Britney Brigade

The racy pop icon is now a style setter. Is it bad that millions of young girls, from post-toddlers to teens, want to look just like her?

Rachel Martin's present for her ninth birthday came wrapped in silver spandex. The 5-ft.7-in. gift walked in on a red carpet, stripped off her floor-length black coat to reveal silver hip huggers and a matching tube top and sang, "I think I did it again/I made you believe..." And for a few wondrous moments, Rachel and her 10 girlfriends did believe that Britney Spears was in the house, lip-synching in front of the marble fireplace and rocking chair in Rachel's North Salem, N.Y., living room. On this recent Saturday, Shannon Connor, 21, an impersonator in hot demand at birthday parties throughout...

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