External links
www.google.com - click here to view banner
www.yahoo.com - click here to view banner


Internal links
go back to transitional flash - this link will not show the banner due to the banner configuration
go back to banners - this link will not show the banner due to the banner configuration

Swing open the door, and behold a tableau that perfectly captures the tween aesthetic. The polka-dot chandelier. The zebra-print wallpaper. The lime green shag rug that pulls the look together — without being too matchy-matchy, as a pre-tween might have it.

But you can’t go in because the door doesn’t lead to a room. It leads to a locker. Specifically, Nola Storey’s locker at Rye Middle School in a New York suburb. “I’ve had a bunch of people stop by my locker and say, ‘Wow, your locker’s so cool,’ ” Nola, 11, said. Her mother, Kelly Jines-Storey, said the Lilliputian furnishings initially struck her as “kind of crazy.” But she added, “My second thought was, ‘Wow, I wish I would’ve thought of that.’ ” At middle schools across the country, metal lockers that were long considered decorated if they had photos of friends or the teen heartthrob of the moment — Shaun Cassidy years ago, Justin Bieber today — have suddenly become the latest frontier in nesting.

Peek inside, and find lockers outfitted with miniature furry carpets, motion-sensor-equipped lamps that glow when the door opens, mirrors, decorative flowers, and magnetic wallpaper in floral and leopard-print patterns. It is hard to say whether retailers have merely capitalized on or actually created demand among girls for the accessories. Either way, they are being embraced from Little Rock, Ark., where an owner of an upscale children’s boutique, the Toggery, said the demand for locker chandeliers had led to “snatching and grabbing” in the store’s normally genteel aisles, to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where shoppers at Lester’s who failed to pounce quickly enough found themselves picking over the dregs before the school year even started.

“I feel so bad,” said Jenna Berman, an associate accessories buyer for the outposts of Lester’s in Manhattan and Westchester County and on Long Island, which are destinations for young trendsetters of means. “These little girls’ faces, they look so sad.”

Not everyone, of course, is taken with the notion of dangling a $25 chandelier from a locker ceiling, particularly when many schools have required students to wear uniforms in an effort to blur divisions between rich and poor.

Bahrain Boils Under the Lid of Repression

Bahrain has become the cornerstone of a counterrevolution to stanch change in the Middle East, but many fear the violence will beget more violence.

Photographs: Repressing the Religious Majority
On Baseball
Pitching-Rich Rays Continue Late Charge

Tampa Bay trails Boston 3 games for the A.L. Wild Card, and would pull even with a sweep in the current series.

Flying Private Is Only Way For Some Dogs
Flying Private Is Only Way For Some Dogs

Many airlines now forbid bulldogs, pugs and related breeds from their planes, causing inconvenience for their owners. Above, Louie York waits to fly on Pet Airways.

Inside News

Magazine »
What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?
What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?
Arts: Design »
Unfurling a Life of Creative Exuberance
Unfurling a Life of Creative Exuberance
Movies »
Showing It All in Toronto
Showing It All in Toronto
Opinion »

Op-Ed: Exploits, Now Not So Daring

Adventure used to mean that if you got into trouble you had to get yourself out. Modern technology now offers a big assist.

Real Estate »
The Hunt | Bedrooms for 2, Dinner for 6 Guests
The Hunt | Bedrooms for 2, Dinner for 6 Guests
Opinion »

Tribal Rights vs. Racial Justice

In Room for Debate: Were Cherokees showing sovereignty when they expelled black Freedmen, or just being racist?