Up to five hours of queue form in Barcelona to buy graduation dresses at the Oh Juliette store. The scene attracts teenagers and their families, while a fashion historian sees in that demand an accelerated adultization of the creatures.
A young woman explains that she discovered the brand on TikTok and went when she found out there was a store in the city. Another client summarizes the wait with a short phrase: "We've been in line for five hours, but so far it's been worth it."
Queues in Barcelona bring together teenagers and mothers accompanying the shopping
Among those waiting there are also mothers who watch the scene with bewilderment. One of them admits that she would never have asked her parents to do those hours of queuing and that now she finds it difficult to distinguish what she is doing right and what she is not.
Another companion places that pressure in a broader change and says that the American influence has arrived ahead of time, although they are there to accompany them.
The store Oh Juliette sells dresses designed for graduation and attracts very young clients for a purchase that was previously less associated with these types of rituals. The demand appears at a time when the format has become popular among high school teenagers.
Sílvia Rosés, fashion historian and professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, explains that graduation celebrations originate in ancient European universities like Bologna or Paris and are later adapted in the United States for high school.
"Americans take many European traits and take them to another level. They transfer it and make it go down from university to high school" - Sílvia Rosés, fashion historian and professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Rosés sees conservative and sexualized dresses in fashion imported from the United States
The expert describes these garments as quite conservative dresses cut from the same pattern. She adds that they all have the typical plunging neckline and a skirt with slits through which the girls stick out their leg.
Rosés also defines them as sexualized garments and similar to the typical dresses that adult women would wear at a wedding.
In his reading, the phenomenon is not limited to a one-time purchase. "An adultization of children is accelerating," states Rosés.
"An adultification of creatures is accelerating" - Sílvia Rosés, fashion historian and professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
The creators of the brand, Ana and Emma, defend a different proposal and say that they always bet on them wearing whatever they want and whatever they feel comfortable with. In their store, graduation is thus translated into a very visible purchase, with queues of up to five hours in Barcelona.