Last year was a great year for back-to-school fashion.

Cropped T-shirts for girls went out the window, taking scores of “muffin tops” the resulting bulges of flesh stuck between ultra-low-rise jeans and midriff-exposing tops along with them.

Overly baggy clothes and exposed boxers for boys went out last year too.

Yay.

This year fashion is again tasteful for tweens, including sporty styles for guys and hip yet feminine looks for girls.

Susan Rowe, who teachers fashion and merchandising classes at the Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center in Everett, said tween fashions haven’t changed hugely since last year, which should make things easier on kids and, perhaps, parents’ budgets.

This year, thanks to prints and embellishments on shirts, pants and shoes as well as a liberal use of layering, kids who don’t want to follow the crowd can strike out on their own, said Michele Casper, a back-to-school expert with Lands Ends, which sells its lines at the Alderwood Sears store.

“This back-to-school season is all about individual style,” Casper said. “It’s about personalization and really being able to put your own twist on things. You can put it together any way you want.”

Dresses, which have been hot and getting hotter for women, are big for tweens this fall, said Sue Aden, a children’s apparel merchandiser for Fred Meyer, where cute, colorful-print polyester dresses will be on hand in large supply.

“The biggest classification for growth is dresses. It is a huge business this year. Some have buckles in the middle. It’s kind of new modern,” Aden said. “It’s kind of the ’80s, but its reinterpreted. Leggings underneath is a fresh way to do it. Leggings are also a great way to bridge the seasons.”

Smocks, baby-dolls

Call them what you like, but loose-fitting, soft-flowing tops with empire waists are big this year for girls, Rowe said. Though they may look to parents a bit like flouncy maternity shirts, expect to see them everywhere in solids, floral prints, plaids and everything in between. Many are sleeveless and can be worn right over short-sleeve T-shirts and jeans as well as leggings.

Tunics and tees

When it comes to warmer clothes for those cooler days, girls will be wearing classic long-sleeve tunics often paired with jackets and hoodies, including some cropped jackets so small they stop right below the bust.

Decorated T-shirts

Vintage-style and washed out tees are the ultimate venue for self-expression. You’ll find screened, embroidered or appliqued designs of all sorts. Animals, especially birds, are hot on tees, along with sports logos, skulls and snarky references to the latest jokes, music, movies and just what tweens need monkey humor.

Layering

Layering continues to be a strong design element for all ages.

“It’s not just wearing a rugby. It’s definitely layering over or layering under,” Casper said. “It allows kids to play with color and play with pattern as well. You’re creating a layered look that gives you your own color combination.” This year short-sleeve tees layered over long-sleeve tees, a particularly hip look for boys and girls, will get easier thanks to 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 layered tops that create the look without the extra fabric.

Girls will benefit too: “You might have two polo collars coming out and what looks like a cami underneath,” Aden said.

Retro athletic for boys

Sports and skateboarding looks have always been cool for kids, but this year the look is taking on a decidedly preppy style, Casper said.

“There is more of an athletic influence,” she said. “There’s the skater influence and the overall athletic-retro old-school feel with navies, reds and olive greens and oranges.”

When it comes to shoes, athletic shoes are hip as ever.

“Boys really want the cool shoe, the shoe that has all the bells and whistle,” Casper said, “Easy lacing, traction on the bottom and cool color combinations.”

Flip flops and flats

They’re cheap and comfy and they will never die for boys or girls.

“Sandals and slip-on shoes are really big too,” Rowe said. “They’ve been wearing them to school winter, spring, summer, fall. They love the slip-ons. They’re so casual, I think they feel like they’re not in school.”

Ballet flats: As with last year, these cutsie shoes are still popular for girls, but many come with a bit of a heel for a new twist for 2007. Bored with ballet? Your next best bet is Mary Janes, which will be popular in traditional, dressy and even athletic styles.

Prints

It’s not just dresses sporting lively prints this season. Even boys shoes and hoodies will be increasingly embellished with prints and in many caes all-over prints, including themes such as skulls and skeletons, which have become hugely popular with the celebrity set, a trend Aden believes is tied to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” film franchise.

“Every since those movies have been around skulls have played a bigger piece of it,” Aden said. “There are tattoo prints too.”

Jeans

Denim pants for both boys and girls will continue to be big with dark washing and snug fits being especially popular for girls.

Ornamentation on pockets and bleached out whiskers on creases, both trends in high-end designer jeans for adults, is a trend slowly percolating down to the tween set, especially for girls.

“It’s more handcrafted details that give them a more personal appearance,” Casper said. “All of those details what you’ve seen in women jeans now you can see in kids jeans.”

Girls will also find an increasing volume of twill on the sales racks, along with khakis, gauchos, cargo pants, cuffed capris, and pants with banded legs and cinched cuffs just to keep things interesting.

Brown

Chocolate hues are still going strong, especially for kids, where the warm color pairs beautifully with earth tones as well as pastels.

“Anywhere you put brown is selling. Kids don’t wear as much black,” Aden said. “Brown is getting bigger and bigger all the time.”

Reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 or sjackson@heraldnet.com