Posted on 03/04/2005 6:08:15 AM PST by Crackingham
It's been quite cold here in Northern Virginia this past week - we've had below freezing temperatures and enough snow and ice to close local schools for two days.
But if you were to judge the weather based on what many teen girls are wearing, you would think the temperature outside was 1,000 degrees - actually, that's probably the body temperature of the teen boys who, believe me, are noticing what the girls are wearing. Which is not much.
I am blessed (truly I am!) to be the mother of three teenagers. I'm keenly aware of the clothing "fads" and all the time it takes for my boys to carefully pick out clothes that make it look as if they've given no thought to getting dressed.
It's actually quite amusing to me to watch my boys and their friends deliberate about what or what not to buy or wear. I often have flashbacks to my own days of observing the strange dressing practices that my teen brothers and my folks' reaction to their choices. Bottom line was, my parents didn't care much for my brothers choices of clothing or hair. Fast-forward thirty years and now I'm the fuddy-duddy parent that thinks my sons' choices in clothes and hair are a bit, shall we say, undesirable. But I don't make a big deal out of it - they are clean, it's their style, and there's nothing actually wrong with their "look" - it just ain't my cup of tea. Although some guys "sag" to the extreme (i.e., wear their pants so low that underwear shows and other objects are in danger of showing), these are not the problems of most of the teen boys I know.
It's different with the teenage girls. Sadly, most of them look just plain trashy.
Call me sexist. Call me a prude. Call me what you will. But I absolutely refuse to allow my daughter to dress according to the dictates of the manufacturers of girls' clothing, which has been patterned on the preferences of such role-models as Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, et al.
The sad fact is that a lot of today's tween and teen girls dress like street-walkers.
My advise - buy a good study sewing machine and learn to sew.
Better yet, reach your kids to sew. Knowing how, even for boys, not only eliminates being a slave to fashion but saves countless dollars on minor clothing repairs.
Girls think they need to dress this way to get the attention of the boys. How the boys must love it! I have had to tell my fully-blossomed 15yo step daughter how the memory of a fuzzy sweater can last a highschool boy his entire life. No need to actually show the goods. Besides, a bit of modesty can get more attention amongst those that bare practically all. Mystery is still intriguing, given a chance.
I have three kids, two boys and a girl, and what I do is this which I learned from another conservative mom. I don't shop WITH the kids. I go and buy an armload or two of stuff for each guessing at the sizes, including shoes, sometimes, and then they shop in my living room. Whatever they don't like or doesn't fi I take back. If I need to I can make a second swoop through the store. Of course, I've already done the parental control thing at the outset, so it's almost unnoticeable. Works.
We don't have anyone in our family to provide hand-me-downs. I have to console myself in ebay's vintage clothing category.
It's hard to find shirts for adults long enough, too - and I'm short! Even the nursing tops are cut up to the waist these days, which is okay with a jumper, but drafty with pants.
Well, they also have them in size 12M and 18M, which is pretty darned funny to us, since our almost toddler would be showing off some serious diaper!!!
Something not funny...Husband asked me who designs some of these clothes...pedophiles? What is sexy about a toddler? Or an 8 year old, for that matter???
And for those of us who are tall...it is a bloomin' nightmare!
Have you tried motherwear.com? They always had some nice things, although I haven't been there in a year or so.
Motherwear is following the trend, unfortunately. Over the last 6 years or so, the shirts have grown shorter.
I agree! When I was growing up and whined to my mother about being allowed to wear this or that - "everybody else is doing it". My mom's wise reply was "YOU'RE NOT EVERYBODY - YOU ARE YOU - AND YOU HAVE BETTER SENSE THAN TO WEAR THAT".
It always made me stop and recheck my thinking. I wasn't always happy about it .. but in later life it caused me to dress correctly and not be swayed with every fad that came down the pike.
Parents need to TEACH THEIR CHILDREN how to make VALUE JUDGEMENTS - instead of "going along to get along".
Good grief.........
I'm tall and have a long torso, but basically live in polo shirts and hand-me-down men's shirts. I've got blouses that I wear with suits that I have had since HS and my 25th reunion was last year.
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