We interrupt our regularly scheduled reviewing to bring you kvetching of a different kind: what is it with girls' clothing?
The catalyst for this outburst is the quest for a Halloween costume for my seven-year-old daughter. Now, she is very tall, so she's already wearing a size 10. And therein lies the problem. Do you know how hard it is to find a Halloween costume in that size that doesn't set off the Skank Alarm? Basically, the expectation seems to be that one October, you're a dew-clad Disney Princess. The next, you are a whore. Ain't America grand?
I knew I was in trouble a couple of years ago, when she made that jump from wearing a 6X to a 7 -- in other words, from little-girl clothes to big-girl clothes. At Target or Meijer or somewhere, I found a tight t-shirt in her size that said "Wild Thang" and had flames rising out of the lettering. Needless to say, I passed. But it seemed an ominous harbinger of things to come.
(Soon, the little girl clothes will be affected too, and the "X" in 6X will stand for . . . no, I don't even want to go there.)
The costume that Jerusha really wanted was Stephanie from the high-energy kids' show LazyTown -- you know, the gal at left with the pink hair. (Actually, she really wanted to be Sportacus, but it seems she has been gender-socialized enough to realize that it's really declasse to dress up as a boy, even if he is very, very gay.) However, Stephanie was impossible because those costumes only go up to size 6. I guess it's not nearly sexualized enough for a seven-year-old girl. She needs to be showing some thigh and cleavage, like the girls in these other costumes that were available in size 10.
Am I alone in this? Jerusha is SEVEN, for heaven's sake! While it would be nice if she were an income-producing member of the family ("Mommy and Daddy have a mortgage now, sweetheart, so you have to earn your keep"), I'd rather that she not dress like an apprentice to the oldest profession just yet. We're going to try to preserve a little innocence in our household. Maybe I am a) just getting old; or b) channeling my grandmother's spirit again, but I think we can pass on Catwoman and any bondage-themed costumes this year. (Besides, did I mention . . . brrrr. Halloween is almost in November! Put something on, girl!)
After all that, I'm happy to report that Jerusha decided on Clifford, the Big Red Dog. She loves that show too. And Clifford is available in an 8-10, even though it's technically a boy's costume and, for that matter, Clifford is a male dog. At least he's a dog that knows how to keep the crown jewels under wraps. Plus, the costume can double as pajamas for months to come.
Hi Jana, I clicked over from the link at T&S. I disagreed with you over at BCC today, so I'm pleased to agree with you so strongly here! Yes, exactly, on all of your points. And I LOVE your daughters name. AND I LOVE that she decided to go as Clifford! My daughter is five, and going as a kitty cat. I'd be thrilled to have Jerusha and Elena trick-or-treat together.
Posted by: Rosalynde | October 18, 2006 at 12:18 AM
I thought that catwoman costume was a joke. My daughter is 6 so we've had an easy time finding costumes, you've shown me what future Halloweens are going to be though, and it doesn't look pretty.
Posted by: jjohnsen | October 18, 2006 at 01:16 PM
As proof that the little girls are training for bigger and sluttier things, see this article that appeared in today's New York Times (sorry I don't know how to hide this in a link):
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/19/fashion/19costume.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=fashion&adxnnlx=1161268873-nEJk32H5D4OiH7v2J+Xp/g
Posted by: Mark B. | October 19, 2006 at 10:41 AM
Wow, that was a fascinating article. Thanks for the link. It bothers me less that women are going for sexy costumes--they are old enough to decide this for themselves--than it does that the trend seems to be starting ever-earlier. The article made an interesting point that even some of the more "innocent" of the girls' costumes try to create the illusion of breasts, etc.
As an update to all this, the Clifford costume arrived and will need a bit of alteration because it's a tad too short for her. But it's warm and cozy! My daughter wore it around the house and to the dinner table.
Posted by: Jana | October 19, 2006 at 10:52 AM
If it's any comfort, I think this is a trend that's peaking a bit. Six months ago I walked through our local mall and was pretty sure that next time I'd have to keep my eyes on the ground (and there's no way I'd suggest a movie date for my little sister at the AMC upstairs) due to the content of the window displays, not just a Victoria's Secret (which was on a bondage kick) but at the "just for girls" Justice (http://www.eastontowncenter.com/tenants/justice.cfm), which featured exactly the sort of clothes that would have given my mother a heart-attack when I was 12 (the store is targeted at the 7-14 set) as well. I walked through again about two weeks ago, and I was shocked -- Victoria's Secret had mannequins with sweatpants on (I'm not kidding) and while some of the stuff at Justice was slutty, it was all layered over t-shirts and leggings, so it didn't show any skin. And most of it would look good on your average 3rd grader, most of whom (at least when I was in elementary school) don't have the chest or hips necessary to make most of those "grown-up" clothes look anything other than silly.
Similarly, in January I was seriously concerned about the older (read: over 9) crowd in our Senior Primary (my class was moved up from the Junior side due to overcrowding) -- I thought we were bound for a Bishop's Youth Discussion style night for sure over modesty. But a few months later, even though we were in the middle of summer, they were all wearing far shorter skirts and far less revealing or (for lack of a better term) provocatively cut shirts.
But to be on the safe side, I think when I have kids I'll go ahead and learn to sew costumes...
(your blog doesn't allow HTML, and I didn't want to use ugly BBCode if it wasn't going to work -- you might want to put something on the sidebar indicating what format you want links put in.)
Posted by: Sarah | October 20, 2006 at 01:13 AM
Don't get me started. Choke.. grumble... spit.
Posted by: L.L. Barkat | October 20, 2006 at 08:06 AM
YES! Thank you for writing this! I feel so strongly about the hoochie-mama clothes for little girls- my youngest is only 6 months, but even in her size, they have 1/2 shirts and mini-skirts! UGH! I resorted to making her a few cute girl dresses for church... I hope the comment by Sarah is correct, and the trend is over soon.
Posted by: Tracy M | October 22, 2006 at 09:33 PM
two years ago, i think it was, there was much ado about the child-sized "pimps 'n' hoes" costumes. revolting. i've met some lovely personages through my husband's work who have even happily referred to their infant to elementary aged sons as "pimps."
and don't get me started on bratz dolls...
Posted by: just me | October 22, 2006 at 11:34 PM
Amen! Even my special needs 12-year-old daughter commented that all the girl costumes are "too sexy." We are moving onto the boy costumes, as there is SO little in the girl section that I would ever allow my child to wear in public.
Posted by: sarah | October 23, 2006 at 02:17 PM
Jana,
Thought you might be interested in this article by Ellen Goodman....
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650201979,00.html
Posted by: Michelle | October 29, 2006 at 01:22 AM
Hey Jana,
Here's another interesting article on this topic. http://www.getreligion.org/?p=1999
By the way, Mia went trick-or-treating this year as a "Ninja" - wearing her black underarmor and a funky black scarf. Nothing particularly sexy there -- just athletic.
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