I guess going to college when you are in your late thirties, allows you a little glimpse into the lives of kids most women my age just don't get. Kids just slightly older than your own. Yea, the kids I am talking about are my fellow students. Who just happen to be in the age range of 18-20. They are cute kids for the most part. Pretty respectful. Despite what you may think, they are actually pretty nice. Or at least they are in class in front of the token old person (that would be me). One thing that I have noticed about these kids is how the girls dress. A lot of them wear next to nothing to class. I mean, I am wearing a sweater and a jacket because I am freezing, and they are wearing little tiny tank tops or cami's. Oh, and their tattoos on their lower backs (tramp stamps?) are showing in all their glory. OK, granted, I am attending a Jr. College but still, these kids are (some of them) barely dressed. And the boys, they hardly notice. So what does that tell you about popular culture? Well, for one thing, they are not at all shocked or surprised that their classmates are wearing little tiny tees and little low cut jeans and all their stuff is hanging out. I don't even know if they even notice. I noticed, and all I can think is Damn! I dont remember ever looking that good. Hmm... OK So fast forward to today. I took my almost 13 year old to the mall. First stop, Abercrombie and Fitch. Dark store, too much perfume smell piped through the air vents, lots of tiny little tees that cost way too much money. Hit the clearance shelves, check. Ok, next stop, Hollister. Hollister. Let me tell you about Hollister. If you think Abercrombie and Fitch is hot and stinky, well Hollister is Hell in a perfume bath. It is so hot and dark and stinky in there. Of course, this is the favorite store of my daughter. This is the store she wants to get her first job at. SHe LOVES this store and drags me into it every chance she gets. So, since I am teaching her to shop,and I am a cool, hip mom, I grab 6 i tems in her size for her to try on. Let me tell you something about the dressing room in Hollister. They are tiny. I mean, we are talking a 2X4 room with a little curtain for privacy. And you know how you usually have the female side and male side of the dressing rooms? Designed for modesty and, whatever? Well, not at Hollister. At Hollister you have a cute little 17 year old boy manning the dressing room. Drinking his caffeine loaded soft drink. Jolt or something like that. I forget what they are called but apparently they weren't working because he spent much of the time with his head resting on the counter. And who was in line to try on clothes? About 50 little girls ranging in age from 12 -20. And they were all cute and none of them thought a thing about having to undress 2 inches from a hot 17 year old boy. Nope. you would have thought it was their brother there. And same for him. I have to give him credit(cause I stood outside of my daughters room watching), he was not at all interested in the girls in those rooms. Not-one-iota. And they didnt care about him. So what does that have to do with me in college and the kids I see there every day? It just brings to mind that in this day and age, there is really very little modesty left. Kids are almost naked in front of classmates on a daily basis and the boys dont even blink. And girls get undressed 2 inches from boys and they dont even notice. I dont think they care. So different from my day, way back in the 80's. I would have rather died than gotten undressed with a strange, hot, boy right outside my dressing room curtain. Times certainly have changed. So, I guess because I allowed my little girl to not only go into these stores, but to try on clothes in co-ed dressing rooms and actually buy some stuff officially makes me a "hip" mom. What do you think?
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4 comments:
You are certainly far hipper and cooler than me. I have honestly not set foot inside of a Hollister, American Eagle or Abercrombie store. I guess at some point Kate might start gunning for that but she also better be earning her own money for that because I just won't spend that kind of bucks.
But I know you and I know you watch money and don't spend major bucks on your kids' clothes. I also think you are more hip and fashionable than me! I am all about comfort.
Leeann
Oh, don't worry, she spends all her own money! Actually, I did throw down 20.00 for a sweat shirt. But that was it. She buys mostly all her stuff herself. Babysitting is quite profitable these days!
Scary. I guess that it explains why teens are having sex at such young ages. If they are already so desensitized by the naked body, it's understandable that they might accidentally find themselves in sexually charged situations before they sense any "red flags".
As for clothing shopping, I'm fortunate that my kids aren't old enough yet to push for me to shop anywhere but Wal-Mart and the clearance racks. I'm hoping to get our daughter into the whole thrift-store potpourri mix-and-match approach to dressing up when she starts to show interest in clothes shopping.
That would save us a ton of money and hopefully the styles she would find in a thrift shop are a bit more non-revealing than their contemporary counterparts. Only time will tell.
Choosydad, you may luck out that way. But up until the past year or so, almsot all of my kids clothes were purchased from consignment shops. Not much luck around here from thrift stores but I do look. But as soon as jr. high hit, my daughter decided she must have the same clothes as the rest of the kids. But we still shop in the consignment shop, we just pair with pieces from the "good" stores so that she feels like she is wearing all american eagle when really she is wearing american eagle and Target! lol
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