Style Blogging Wunderkind Tavi Is Taking a Break from Fashion to Be 16

Finally, proof that she is an actual teenager!

  • Share
  • Read Later
Getty Images

Tavi is maturing like the Benjamin Button of the blogosphere: from a preternaturally disciplined tastemaker and writer to an adolescent girl who wants to hang out with her boyfriend and explore other interests. Finally, proof that she is an actual teenager!

The young Ms. Gevinson vaulted to fame in 2008 when she was just 11 with her first blog, The Style Rookie. Conveying the fresh perspective of a preteen with a taste for high fashion labels like Rodarte, the site captivated readers, and she quickly became a Fashion Week front row regular. Tavi’s granny chic aesthetic—oversized sweaters and long skirts worn with gray hair and nary a hint of skin—fascinated an industry that generally worships youth. In 2011, she created the online magazine Rookie, a confessional, nostalgic site that she runs from her home in Oak Park, Illinois. Hardhitting media observer Lady Gaga even deemed her “the future of journalism.”

But the 11-year-old who dressed like a septuagenarian has evolved into a teenager who is comfortable applying her own sensibility to traditionally age-appropriate pursuits. Now a high school junior, she plans to take a year off after graduation before she heads to college.

In an interview with Adweek, Tavi confesses she wants to broaden her interests from a single-minded focus on fashion to “culture at large.” Earlier this month, The Style Rookie (which has continued operating as Tavi’s personal blog, or “blob” in her terms) celebrated its five-year anniversary, which its founder approached with a tepid lack of interest:

Sunday was the five-year anniversary of this here blob, which I’ve neglected in the past months in the interest of Rookie, high school, friends, sleep, and other things. Aside from that, I don’t feel like I have much to say, or rather, I prefer now to say it in private. My most recent journal is my favorite thing I’ve ever made, and nobody will ever see it.

Is Tavi tired of fashion? She told Adweek that she wants to remain involved with Rookie, although she no longer reads every piece before it’s published. Later in the month she will try her hand at DJ’ing at a museum afterparty in Chicago. While it doesn’t seem she has given up on style blogging completely, she admitted,“A message of Rookie has been to do what you’re passionate about, and you don’t necessarily owe anyone anything.” This teenager reserves the right to change her mind.