Recently I received an email from a mom that I could relate with only too well. With school shopping going on right now, I thought it only appropriate to share. Read on:
“I have a twelve year old daughter who looks much older than twelve. I wanted to share with you the fun (not really) trying to find jeans that actually cover her bum. She has a slim figure so it is not her shape. Have you noticed as a mom this trend towards “low rise” and now “lowest rise” jeans? It is amazing to me how tight and low both pants and tops are now. Add the skinny jean factor in and there is nothing left to the imagination. Remember when people would laugh at the plumber? Did I miss when a hiney crack became attractive? I know your daughter is younger but I am sure her or some of her friend are seeing the same problem.
Thanks
Cracking Up Mom”
I don’t know how many times I had to tell my 11 year old daughter, “Pull up your pants.” It wasn’t because she was trying to show off half of her bum. Truth is she’s actually quite modest when it comes to her body. But the way they make pants these days for tweens is just appalling. Like her mom, my daughter is not built like a stick, so imagine my dismay in finding her jeans that cover her whole derriere. Not fun. And clothes shopping usually ends prematurely due to her feelings of being fat. It’s sad, really. And it’s even sadder that girls younger and younger are being targeted to dress “sexier”.
On that note, what is up with young girls’ clothing and words printed on the bum? I have a hard time understanding what is going on in retailers’ minds, let alone parents’ minds, when I see a 10 year old girl walking around in little tiny shorts that say “JUICY” on her bottom. What happened to letting young girls stay young? Where do you think a man’s eyes are going to travel to when your daughter has “JUICY” written on her bum?
Perhaps it’s the marketing for teens through their favorite pop stars. Don’t get me wrong, I think Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, and the Cheetah Girls are cute as the dickens – for 25 year olds. But their styles are being targeted to girls that are way too young to be dressing like a lot of these stars dress. And several of the above-named fall into that category that should be a little more innocent than they are, being that they aren’t even old enough to drive a car.
There are some clothing trends that are coming back into style that seem to be going away from the tight, sexy clothing being targeted at tweens. Dresses with leggings and long tees over jeans are among some of the cuter, safer styles. Even my own tomboy daughter is softening up with the punk girly looks coming out, and may possibly put herself in a dress over jeans before the school year ends (hey, a mom can only hope).
What are your gripes about young girls’ clothing? And what are some of the styles that are rockin’ the back to school sales?
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As always, if you have a topic or concern that you want to share, visit us at the forums at SantaRosaMom.com, or email me at crissi@santarosamom.com.
Wine Country Mom 
I’m 32 myself, but I recall that young teen girls were already wearing tight jeans back when I was a senior at Casa, and that there were articles in the media decrying the low-slung jeans urban teens were wearing. As a petite woman, I’m also often stuck buying clothes from the teen area, and have had trouble for several years finding jeans that weren’t designed to be tight, very low-slung, or both. It’s not hard to find pants without stuff written across them, though; might be because I prefer Levi’s over trendy brands?
I do agree that the age girls are sexualized at by society has been decreasing for years. (Salon.com has posted articles on it since early on, in case it interests you.) The real question is whether kids are showing that they’re maturing biologically earlier than we did, being nudged into social/sexual maturity before they’re ready — or if they see no more implied messages in their clothing than most of us did at their age? (I assume it was most of us; I certainly wasn’t thinking in terms of sexuality yet!)
For some of the older tweens, moms might try shopping in the adult petites section. Pants there will be more likely to cover the entire bottom, and wont be tight enough to be painted on. They may require some alteration, such as having the length hemmed a bit, but it would be worth it to be able to send your daughter out into the world decently covered. I personally agree with Xyzzy on the Levi’s. They are putting out a lot of cute styles that are not only more demure than the ‘trendy’ styles, but they are much more flattering. Plus the price tag is more enticing than the cost of a pair of jeans that come from the teen shops, which seem to raise in price as the amount of material used in making them goes down.
I’ve looked at my mother’s junior high and high school year books from the early to mid 1970s and back then girls were wearing clothing just as revealing as what girls wear today. My mother and her classmates were wearing low rise jeans that buttoned well below the belly button, were snug at the hips & thighs, and ballooned out just before the knees into the bell-bottom shape so popular back then. These weren’t called low rise back then, but it’s the same cut aside from the bell-bottom lower legs. They paired those with cropped peasant blouses enabling them to show a lot of midriff. I recall how teeny-tiny their mini skirts were, too. My Mom said it was impossible to bend over to drink from the water fountain wearing one of these ultra minis without showing the world her business. When I was in junior high and high school in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Madonna look was in (high-heeled boots, bustiers under cropped jackets, etc… talk about over sexualized) and we girls routinely wore lycra or spandex leggings which showed absolutely everything. I don’t recall putting on those leggings and thinking how sexy I looked. I only recall wanting to wear what was in fashion at the time.
The ‘crack’ show has been around since the late 60s. Look at fashion mags and year books from 25-30 years ago and it’s full of low rise jeans, bare middles, and micro minis. As we get older, we get more modest. When we become parents, we get even more modest. Society is changing and girls are becoming sexualized at younger ages, but we have also changed – we’ve grown up and become parents and perhaps forgotton what we were wearing at their ages.