Are we kidding? This passes for fashion? I may be an old fuddy-duddy, but I think this is hideous.
WWD presented photos of the Bohemian Society Collection for Spring 2013. Bohemian? I'd call it streetwalker chic - and that would be a compliment. Think it was an exception among the men's and women's "fashions" shown by designer Victor Wilde at his ready to wear show? Take a look at the get-up below. There was worse, but I refuse to feature nudity in a G-rated blog.
I have seen hideous clothing before (and my use of the term "clothing" is generous), but this collection may qualify as the worst ever. I've noticed a trend over the last 10 years or so, and I'm sure someone will call me sexist for saying it out loud, but male designers - not women - seem to be the ones who present near-nudity as fashion. Women are more practical, even when they are daring. They know that women with morals will not wear looks like these. Do store buyers actually order them? Doubtful. I suspect the peep show on the runway never made it into the collections presented for purchase.
Now I jump to another trend I've observed - this time among teenagers. I see them going to and from high school when I commute. I see them at the malls too. Young girls are wearing clothing that should be confined to their bedrooms. Why do their parents let them leave home wearing tank tops that leave nothing to the imagination? Or short shorts - the ones that barely cover their bottoms? Both boys and girls wear clothing that exposes their underwear. Why don't the schools send them home? What are these kids thinking? What is anyone thinking - or are they thinking? It's time for a dress code in our local schools. Those kids are the future customers for the looks you see above.
I add that the young exhibitionists don't necessarily have bodies that warrant the exposure. There's nothing more distasteful than a fleshy young girl with rolls of fat exposed. I assume exercise is passé when you could be texting.
That was my rant of the week. Thanks for listening.
Photos courtesy of WWD
I SO agree with you! Ugly is ugly and trashy is trashy. Our society is on a trashy, cheap, let it all hang out (literally) path. I lived through the hippy, 'free love', druggy era, and let me tell you, I am shocked by what I see and hear today on the streets, in the news, in movies, and TV. We were really innocents then, who had hopes for a more equal and gentler society. Well, that sure didn't happen! Narcissism, greed, the need to shock and show off, and ugliness are the rule.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about the way some teenagers dress. I know parents have to choose their battles with teenagers - I did, and my boys are in their 30's now! But...I remember being appalled at the way 13 year old girls dressed when my kids were going to their friends' Bar and Bat Mitzvahs - black slinky dresses with black stockings - they looked like little hookers! Who knows what they wore when they got a little older?
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad I am not raising children now...and my son and DIL are very careful with my granddaughter. Of course...she's only 7, but they don't dress her like a mini adult! Some clothing for little girls is needlessly provocative!
Here's the BIG problem I see with the way teenagers are dressing: they may elicit unwanted sexual attention. If you're going to dress very provocatively, you need to know how to handle the attention you're going to get. If you you're a teenager, you won't know how to do that, particularly if the advances are coming from an older adult. It's dangerous.
ReplyDeleteThis so-called 'fashion' trend is perfect fodder for pedophiles and weirdos of all types. "She looked so much older!", etc,etc. And often, they do.
Zombie Apocalypse! That's all I could think of when I saw that first "fashion". Simply hideous.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder if the male designers aren't playing a joke on gullible women who put things on just for the name. Avant garde is attractive, that stuff is just trash.
ReplyDeleteMy question is - who buys kids these clothes? When I was a teen and preteen my parents bought them and neither my skinny sister nor plump me were ever overexposed or remotely provocatively dressed. You are the parent, say no to the daisy dukes for your daughter and those falling off pants for your son.
How about teaching kids to respect their bodies and dress with class? At least then you have the basis, when you are an adult, to choose when and where and why you want to be provocative. As an adult you are then responsible for yourself.
So many of the shows are really no longer about fashion but are, instead, vehicles for the designer's self-promotion and 15 minutes of fame. Any time a show generates more press because Kanye and Kim arrived late than by the actual fashions, you know that style is no longer the raison d'être for these extravaganzas. We all know that the shows tend to present the more exaggerated and extreme aspects of a collection, but it is usually very easy to see how those styles are going to be toned down for "human consumption" :-) That's sadly not the case for the misogynistic outpourings we've been seeing on some of the runways. Misogynistic--that's the only word to describe collections such as the Bohemian Society Collection.
ReplyDeleteKids! Not only are many of the outfits outlandish and provocative, but so many of the young girls wearing the stuff are terribly over-weight. Protruding bellies, muffin tops, lumpy thighs, dimpled derrières, rolls of back fat--why would anyone want to show that off? Back in the day we used to refer to teens as skinny kids. Not now! I'll get off that particular subject, though, because once I get going, I tend to be a very harsh judge.
I think Lovethescents also raises a very good point about the risky nature of some of the more provacative fashions. These are being worn by girls who are playing at being adults. They don't even begin to understand the impact their attire has on pedophiles, perverts, and even the young guys whose hormones are in perpetual over-drive. And, they certainly don't know how to handle the inappropriate and potentially dangerous attention that their "adult" costumes generate.
When I was a high school counselor, I'd occasionally have a young lady come into the office to tell me about some guys who were leering at her and making lewd comments. Invariably she was dressed in a manner that was over-the-top sexy. When I'd suggest that she try covering up a bit more, dressing in a more school appropriate manner, I'd invariably get the response, "Well I have the right to dress how I want. If they can't deal with it, that's their problem!" I'd always gently respond, "No, the fact that you're in my office tells me that it is your problem and that you don't know how to deal with it. I'll handle the guys, but you have to do your part as well."
Why can't designers stick to creating kid friendly clothing. Adulthood will decend upon them soon enough. Let them enjoy being kids.
Couldn't agree more, Cg. Parents fail their children bc they are afraid to be parents. They are afraid to say no, to set a positive example. I am a young woman; my parents were educated people. They raised me with strict standards and I never would have been permitted to dress like that, nor would I have wanted to! But this lack of decorum is evident not only in raiment, but in education itself. Our public schools have failed to educate our children to such a degree that few are qualified for college and must undergo remedial education to succeed in higher education. It is a shame on this nation. Your rant is well-taken.
ReplyDeleteThat's probably the argument I hate the most - I can dress however I like and everyone else needs to deal with it. Yes, just because you're barely wearing clothes that does not mean someone should rape you. My question is, why do you need to dress like a hooker? Let me clue you in, I've seen all that before and it's not all that interesting! lol
ReplyDeleteIt's really sad to see sloppy or sleazy dress from kids through adults. If you lift your arms and your stomach comes out your shirt is too small (how many times have I see this at work?). :)
Hi everyone!
ReplyDeleteSo, if we all feel the same way, who are the people promoting this kind of "fashion" and for whom? Who are the parents letting their kids go to school looking like little teenaged sexpots?
I drive through an upper middle-class neighborhood on the way to and from work. What's wrong with this picture? Are the parents already out the door to work so they don't see their little darlings leave home looking like hookers?
Thank God we still have designers creating fashion for ladies.
I agree with you CG. This trashy hideous look isn't wearable or desirable at all. Young girls emulate this because they copy their idols, like Cristina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga et. al. and as much as these pop stars rant and rave about being empowering for women, it's all about getting attention and selling themselves as a product.
ReplyDeleteParents today don't understand this and they don't want to be parents, they want to be their kids' friend. PATHETIC. These kids are growing up today sexualized very early on, and with completely distorted images and ideals. They think they can dress like Nicki Minaj and go for a job interview in corporate America. These public figures keep pointing out how trashy and cheap they can look and then they try to demand respect; however, they are forever judged as trashy and cheap. "Love me for my brain" hahaha. Then the masses wonder why they can only get jobs as tattoo parlor assistants. All very well and good, but don't come crying to me later that you're unable to afford a car, trips, houses, etc. because you can't get high paying job. Wear decent clothing and stop getting tattoos. You're not going to change the world.
Like it or not, we judge with our eyes first and foremost. To be successful, a wise person once said, "Dress for the job you wish to have". I guess these "fashions" are great if you want to work at the legal brothels in Nevada. Otherwise, get thee to Talbots.
Everyday I read more and more things that make me so glad I don't have children. I can't believe that a girl would wear overly sexy clothes and then think that boys shouldn't leer at them etc. I mean they shouldn't, but I would have thought the whole reason they are dressing that way was to GET attention from the opposite sex. I suppose they are not mature enough to know what that attention means.
ReplyDeleteYou all are so wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI think perhaps people should stop being "cute" or coy or pretending they are naive about what certain ways of dress are for. You are not expressing creativity & individuality if you're dressed as in picture 1. You look like you have no taste and are a streetwalker. It's not open to misinterpretation, it's perfectly interpreted. If you don't want to be treated as an object (and you shouldn't be), don't dress that way.
ReplyDeleteHello Everyone!
ReplyDeleteFortunately, our school system (public school) here started requiring uniforms this year. Previously, only the private schools did that. Can you imagine the uproar from the kids? At the least the adults won this round. Seeing the junior high (oops middle school) and high school kids these days looking so much better. However, on the weekend (at the mall and elsewhere) they look like trash. Some of our homeless people we see look more put together.
The "fashion" magazines today are no better. Have you seen the clothes they say are fashionable? Gee..I wouldn't wear that stuff to mow the lawn. We dress better than that when we do fishing.
Two readers who posted overnight and mostly wrote the same thing (possibly the same person) were offended by my criticism of outrageous clothing on teens. I think we found our culprits - mothers who think obesity and near nudity are fine (or teens who dress as described). I deleted their posts because they were offensive. Had they been written with respectful disagreement, they would have been left up.
ReplyDeleteOne drew the conclusion that it's either anorexia or obesity. The commenter obviously knows little about mental and physical heath and the causes of both conditions, as postulated by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical organizations.
The other attributed most obesity to medical conditions (scientific studies show otherwise) or low self-esteem or other psycho-babble. One can find many reasons for teen obesity, but the primary one is eating too much along with getting too little exercise.
At a time when obesity is a national epidemic, I think we need to be careful about encouraging any young person to be seriously overweight and feel good about himself or herself because "he or she can." Obese teens need help and medical care to lose weight. Otherwise, life patterns are set, and we all pay for the consequences in our health insurance rates.
Both former readers are welcome to make good on their threat to stop reading. There are plenty of beauty blogs. I will not tolerate attacks on me because I have an opinion or attacks on my readers who comment - pro or con - in a respectful way. One went so far that she accused us of condoning rape because a child dresses like a streetwalker. No one here condoned rape. The comment showed a serious reading comprehension deficit.
As of now, all comments on this feature are cut off. I stand my ground that peep fashion is hideous and teens who wear too little to school should be sent home.