Girls on the Edge | Paxton says | DONNE TEMPO
Girls on the Edge
May/09/08 09:22 PM Filed in: Paxton says
Ah! There’s nothing like those first seventy plus
degree days after a windy, chilly winter! It’s
time to rip off the bulky sweaters, put away the
fleece lined shoes, pack up the quilts – and go
shopping!
Eagerly we speed-walk through the crowded store until we spy our destination – summer clothes! We’re surrounded by frilly skirts, barely-there tops, string bikinis, and micro mini-dresses that would make any pop singer proud. Unfortunately, we’re in the girls’ department, attempting to outfit my eight and ten year old daughters.
Mama Bear emerges:
Oh, I don’t THINK so!
Yeah, skank is NOT a style.
I don’t care if you like it – you are NOT wearing it.
Talk to me when you’re thirty!
You are NOT getting ANOTHER piece of clothing with Miley Cyrus’s face!
That’s the spectrum of choices: sexy sleaze or Disney hype. My girls love Hannah Montana. My oldest dances, sings and writes her own songs, so Miley is definitely her hero (although she hated the Vanity Fair picture). The question remains – what kind of heroine will she turn out to be?
Miley Cyrus’s music is upbeat and positive – and focuses on girls achieving their dreams! Her Disney persona is also funky and fun, and the wardrobe seems to walk the fine line of being flirty without being sleazy. It’s her personal appearances that are giving me concern. She seems to be embracing the country/southern gal/starlet tradition: proclaiming your love for Jesus and your virginity while wrapped in a low-cut gown and enough face paint to make Dolly Parton proud! (actually, Dolly IS Miley’s god-mother!)
To be fair, our country stars seem much more capable of maintaining the “good girl in trashy clothes” persona than their Hollywood counterparts. But Miley is emulated by young girls around the world. Girls not protected by southern gentlemen.
But that’s not Miley’s responsibility. Nor should it be.
It’s our responsibility as parents to set limits, to explain WHY an outfit that would be at home on the Hollywood strip is NOT appropriate for a 10 year old.
But really….are simple, flattering (not revealing) clothes for young girls a ridiculous request?
Apparently.
Actually, I have similar problems in the wardrobe department. I actually attempted to add a few articles of clothing to my spring look. Silly me! I found some wonderful tops – feminine, draping, NOT midriff – and eagerly raced into a fitting room.
Grandma Bear emerged:
Ooh! LOVE the cleavage with the neck wattle. Great look!
Nice peek-a-boo sleeves! Can you say, FAT ARMS!
Going for that “Grandma Moses goes stripper look?”
Um…yeah….THAT’S attractive! (or NOT)
Why is there no chocolate in my purse!!!
And so the day ends as it began…in a dressing room with battling generations. Unfortunately, this time I was both the child AND the old lady.
Perhaps that’s the real lesson for our daughters: There will always be fitting rooms and endless choices. Always another, different look to consider. But we must be able to love and respect that person in the mirror – our clothing choices should help us feel our best, our most confidant, our most powerful.
And that look will change throughout the years. That’s ok – because it’s the woman inside that’s important!
Here’s to the beauty of spring and the beauty of strong women.
Long may we roar!
Namaste.
Eagerly we speed-walk through the crowded store until we spy our destination – summer clothes! We’re surrounded by frilly skirts, barely-there tops, string bikinis, and micro mini-dresses that would make any pop singer proud. Unfortunately, we’re in the girls’ department, attempting to outfit my eight and ten year old daughters.
Oh, I don’t THINK so!
Yeah, skank is NOT a style.
I don’t care if you like it – you are NOT wearing it.
Talk to me when you’re thirty!
You are NOT getting ANOTHER piece of clothing with Miley Cyrus’s face!
That’s the spectrum of choices: sexy sleaze or Disney hype. My girls love Hannah Montana. My oldest dances, sings and writes her own songs, so Miley is definitely her hero (although she hated the Vanity Fair picture). The question remains – what kind of heroine will she turn out to be?
Miley Cyrus’s music is upbeat and positive – and focuses on girls achieving their dreams! Her Disney persona is also funky and fun, and the wardrobe seems to walk the fine line of being flirty without being sleazy. It’s her personal appearances that are giving me concern. She seems to be embracing the country/southern gal/starlet tradition: proclaiming your love for Jesus and your virginity while wrapped in a low-cut gown and enough face paint to make Dolly Parton proud! (actually, Dolly IS Miley’s god-mother!)
To be fair, our country stars seem much more capable of maintaining the “good girl in trashy clothes” persona than their Hollywood counterparts. But Miley is emulated by young girls around the world. Girls not protected by southern gentlemen.
But that’s not Miley’s responsibility. Nor should it be.
It’s our responsibility as parents to set limits, to explain WHY an outfit that would be at home on the Hollywood strip is NOT appropriate for a 10 year old.
But really….are simple, flattering (not revealing) clothes for young girls a ridiculous request?
Apparently.
Actually, I have similar problems in the wardrobe department. I actually attempted to add a few articles of clothing to my spring look. Silly me! I found some wonderful tops – feminine, draping, NOT midriff – and eagerly raced into a fitting room.
Grandma Bear emerged:
Ooh! LOVE the cleavage with the neck wattle. Great look!
Nice peek-a-boo sleeves! Can you say, FAT ARMS!
Going for that “Grandma Moses goes stripper look?”
Um…yeah….THAT’S attractive! (or NOT)
Why is there no chocolate in my purse!!!
And so the day ends as it began…in a dressing room with battling generations. Unfortunately, this time I was both the child AND the old lady.
Perhaps that’s the real lesson for our daughters: There will always be fitting rooms and endless choices. Always another, different look to consider. But we must be able to love and respect that person in the mirror – our clothing choices should help us feel our best, our most confidant, our most powerful.
And that look will change throughout the years. That’s ok – because it’s the woman inside that’s important!
Here’s to the beauty of spring and the beauty of strong women.
Long may we roar!
Namaste.
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