Why do we make good girls dress bad? - "Baby Porn Star" Fashions

National Post ^ | 08/11/03 | Barbara Kay

[Great_Dame]

Honey, they already do. Just go to the Limited Too stores, they have bras, panties and other underthings that are of the same or similar material and construction as the more grown up stuff at Victoria's. Gotta train them somewhere.

[camle]

apparently nobody is treasching children to have minds of their own anymore. which explains the problem in a nutshell.

[keats5]

I also had problems finding jeans that covered the belly for my daughter this year. She's 8. I agree the stuff at Mulberry is nice, but she's just grown out of that line. I do buy some things at Land's End and LL Bean, but because she's long legged and thin, we really need to try the pants on. When you shop through the catalogs, you pay shipping just to try the stuff on. If it doen't fit, you also have to pay return shipping.

Again, we left without buying.

[Jim Noble]

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Feminism was supposed to free women to be themselves

Once again, the saintly honor of womankind is under attack? Oh, horrors!

Both sexes are complex. Both are born into sin.

There are negative masculline archetypes with which, since we are exposed to a cascade of news and commentary about them every day, we have become quite familiar.

"The pornstar princess" to which you refer is a negative feminine archetype. Since you (almost) never find a negative feminine archetype in the media, and certainly not in the National Post, it seems quite unfamiliar. But it is well documented in the Bible, in the Greek tragedies, in many other old and not-so-old works, and there is no excuse for not being familiar with it.

Women ARE free to be "themselves". Some of those "selves" are not so nice.

[mikesmad]

If you dress them like a slut, let them run with sluts, let them talk like sluts, and let them act like sluts, then they are smart enough to decide to get paid like a slut.

[swarthyguy]

Perhaps i've turned into a prude, but it is shocking to me to see the way some preteens and young teens dress.

Have no problem with a young woman wearing these clothes out and about.

But this sexualisation of the girls at an early age is troubling, to say the least.

Don't some of these dads have anything to say about the needlessly provocative and prematurely sexual nature of these outfits.

[Is2C]

Just another store suggestion, goes up to a size 14 for girls - Storybook Heirlooms. Started out with expensive, nice dresses and they are getting into the classic, casual clothes now. Not a huge selection but some nice conservative stuff.

[mikesmad]

Unfortunately, we have to try her clothes on before purchasing. She is tall and thin for 6. And since I haven't mentioned it yet - she is beautiful and my sons are handsome. :)

They look like their mom and are stubborn and opinionated (in an informed and good way) like their dad. Best of both worlds!

[najida]

It's not the easiest solution in the world and tends to be time-consuming, but investing in a machine and a sewing class can be one of the best investments you make.

I agree. And then you can make 'custom' stuff that can look quite pretty and stylish (as in classy). My mother sewed and she made sure I was sewing by the time I was 12.

[Spyder]

And then you can make 'custom' stuff that can look quite pretty and stylish (as in classy).

Exactly. We modified a Burda pattern for her formal occasion last year. We have one of the best fabric stores in the country only 10 miles from us Fabric Mart with imports from Asia, as well as a humongous collection of tropicals, bridal supplies, exotic fabrics, and the usual stuff as well.

[bc2]

I work at a tattoo shop, and while we don't to piercing, we get at least 1 or 2 calls EVERY WEEK from some parent who says "Well, my son/daughter is 16, can I sign a form for them to get tattooed?"

WHAT, ARE YOU CRAZY?! We are almost to the point of telling them "Yes, come on down!" so we can slap the crap out of these parents and send them home!

And this is coming from us, a bunch of crazy tattoo artists (one of which has an 11 year old son, the other has 4 daughters aged 9-19... so we aren't all THAT bad...)

While there is usually no age limit for piercing, any piercer who would do a piercing such as tounge, nose, eyebrow, or God forbid a penile/vaginal piercing on someone who is not yet 18 is, at least in my opinion, out of their mind (and inviting a lawsuit).

[HurkinMcGurkin]

Any parent who condones or pays for this life-long disfigurement and thinks that body piercing is just a fashion fad that their kid will "grow out of" is a dang fool, IMHO. I can't believe that there are parents who actually agree to and/or pay for piercing and tattos for their under-age kids.

I totally agree with your last sentence concerning parents, but I have to disagree with what proceeded that. First, most piercings are not "life-long disfigurement". All can be removed, and the holes will heal up. I still think people are stupid for punching holes all over their body, though.

Also, I disagree that its not something they will grow out of. I started college right as the piercing/tattoo fad was moving into the "mainstream", if you will. I knew people who did both, although I had no desire for anything to be pierced other than my ears(but never did because of my job). Most people I know would now be in their late twenties or early thirties. Most realize they looked like idiots and never had any illusion of getting a legitimate job while looking like that. However, some people never grow out of it. They are typically the ones who did it to really look different, and not because it was the latest fad.

Obviously, I don't think an intelligent parent allows their child to do this while they are under 18.

[HurkinMcGurkin]

We are almost to the point of telling them "Yes, come on down!" so we can slap the crap out of these parents and send them home!

Sounds like a good idea. Seriously, how often is it really a parent, or just the kid or an older friend pretending to be the parent??

While there is usually no age limit for piercing, any piercer who would do a piercing such as tounge, nose, eyebrow, or God forbid a penile/vaginal piercing on someone who is not yet 18 is, at least in my opinion, out of their mind (and inviting a lawsuit).

And inviting arrest for sexual assault in the case of the latter piercing region mentioned(Ouch!).

[bc2]

9 times out of 10 is the parent calling on the phone... at least it does not sound like an older brother or sister, and I'm 23 so I think I'd have a pretty good idea.

[HurkinMcGurkin]

Damn, that's scary. Maybe your "slapping" idea is the best solution.

[najida]

Fabric can make all the difference when sewing. Like the Asian stuff you mentioned, or Sari shops. If the fabric is really special, then the style can be very simple (and modest).

[Spyder]

Neat idea with the sari, something I'd not have thought of - I'll show some of the sari websites I just found to our daughter. She might really go for that for this year's formal (her senior year).

[demnomo]

Really? I've heard that the nose and tongue holes do not heal properly and the holes can become permanent if the piercings are left in for more than a few years. I actually heard it from a nurse who works in a doctor's office. She better stop spouting that line if it turns out to be just another scare tactic and soon-to-be old wives tale...

[bc2]

you're friend is correct: eyebrow, nose, lip, and other piercings sometimes leave scarring after the hole has closed and "healed" that are tell tale signs of past piercing. Eyebrows in particular are notorious for this.