Who else thinks little girls should look like LITTLE GIRLS?

[Sarah1]

Lately, for some reason, this is bothering me--people dressing their little girls in teeny versions of trendy women's clothes. I'm sure this isn't a new trend, but why is it bugging me so much?

This morning I was at my gym, and when I dropped Audrey off at the daycare, I noticed a little girl there wearing a short-sleeved Michael Stars top and low-rise pants (don't even get me started on the low-rise thing). OK, I had no idea Michael Stars (he makes these tight-fitting tops for women) even MADE kids' clothes, and what really freaked me out is that I own the EXACT SAME TOP that little girl had on (obviously in a much bigger size)!

What's wrong with demure little girls' clothes? I just bought Audrey a top from Carter's that says "my little garden" on the front with pictures of flowers and a watering can. Isn't that more like it?

[papal]

ITA!!!
I think maybe the little girls are making the buying decisions... they see what is on tv (Hillary Duff etc) and want to emulate that. As a parent, I would thwack Leela if she wore low-rise pants.

[MartiesMom2B]

I agree with you! I was looking at the windows of Limited Too and thinking, "Is this what my daughter is going to want to wear" It's too scary. What is with the low rise thing? It's horrible. I can't even get a decent pair of jeans anymore.

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

[JulieL]

Ok I could go on and on about this. I love winter for the fact everyone has to cover up!

The clothing for little girls is horendous in my oppinion. I have a sister who is 12 and the last several years I have been shocked at what is being put out as normal clothing for her age group. In my personal opinion this is what fuels child pornography. If you dress your daughter in clothing expossing her body some weirdo is going to look at her in a sexual way, end of point.

Many of my friends think it is worse to grow up as a girl these days than for boys. Can't think of the last time I saw on t.v. a guys butt exposed, unlike a ton of thong it girls I see.

I am a young mommy and I have such a hard time finding pants at my favorite stores. On day on some way weird whim I tried on some jeans at Wal-mart and they have become my favorite jeans since! Before I wouldn't even hold Wal-mart clothes in my hand (they come apart so easily!). Well here's to more mommy friendly yet trendy clothing!

[Sarah1]

>What is with the low rise thing?
>It's horrible. I can't even get a decent pair of jeans
>anymore.
>
>Tell me about it Sonia. I have a couple pairs of low-rise cargo pants (I rue the day I bought them...I don't know WHAT I was thinking) and I never wear them because I basically cannot sit down without my underwear showing.

The other day at Little Gym, I noticed one of the other moms' underwear popping out of her low rise pants--a leopard print thong. Since I am friendly with her, I couldn't resist making a cat noise and saying "love your thong!" She was embarrassed but we both had a good laugh!

[JulieL]

LOL tooo funny!!! I hate seeing other peoples underwear, hope no one can see mine!

[nitaghei]

ITA. The "Early Prostitute" look - UGH!! This sexualization of little girls is really creepy. The stuff at Limited Too just freaks me out - and makes me glad that I have a little boy - I'll take boring over that stuff ANY DAY!!

That's why I love the LandsEnd clothes, and Hannas - they leave little girls looking like little girls, not miniature tarty women.

As for jeans for mommy - did you see that LL Bean (of all places) has some nice looking jeans for women - even straight leg and boot cut? I've always loved Eddie Bauer - those are the only jeans that fit me correctly.

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[MelissaTC]

So true! I don't get the low rise thing...

I saw a Mom at the park a couple of weeks ago and she bent over to play with her toddler in the sandbox...I saw her whole bottom! I am dead serious! She had a plumber's butt thing going and I almost died for her! There was a Dad sitting next to me on the bench and he was staring away. I looked at him and he looked at me as if to say that if it is there, he is looking! I was mortified for her!

[JulieL]

Ok here's my question. Don't ya think she could feel the air on her butt? And if so don't ya think she knows people are gettin a good look at her crack? I have seen nannies, mommies and otherwise decently dressed gals exposing more of their backside than I would like to see. But I have to think they don't care and they have to kow? Just a thought, maybe I am off base.

[mharling]

I think you're right Julie. How could you NOT know???

Mary
Lane 4/6/03

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I have yet to read responses for lack of time, but have to say just yesterday we went out and saw a little girl in her moms arms I am guessing maybe 6 months older than Tristan.
I KID YOU NOT...she was wearing white sandles with a HEEL!!!!!!!! This heel was about 2 inches high...I am not joking I bet she could barely walk. I actually think that teeters on child abuse to have such a youngin in such shoes....

When it comes to kids in clothes I am pretty conservative, I can't beleive kids have words written across their butt... or Tshirts that say "nasty"...YUCK...wanna get all of our kids raped start drawing attetnion to young girls booties and have young girls send men the message that they are "nasty"...if it only effected those who are allowing it that is one thing bUT you can't tell me that they aren't training men to look at my daughter and children the same way with such such things...
Neve
http://home.nc.rr.com/ourbabytristan
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[momathome]

Oh, man, this is a hot topic of conversation between me and Liza (age 6) right now. She so wants to shop in Limited Too and I keep telling her we are not ready for that just yet. She has dragged me in there a few times recently under the premise of "browsing" and upon careful examination of the clothes, I have found them to be half skanky, half do-able. So far, our only purchases in there have been a pair of pj's (pants and shirt that have a puppy on them!) and one t-shirt that I found at Ross that was just a cute summer tee that design-wise looks like an Osh Kosh tee. Liza is thrilled, me - not so much. Right now, at 6 years-old, she should still be dressing like a little girl - I keep telling her that just because she is big enough to fit into the Limited Too clothing does not mean that this is where we will be buying her clothes! For as long as she fits into them, she will be a Gymboree/Hanna girl (with some Gap/Old Navy stuff thrown in for good measure!). And for the record, once we start shopping in Limited Too for real, she will ONLY be getting clothes that cover absolutely everything they should - no halter tops, short-shorts, low-rise pants - NADA!!!
-Lauren

[papal]

I think you can NOT know. My friend was wearing low-rise jeans with not-so-low-rise-underpants (i like to say underpants and not panties) and she was on her knees and bent over to play with Leela. We saw her underpants (boring, white) and i told her i could see her overpants and she was MORTIFIED. So we had to do the double mirror trick (like at the hairdressers) to prove it to her. Fun for all involved. Now if they were not overpants but a butt-crack that we saw then maybe we would not have done the mirror-trick.

[papal]

YES!!! What is up with the sweatpants with the name of the school or college or other random things written on the seat of the pants?????? WHAT IS GOING ON???? I saw a girl with sweatpants with the word LOOK on her butt (LO on one bum and OK on the other). First i thought it was LO, OK and i was like WHAT?? and then dh says it is 'LOOK' and i was stunned. Then i kicked dh for looking.

[deborah_r]

Yeah, I accidentally got a look at another mother's thong down the back of the low-rise jeans, and they were also kind of ripped and tattered, and I just couldn't turn my eyes away fast enough. So, anyone reading this who enjoys this look, make sure you toss the thongs if they get ripped or torn! Unless this is some new desirable look I don't know about.

Unless you don't mind people seeing your butt, you;ve got to be crazy to wear that while toting a baby around because you know you are going to have to bend over to deal with the child.

I haven't seen too many examples of young girls dressed this way, but I see a lot of pre-teens that leave nothing to the imagination, between the bare midriff and the low-rise pants. I would think even good, decent, non-pervert men would have a hard time not looking, because it is just so blatant. I mean, if I'M looking (because I'm in shock at what these girls will wear), I'm sure the men are.

[lisams]

ITA!!!! They are only little girls once, why rush it! Plus, I don't think that kind of stuff is cute at all. Blech!

Lisa

[Calmegja2]

A subject near and dear to my heart. With an 8 year old and 4 year old daughter, shopping for them to look appropriately is much harder than it should be, and it makes me angry.

When I go to pick up my 8 year old at school, sometimes, it completely freaks me out, what I see.

[deborah_r]

Rashmi - I absolutely hate the word "panties", especially when people say it to or regarding little girls. I think it's just me, and I'm sure it's not inappropriate, but it just creeps me out. There's some potty training doll commercial on lately that refers to panties, and I just hate it. Underpants or underwear seem more appropriate TO ME for a little girl.

It might be a regional dialect thing.

[mamahill]

Did you happen to see The Simpson's last night? Lisa goes shopping and the salesgirl introduces her to their "Hooker Line." Lisa says something about being happy with dressing the way she does and the salesgirl says something like, "Yeah, but you LOOK like an 8-year-old." (except that technically she's wearing a strapless dress...)

Anyway, I totally agree with you. Especially in an age where we KNOW there are sexual predators out there, I don't wnat ANYONE getting an idea that Ainsleigh is older than she is. I stick with stores like Carter's, Land's End, Naartjie, etc. But it's sad to see some of the skanky stuff even coming from Gap, Old Navy and Target.

[AngelaS]

I TOTALLY agree!! I refuse to buy the skanky tramp clothing that's available in 'little girl' sizes. I love Gymboree, Lands End and sewing things for my girls to wear so they look like little girls!

I was thumbing thru the JCPenney's catalog because I remembered how they used to always have adorable little girls Eastery type dresses. The ones in this year's catalog and just short of trampy and there's not a SINGLE thing in the girls section that I would EVER put on Adrienne.... ICK!

[Sarah1]

Sarah, that is TOO funny..."hooker line" indeed! That's truly what it's come to some places!

I wanted to also add that when I was teaching middle school, I was not shy about busting girls for wearing inappropriate clothes--i.e. spaghetti straps, bare midriffs, and the WORST IMO are clothes with stupid and inappropriate words/sayings on them (like you guys have said, the ones on the butts drive me INSANE).

One girl came to school in a t-shirt printed with stamps that had playboy bunnies on them, and in big red letters it said "Lick This." I couldn't BELIEVE it and I sent her right down to the office...can you imagine sending your 12-year old to school in something like that????????

[peanut4us]

LOL! But I can't hear "panties" without hearing the insult "pantywaist" in my head. I used to think that was the funniest slam to a guy with no spine... perhaps now, i need to be amused a little less easily.

And I usually say "undies" probably no better than panties, but somehow I like the gender-neutralness of it.

[Jeanne]

I'm absolutely disgusted by these clothes. And I cannot believe that parents are so stupid as to cave in a dress their girls in them. I have a friend who only seems to shop at Limited Too. And while she doesn't allow for distasteful items, she does buy her girls low rider jeans, shorter shirts, and sweat shorts with lettering across the butt. She tells me that there's no getting around it. I don't buy it. Of course you don't want to make your child feel silly but you don't have to cave in either. This is the same friend who thinks that BF in public is inappropriate (she didn't BF because she thinks it's gross) and has taught her daughters to say the same thing in conversation. It infuriates me!
But for me, it doesn't just extend to little girls either. I was looking for a dress for a wedding and found what I thought was a beautiful one at Nordstrom's. I came out of the dressing room and out came a 17 year old wearing the same dress exclaiming that she was going to be the best dressed girl at the prom! I stormed back into my dressing room and took the thing off. I refused to buy it because I wasn't going to be caught dead wearing a dress that a 17 year old girl would wear. This was a woman's dress made for a woman's body. I was 31 at the time. IMO, a 17 year old girl is not a woman!

[deborah_r]

I missed that Simpson's, but I just think the Simpson's is so brilliant, the way they always pick up on the weird quirky things going on in our society. Sometimes it's only a little comment or side-joke but it just gets right to the heart of things as they are today. Love it!

[flagger]

These posts always crack me up. I know it is just venting, but I think of all of your grandmothers and great grandmothers and possibly even your own mothers who turned up their noses in disgust in "what passes for clothes on girls these days".

I mean to actually go to the beach in a bikini and expose so much skin? What a bloody scandal.

Wearing a skirt above the knee EVER? You might as well be shunned if not excommunicated from the church.

Somewhere lots of corpses are spinning in their grave listening to the droning on of yet another generation. Next someone will be complaining about that cr*p those kids call music.

[flagger]

These posts always crack me up. I know it is just venting, but I think of all of your grandmothers and great grandmothers and possibly even your own mothers who turned up their noses in disgust in "what passes for clothes on girls these days".

I mean to actually go to the beach in a bikini and expose so much skin? What a bloody scandal.

Wearing a skirt above the knee EVER? You might as well be shunned if not excommunicated from the church.

Somewhere lots of corpses are spinning in their grave listening to the droning on of yet another generation. Next someone will be complaining about that cr*p those kids call music.

[MelissaTC]

Ladies...let me clarify. I saw this woman's ENTIRE BUTT! I don't know how her pants were still on! Girlfriend was definitely not wearing panties at all! I swear, a little more and both cheeks would have been hanging out. This was the worse I have ever seen, including my aunt's husband who is always showing his crack!

[JenCA]

Me! Me! I do!

Call me conservative, but I still can't believe they sell bikinis for babies. I dress my daughter like an intant--and when she's older, she'll be dressed like a little girl. No hoochie wear for my babe! :)

[JulieL]

Ok another thought, has anyone thought to themselves that they thought they might have seen a pube???

I actually haven't seen one but I swear it wouldn't take a inch lower to see where the garden grows! Can it get any worse, next to being naked?

[lisams]

LOL, "where the garden grows"!!! Sometimes I wonder, seems like it would be uncomfortable!

Lisa

[starrynight]

Urgh I agree! And with 2 little girls I worry what will they want to wear in a few years. I refuse to put them in bikinis etc. For goodness sake why does a toddler need to show off her tummy???

And do not even get me started on shoe shopping grrrr. I went into payless for some sandels for Daria, even the blue's clue's ones had a bit of a heel! I walked right out and found a cute pair in Sears sans heal and they had butterflies on them like toddler shoes should! I find myself going to sears more and more because at least a good portion of the clothes aren't hoochified.

And I hate that I can't find jeans that have a waist for me! I like boot cut jeans but they all seem to come with not just low but lowest possible rise urg. Hellooo I need to bend all day. So I end up wearing long tees to cover myself up a bit. I used to love levi's but they changed them so I may have to switch brands.

[khakismom]

Ahh, I feel everyone's pain. I shudder to think about these girls of mine begging me to take them into Limited Too. I see lots of Land's End and LL Bean in our future.

There is this one little girl in my neighborhood--actually she and her older sister live next door--and she is the biggest hoochie mama at age 5! The shoes she wears are appalling. And her mother just buys into it. She took her Easter shoe shopping and came home empty handed because Molly couldn't find a shoe with enough heel to make her happy. Yesterday she had on one of those shirts with one sleeve and the other being bare with a spaghetti strap. Yikes!

When I was a kid, I wore knee socks and saddle shoes--no lie--until I was 8 years old!! And they were actually pulled up to my knees. My mother used to sing the praises of my uniform because she didn't have to fight with me every morning about what to wear--I had no choice! :)

[Marisa6826]

Maureen-

It seriously is one of the reasons I am thinking about sending Sophie to private school. In fact, some of the public schools here have even adopted uniforms to help combat some competitiveness.

I am NOT looking forward to those battles.

I was one of the few preppies in HS, so my mother actually would give me crap about how many LAYERS of alligator shirts I had on ;)

But all I can think about is how many girls in middle school would show up looking like normal 7th graders, and re-appear out of the bathroom looking like 8th Avenue hookers.

-m

[tinkerbell1217]

I do!!! I always dressed my DD in little girls clothing. Nothing revealing, just cute and usually pink or certain characters she liked. She always looked adorable and girly and HER AGE!!! I hate to see little ones running around in low rise jeans and tank tops! I mean, some of the styles are cute, but they really don't need to be made to looke like grown ups! I totally agree!!!!


Kelly

[Melanie]

Oh I totally agree! Especially those little hot pants with words on the rear. And they'll be wondering what went wrong with their 12 year old is dating an 18 year old.

It's just horrible that manufacturers are MAKING these things.

[emschwar]

Girl's clothing is insane. When I taught 3 and 4 year olds, I couldn't believe what some of the kids would show up in. Why would you want your child to wear a shirt that says "Spoiled Rotten". Sure, it may be true, but do you really want to advertise it?

I also have never understood bikinis on babies and little girls. Aside from turning them into little sex objects, I thought we were supposed to limit sun exposure in our kids.

Glad I don't have to deal with dressing a little girl for a while.

[suribear]

I don't like that look, either :( My dd does have a few grown-up designs, like boot cut pants and 3/4 sleeve shirts, but they are really pretty - not trashy looking. Most of her stuff is more "kiddy".

Nordstrom's selection for older girls is awful, IMO, though their baby stuff is darling. Same goes for practically every other store. My dd is going to be wearing a lot of Lands End and Hanna as she grows older. I just hope she'll let me dress her that way!

And isn't it ironic that the gymboree spinoff for older girls (Zutopia) is Hootchie Mama all the way? Can't stand it!

As for the butt cracks, the other day I was at a party and this mom bent over and exposed all. I was really embarrassed for her and couldn't even look! She was tending to her kid and bent over for awhile, so surely she knew about it! She has always been a high fashion type. I can't understand why a mom would dress that way as it seems really impractical.

Kris

[gravymommy3]

You must be reading my mind. I cannot cannot cannot find shoes for Grayson. Poor child needs a 1W and I want her in a white mary-jane style shoe. I can find them with 2 inch heels (I don't even wear heels that high) and the poor child would break her neck in them. I cannot even find saddle oxfords for her.

The clothing choices for little girls stinks. It is just like on the Simpson's (The little hooker line.) And I don't know about you, but where I come from (and how I grew up) it was a no-no to let someone see your undies.

[pamela mom of 3]

I agree, i don't like alot of the clothes nor the shoes...i saw a little girl over the weekend about the age of my eldest dd 8/9yrs and she had on at least a 3/4in heel boot! Um WTH? i won't even wear such a thing x(

I do admit my eldest dd is now wanting more grown up looking clothes, however their are ways to go about that without making them look like a mini woman.

Some of the little girls clothes out there are well, imo trashy and way too old for the age range they are being geared for.


~Pamela Mom Of 3

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/blobflower.gif

[starrynight]

Pam my old neighbor had a little girl a few months older than my 2 year old and she bought her boots like that! I said "won't she break her neck in those?" Her mom said No she's fine.

[khakismom]

Amy, like you, I love the saddle oxfords and even debated getting Kathleen a pair of these in pink:

http://www.kidsnshoes.com/Footmates/cheer.htm

http://www.kidsnshoes.com/Footmates/ClassicSaddlesOxfords.htm

I love Footmates shoes--so classic! :)

[C99]

I agree; it's bad. W/ boys' clothes, there isn't much variety, but at least they're not skanky or oversexualized. My sister is 14 and my parents have such a hard time buying her clothes. They just don't *make* jeans in juniors sizes that aren't skintight and cut to the pubic bone.

[Bethann31]

I absolutely agree with everything that has been said here. I avoid buying my 11 year old daughter any hootchie momma stuff. A couple of years ago, I was looking for clothes at Christmas, and I laughed that I would buy anything as long as it wasn't black polyester double-knit, cut down to THERE or cut up to THERE.

Now to play devil's advocate a bit. I would take my daughter Mollie into Limited Too and buy her almost anything if she would just SHOW AN INTEREST in clothing or being a girl, or anything like that. Right now it's all about anime and manga. She wears a school uniform, and won't consider wearing anything else. Khaki pants and a blue or white polo EVERY DAY!! I am tired of her looking like a Target employee. She doesn't want anything that makes her look feminine. I made the ENORMOUS mistake of buying her the Hanna Cakefair dress for Easter and she informed me in no uncertain terms that I needed to send it back. If I buy her any clothes, they go into the closet never to be seen again. Little girl clothes, big girl clothes, it doesn't matter. I just want her to show some enthusiasm about ANY clothes.

Hmmmm. Maybe that's why Katherine has so many clothes..........
Beth

Josh 3/90
Mollie 4/92
Jeffrey 12/94
and Katherine 6/03

[gravymommy3]

Oh Maureen,

You got my hopes up! These suckers only go up to a 12. Big foot has not worn a 12 in a year!! I did find these before on a google search but when I saw them again, I lost my mind and got all excited. What I would not give to be able get these for her!!! Oh well, :(

[HoneymoonBaby]

Well, I'm going to be the unpopular one and say that I (PERSONALLY -- just my opinion) don't like the "little girl" look on anyone older than toddler age. Hanna stuff is not even my taste for a three-year-old, but I definitely couldn't see putting it on an eight-year-old. I'm fine with kids dressing "grown up." I certainly did as a kid.

What I'm NOT fine with is the hoochie wear -- for adults OR kids. Bikinis for kids under 13, low rise jeans with short+tight shirts, tiny miniskirts, clothes with suggestive sayings on them, and platform shoes are all trashy-looking. I'm fine with a young girl wearing trendy low-rise jeans as long as her shirt meets the waistband to cover her flesh. I'm fine with a fitted t-shirt so long as it's PLAIN (no "Brat" or "Nasty" slogans for my children, please). No one under 13 years of age who is living in my house will be wearing high heels EVER -- they're not good for your feet! After age 13, I'll loosen up that rule, but only for special occasions. And NO THONGS BEFORE HIGH SCHOOL! Thongs prevent panty lines, and if it's tight enough to give you panty lines, you're too young to wear it.

Anyway, I think it's possible to let your kids keep up with the trends while still teaching them appropriate limits regarding self-respect and modesty. Picking and choosing the best of popular culture while discarding the massive amounts of trash is a skill that will serve kids well into adulthood. So, while I may not like the clothes at Limited Too, I'd rather take my (hypothetical) daughter in there and help her sort out what's okay and not okay (and why) than avoid the place altogether when that's what all the "cool" kids are wearing. (Of course, we'd also be having the "if all the cool kids jumped off a bridge . . ." discussion, but the truth is that trying to fit in is just a part of growing up -- eventually we all find our place, but the preteen/teen years are tough.)

Edited to add RE: moms:

I am a fairly trendy (though modest) dresser. I would rather wear the cute low-rise jeans and risk a bit of accidental crack exposure than wear "mom jeans" with a high waist and less flattering cut. Now, obviously, if my a$$ was hanging out every time I bent to pick DS up, then I'd have to find another brand of pants (before pregnancy, I was partial to Sevens, which are notorious for butt cleavage). But generally, I try to wear longer (though still pretty fitted) tops with my low-rise jeans, anyway, because I don't like to show my belly. Anyway, I'm sure so many other mothers will look at me raising my kids in the next few years with my trendy, "impractical" clothes and think I'm shallow or an idiot or that my priorities are screwed up. But I know that's not the truth. As long as I'm raising them right, what does it matter how "silly" it is for me to spend money on trendy, expensive stuff that will probably get destroyed? As long as I'm still young enough to look good in the clothes, and have the money to spend on them, I'm going to do it, because it makes me feel good. In a weird way, I think it will help me hold onto my identity.

Anyway, try to cut other moms some slack when you see a flash of the ol' a$$. We're all trying to do the same thing here -- raise our kids the best we can while holding onto tiny pieces of the people we were before we had them. Maybe the mom with the plumber's crack was quite the fashion plate before having kids and is just trying to hold onto that aspect of her identity. Maybe it's silly, but then again, maybe feeling like she's still "cool" helps her get through the bad days, too, y'know? We've all got our crutches . . .

Whew. Another novel. I need to get back to work!