When I was 11, I was convinced that spandex bike shorts paired with neon green foam platform sandals was a GREAT outfit. Seriously, ask my mom for pictures. Oh wait, I probably sneakily threw them away.

Eleven-year-old Megan Kent totally puts adolescent me to shame. Megan, from Vero Beach, already has her own clothing line, Love Gone Apparel. She started it after her parents' got divorced. "Their love was gone for each other. That's how I came up with the name," she said. Sweetly sad, right? But despite the somber inspiration, Megan's rocker-ish T-shirt line seems to be doing pretty well in its first year.

This weekend she says she'll be at the 97X Backyard BBQ in St. Petersburg's Vinoy Park to dress musicians from the bands Sick Puppies, Panic! At The Disco, AWOLNATION, The Airborne Toxic Event. We spoke to the young diva about her business and thoughts on personal style.

So, tell us about your clothes and what inspires you.

I just really love fashion. I always saw people wearing American Eagle and Aeropostale and thought, I could do that too. The clothes, they're kinda like rockish. They're mostly black, but also come in purple, gray, pink. They, like, bring out the rock factor.

Have you picked out what you'll dress the 97X rockers in yet?

No, I don't know what's going to happen yet, what we'll put them in. We are starting a men's line so we're looking for designs.

What advice would you give other young fashionistas?

Everybody has different opinions. If you wanna wear, like, tank tops with shorts and glasses, that's fine. Just be yourself. And if you want to start your own clothing line, you can. It takes hard work, like my mom has shown me. Just don't give up.

There you have it, divas, from the mouth of babes. I guess my whole platform look was just my way of "being myself." Yikes. Check out Megan's stuff at her web site.

Deal Diva Kim

Photo: Love Gone Apparel