took the bus home from school and went to our friend Katie’s house while my parents came home from skiing. Then we went to my house to get all dressed up and ready for the play. We went to an exotic fish restaurant called Oceanaire that is across the street from the theater. We met up with some friends for cocktails and appetizers. The restaurant is a replica of an ocean liner, a beautiful vintage traveling ship.

Bella and I fell in love with the bathroom. I know that is strange but the bathrooms have mouthwash, Q-Tips, moist hot towelettes, cotton balls and marble sinks. How can you not love that? Anyway, we went to Mary Poppins and had the best time of the whole year! The costumes were impeccable, the set design was phenomenal and the actors and actresses were unbelievable! That equals up to a 100 out of 100!

My favorite song was “It’s a Jolly Holiday with Mary.” Other favorites were “Brimstone and Treacle,” “A Spoon Full of Sugar” and last but not least “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” The character Bert even did a dance on the wall and the ceiling, and Mary flew over the audience holding her umbrella above her head. The ending was great and the music was amazing. It was one of the best plays I have ever seen besides Jersey Boys, Wicked and Mama Mia! If the touring show comes to your town, I recommend you see it!

Thank you all for making my ′tween blog so popular!

Gianna

Gianna is 12 years old. Read about her last birthday party in Gianna’s Birthday Celebration: Lemon Cake, Putt-Putt Golf & Other Happy Details.

How to Raise a Self-Confident Daughter

Heidi — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:53:00 +0000

Part One: Get Your Own Self-Confidence On

What’s the starting point to raising a self-confident daughter and empowering adolescent girls? You.

This is the bottom line: if you want your preteen or teen daughter to be confident now and to embody confidence throughout her life (and why wouldn’t you? You know what a great person she is and will continue to become), you, too, have to embody genuine self-confidence. Media messages tell us to find our inner rock star and inner child (yikes!) and to “get our cowgirl on.” But the starting point for being a self-confident parent can be the same: find your inner self-confident parent. Be the parent. Be the self-confident adult.

If you can’t muster what this means, begin by being like the adult you admired most for his or her effectiveness with children when you were growing up. Go there. Imitate what you found admirable.

My uncle John was a life-long bachelor with no children of his own, but he knew how to rally his nieces and nephews into organized action. Where other adults yelled and dictated, John just was and his manner got my cousins and me to act from our better selves. John’s way was honest, focused, lively and present. If John had told me to take my medicine or to stop crying or play fair, I would. He got me to eat burnt toast. He made me think staying home was more fun than going shopping. He never scolded. He never criticized. He was an adult with self-confidence and self-knowing.

We declare what we want to be when we grow up: a veterinarian, a writer, an actor, singer, astronaut, doctor, teacher. And someone inspiring represents that occupation to us, someone admirable who we want to be like. Maybe we want to be like this person more than we want to do what she or he does for a living.

But few of us aspire to great parenting in the same way.

To be more confident and impart confidence to your daughter, begin with your body language. Ask yourself now: what gets me to a state of being self-confident in my own skin? What is the answer? Identify and engage what that is.

A few years ago, after any session of working out with my trainer, Jeff, I was easily in a state of greater self-confidence. Jeff put me through the ropes. He challenged me and had me do things I never thought I could. It was a mental workout, as well as a physical workout. After showering and dressing I rarely put on makeup, but, thanks to the effect of the workout, more people were attracted to me because I had the glow of heightened energy and confidence. People I didn’t know wanted to be with me. If I was in the grocery store, other shoppers offered to go to the front of the store to get me a cart; clerks gave me, free of charge, chocolates and tea and baked goods and, once, 50 pounds of puppy chow. That confidence of being me, and not what came from the “beauty” counter, was the real foundation I put on.

So begin by knowing what puts you in this kind of state. It is what your daughter needs to see and experience in you. Empowering adolescent girls: it includes their being around grown-ups whose self-confidence is genuine. And your own embodiment of self-confidence is one of the top ways you can teach your daughter to be her own fabulous, confident self now.