. . . BACK TO REALITY

With all this furore going on about teenage girls modelling grown- up clothes, it is good to remember that there are a few sensible people out there who actually bother to design especially for young girls. Dorothy Perkins launches Girls Unlimited this season, a new range of clothing for girls aged between 8 and 13 - when girls should still be playing with worms and not strutting their stuff on the catwalk. Now before you think "Hang on, that's a mini that girl's wearing", children do wear short skirts and dresses. It is adults who have appropriated minis and given them sleazy connotations. This outfit is fashionable, fun, cheap and practical and that's all. AB

Red polo shirt, pounds 8.99, and blue denim skirt, pounds 12.99, in sizes to fit 8-13 years from selected branches of Dorothy Perkins, tel: 0171-291 2604.