Ode to the Girls with a Passion for Fashion
Developed by Peggy Nicoll (2005) from Bratz the television series.There were many things that I was completely obsessed with when I was a little girl: The Princess Diaries duology, Stardoll, Myscene and The Cheetah Girls, to name a few. But through all the infatuations and hobbies that I picked up just as quickly as I dropped them before moving on to the next; the only constants were my obsessions with style, Paris, and becoming a fashion designer.
I treated The Cheetah Girls, Stardoll and Myscene like the bible; hours spent studying their philosophies of friendship and fashion in the hopes of adapting them into my own life. Maybe that’s why I gravitated so naturally to the Bratz dolls as well as the T.V show and movies that surrounded them. I loved their glossed lips, hooped earrings, and platform sandals, and how in every episode they would be seen wearing a different outfit and makeup look. I loved that they had founded their own fashion magazine and wrote for teen girls like themselves. And although I no longer have dreams of becoming a fashion designer, when I think about the Bratz, I think of how they portrayed a girlhood grounded by pop culture, friendship, fashion, and being their own bosses.
Around the age of 9 or 10, my sister and I had all of the Bratz dolls and their accessories, and no matter the interest or obsession we had, there was always a Bratz movie for it. We played the Bratz Girlz Really Rock video game—the one where they attended Camp Starshine, a performing arts summer camp for other gifted teens—my sister and I dreamed of going to a sleep-away camp with our best friends because of it. We dreamed of trips to Europe, London, England, like in Bratz: Rock Angelz (2005). We longed to have sleepovers like they did in Bratz Kidz: Sleep-Over Adventure (2007), sneaking out to the carnival at night and playing truth or dare with our friends. We wanted the ethereal experience of fairies and magic like in Bratz Fashion Pixiez (2007), Bratz: Desert Jewelz (2012), and Bratz: Genie Magic (2006). We even the mundane things, like attending high school and having classes with friends like in the television series, overall, the Bratz girls were portrayed in a way that made us want to be them.
Developed by Peggy Nicoll (2005) from Bratz the television series.When my fall semester of college ended and winter break commenced, the restless feeling I had of doing absolutely nothing was haunting and I found myself spending a little too much time watching the Bratz television series. The 2000s nostalgia was comforting, especially with the spoofs of celebrities like “Aloncé,” “London Milton,” and “Byron Powell.” The rock, alternative, and R&B-themed music only made it more vibrant.
I was always mesmerized by the way their hair moved on-screen, the interior design of the Bratz Magazine office space, and all the different problems they had to face that would ultimately make their friendship stronger. Yasmin (a.k.a. “Pretty Princess”) was always my favorite. She loved reading, poetry, and music. She was a studious, down-to-earth, vegetarian animal-lover, and a calmer force around the other girls. She could usually be found trying to help Cloe calm down after one of her crazy overthinking dramatic monologues that were always accompanied by a violin in the background.
My sister loved Jade (a.k.a. “Kool Kat”), and my cousin always had dibs on Sasha (a.k.a “Bunny Boo”). For some reason, no one wanted to be Cloe. When it came to the Bratz, we adored them not just because of the cute shirt Jade was wearing, or how Yasmin wore her hair in a certain episode, although we were always in awe of their outfits; we adored them because we were able to see ourselves in them.
I remember Cloe’s boy problems: her crush on her friend Cameron and the Duke she meets on a plane to London and how she tries to navigate both her new fling and her friendships with the girls she took the trip with. I remember Sasha’s nerves as she prepares for her interview with her idol, Aloncé, and her stress in the pursuit of perfection, which ends with the Tweevils ruining the opportunity for her—and Sasha ends up losing her voice. I remember Yasmin’s interview with London Milton, how she realized it was wrong to judge her so quickly after hearing the gossip surrounding her.
And although many of these episodes are not realistic and highly dramatized—like the episode surrounding an alien invasion of their high school—there’s realism to it. Like when Jade gets fired from her dream job at Your Thing Magazine in the first episode of the series, the girls comfort her through her distress and soon develop their own teen magazine: Bratz. Despite the tribulations of learning to balance school and work, dealing with Berdine and the Tweevils, and whatever problems they have to solve in each episode; the Bratz always stressed the importance of friendship and staying true to oneself.
Developed by Peggy Nicoll (2005) from Bratz the television series.Watching the shows and movies as an eighteen-year-old is so different than when I was watching them as a ten-year-old. Not only did I realize how poor the graphics were (minus the Bratz’s hair), I also realized how they used variations of the same animation character design for many characters. There were so many plot holes and inconsistencies in their storyline. If the Bratz were in high school, what were they doing driving tractor trailers across the country in a high fashion game show and taking quick trips to London, and attending parties at punk nightclubs?
But even through my amazement, the issues they tackled and obstacles they overcame throughout the T.V and movie franchise are still relevant today. The themes of authenticity, beauty, forgiveness, trust, honesty—unsurprisingly, haven’t gone out of style. Like when the Bratz magazine sales are in decline, they try to change up what they usually write about and do exactly what Your Thing Magazine does, only later do they realize that they don’t have to change themselves because the current trend tells them that something else is more desirable. Or when Cloe chooses her friends over her new boy-fling, after realizing that she deserves a guy who doesn’t openly flirt with other girls, who makes time for her and truly cares about her feelings. Even when she saw him as a “dream guy,” she knows her worth and understands that she deserves better.
In another episode, the girls spend their day completing dares. They get out of their comfort zone and try new things, even when they have some unlikely guests to accompany them: the Tweevils, who were notorious for trying to sabotage them. The Bratz put their differences aside and are still able to have a good time. And lastly, when Yasmin believes she’s lost the tickets for a concert that is the cover story of their debut issue of Bratz Magazine, her friends do not confront her with anger and frustration, instead they console and sympathize with her. The Bratz realize that their friendship is worth more than fighting over how Yasmin lost the tickets. This is before they find out that the Tweevils had stolen the tickets from Yasmin. In the end, they put their friendship first, reaching an understanding that nothing is worth risking the connection they share.
Developed by Peggy Nicoll (2006) from Bratz Camp StarshineMaybe I’m looking too deep into the short series and movies, but there's a reason why the Bratz resonated deeply with so many other people, not just my sister and me. But the thing that struck me the most during this nostalgia-filled session is that the girls are all so different. Not just in style, aspirations, and the way they view the world; they also have different backgrounds and come from different circumstances, which is developed in the Bratz (2007) live-action film, where the girls are of different demographics of race and class. But through all of this, they still have their close bond and spend their time together working on a project they love: the Bratz magazine. The girls embrace their individuality, uplift, and support each other. They are not each others’ competition, and they always stick together, even if they are not always physically together.
The Bratz provided me with more than just entertainment for my girlhood. They instilled in me a deeper understanding of what it means to be a teen girl making your dreams a reality. Throughout my teen years and now, on the cusp of my twenties (which is insane to think about), I know that the lessons from Bratz will continue to follow me. I realize that every day I am growing into someone else, another girl, a future home for myself. And maybe there isn’t even a present, just seconds between one action and another. But I like to think that each action is leading me to where I want to be and that whatever is meant for me, is out there, waiting for me to grasp it fully and I won’t worry about who will be watching. Just like it says in their theme song, “Together we can do anything / Gotta bend your dream, make a chance and believe, make it real / Bratz!”
Kailah Figueroa is a writer, editor, activist, and an enthusiast of films, photography, coffee, and kindness. She is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Mid-Heaven Magazine. Sometimes you can find her on Twitter @KailahFigueroa or on her website Kailahfigueroa.com
This Article was edited by Executive Editor Sarah Diver
Copyedited by Tah Ai Jia.