Like many middle schoolers across the country, Madison Aballi carefully crafted her look for the first day of 7th grade.
To see old friends and meet new teachers, she walked into her school in Westport, Conn., with a new light pink North Face backpack, complete with a Labubu keychain. She carried a new-to-her iPhone 15 Pro (formerly her mother’s).
And she revealed the biggest fashion flex of 12-year-olds across the country: a brand-new set of metal braces.
Nearly half the class, she estimated, also debuted new metal. “It’s sort of like how lots of people wear Adidas Sambas or Brandy Melville,” she said. “It’s kind of another accessory at this point.”
Teens and tweens have come to embrace braces — and not just any braces: They’re coveting the old-school metal variety of yesteryear.
“Kids used to come in wanting clear liners,” said Dr. Sable Staller, an orthodontist in Manhattan. “Now kids are like, ‘No! I want metal braces!’”
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