Jenice Armstrong: THE PRINCESS THING

She pointed out that in addition to staging weddings at Disneyworld, the Disney corporation now has its own line of wedding dresses. "It just seems a step backwards," she continued. "We've reversed back to this 'take-care-of-me' mentality. It seems like marketers have jumped on this idea. It takes a toll on our culture. It doesn't set well with me."

Angela Pernell, 32, understands what Oppliger means about separating the Cinderella fantasy from reality because she's had to do it herself. Pernell, who works in the accounting department of a law firm and attends St. Joseph's University, called off her Cinderella-themed wedding last year, even though she had it all planned from the horse-drawn carriage to reception in a castle-like building on the campus of Arcadia University.

Even though her father had already begun paying for her big day, the relationship had too many problems, so she cancelled. In the meantime, she indulges her own three nieces in their princess play - instead of trying to emulate one in real life.

"It's part of their imagination and making them believe that they are more than just a little girl, that they are special and they are beautiful," Pernell said of the party she held at Fairy Godmothers for her nieces last fall. "You have to let the little girls know that you, too, can be a princess. You, too, can be special. You, too, can be glammed out. You don't have to have a bunch of money to be a princess." And that's no fairy tale. *

Dan Cook, a Rutgers assistant professor, will discuss princess culture Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble, in Marlton. He's the author of "The Commoditization of Childhood: The Children's Clothing Industry and the Rise of the Child Consumer" (Duke University Press, 2004).