Nearly Naked…Teen Fashion or Lack There Of
Well, it’s that time of year again…the beginning of the school year and the ever dreaded task of school shopping. Sure, there’s the need to be draped from head to toe in all of the popular brands & styles. However, where is there to shop for clothes that leave anything to the imagination anymore. There’s no doubt that in every store you enter you’ll find racks and racks of short shorts, miniskirts, midriff tops, and of course the ever popular skinny jeans in every style and color you can imagine.
Now, back in my day, we couldn’t even dream of entering school without making sure our skirts & shorts were longer than our fingertips or for some at least knee length; and those who tried were sure to be making a call home for a change of clothes in line with the dress code. Today even in schools it’s become customary to see young ladies showing extreme amounts of skin and dressing way too sexy for their age, some even rival that of the popular video chicks. Yes! Sex sells, but the message being translated through today’s fashion trends for young ladies is a sad one, “that it’s ok to bear next to everything regardless of their age or the occasion; even at school.”
What happened to the use & enforcement of the dress code?
Have our schools become so lax with authority that children have become the ones who make the rules?
Not only that but…what about self-respect, standing your ground and just not wearing the barely there articles, boycotting the designers, parents teaching their daughters that it’s ok to standout and not blend in, or simply stepping up and intervening considering we foot the bill for what they wear.In our house when my daughter was growing up, my husband and I played a very active role in policing what she wore. No, she didn’t like it and to this day despite the fact that she’s almost 21 and living on her own we still make our voices known where her clothings concerned. To us, it’s all just part of the job and regardless of how much she doesn’t like it; she knows we do it out of love.
Maybe we as a society are blind to the fact that our children are being over sexualized, or perhaps we just choose to ignore it. Whatever the case may be, we’ve got to start somewhere…as they say, you never get a second chance to make a first impression! So, instead of choosing that pair of short shorts and midriff top, opt for a pair of mid length shorts with a tank top or t-shirt; you’ll be glad that you did and who knows you may be the push someone else needs to feel comfortable stepping outside the box.
-Dayatra N. Towles
