Lesley Jane Seymour used to edit Marie Claire. The people at Hearst made her stop doing that around this time last year, and now someone else is editing it. Today she wrote a piece for the New York Times metro regionals sections about her 11-year-old daughter Lake and her friends. The piece is about how much the girls love to go shopping, and what they're like when they walk around a fancy mall in Westchester.

The purpose of the article, according to Ms. Seymour, was to "understand why shopping seems to have become an acceptable hobby, even an obsession, among some young girls." It seems like it was fun to write! The girls wear skin-tight jeans. One of them in particular has a pretty shirt. Click through for more information!

The first stop for the ladies is Louis Vuitton, where little Lake notices a white mink stole. "I have to have this!" she yelps, probably like a bat. A little later, the girls see a man carrying a pink bag by Juicy Couture; this makes them excited, and "they start hissing like snakes, cheering, 'Ju-i-ccc-y! Ju-i-ccc-y!'"

A few experts and professors later, the girls jump up and down on massage chairs, and after that, Ms. Seymour starts thinking about what it means to be a tween.

Her conclusions: creatures like Lake and her friends are not quite girls and not quite women. They like brands because it makes them feel like they're part of a club. Also, "the concept of window shopping no longer exists. Going home without a bag is unthinkable. Shopping has become about buying."

All of which makes us wonder: who paid for all the stuff? Are freelancers allowed to expense stuff at the Times?—LEON

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