talkin' 'bout my generation; Ask a coed what it means to dress her age and she'll tell you exactly what she thinks, for herself today and for the woman she'll become.

Byline: Jane Herman And Florence Kane

After seasons of youthful trends-leggings, minidresses, the skinny jean-it's been a relief for women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond to see things take a turn. The weightier fall collections are refreshingly better suited for the weightiness of midlife than for carefree adolescence. It got us thinking: If older women sometimes feel that fashion has become too youth-driven, how do young girls feel when designers cater more to their mothers? How would they appropriate the extremely polished pieces from the likes of Marc Jacobs, Bottega Veneta, and YSL that had grown-ups swooning all the way home from the shows last winter? And, more intriguing, could young women imagine their older selves donning all these squeaky-clean styles? With these questions fresh in our minds, we invited eight teenagers to Soho House for tea to tell us about what they wear today and how they envision their wardrobes aging with them. The girls gave their opinions on age-appropriate fashion. Here we list their top five reasons-from the Chloe they covet to the minis they expect to miss-for relishing their youth. And five more-from buying power to Prada-on why it's good to get older, too.-j.h. and f.k.

WHY YOUTH IS KING

1. RULES ARE UNWRITTEN

"Nothing's stone cold," says seventeen-year-old Samantha Perelman. But take note: Their anything-goes approach to self-signifying fashion would unlikely be expressed through polished monochromes or stomping-good heels. Perelman's beat-up Marc by Marc Jacobs flats are deliberate. They say her style can't be bought-it must be worn in. The young stay on trend, on their own terms: Rachel Smith, eighteen, wears black tights (sheerer than leggings) and a shirt just shy of tunic-length. The tiniest push, from fashion's mainstream to a defiant edge, turns a look entirely new.

2. MESSINESS IS BEAUTIFUL

The orchestrated wrecking of a look is best achieved when sexiness meets messiness: a hole-punched tee, a sweater two sizes too big. Quinn Jackson, who's fifteen and loves Chloe, wears her lengths short-short, but with her hair perfectly tousled the look is enviably innocent.