Although I enjoy your Dear Prudence column, I feel as though you have been
unfair in this thread by not posting messages from parents who have a different
view point from your own unless they were poorly written. Shame on you
for putting up straw men.
Also, I would like to put in my two cents on the thong debate. I
began wearing thongs when I was about 13, primarily b/c I was embarrassed by
VPL (visible panty lines). (In my opinion, VPL can be just as trashy and
sexually suggestive as a lacy thong.) There are thongs on the market that
are, believe it or not, pretty demure. In fact, the Pink line from Victoria's
Secret, which you so snarkily maligned in your article, offers some cute thongs
and other types of underwear that are age-appropriate for young teens. Also,
as I am now in my mid-twenties, I can attest to the fact that wearing thongs in
one's early teens does not mean that one is going to be sexually promiscuous.
Finally, I work in the retail industry and I can tell you that trapeze style
shirts (which are cut to be fitted but not tight in the shoulders and loose in
the torso area) are all over the market.
I’ve seen these tops at H&M, Old Navy, Steve and Barry’s and other
stores. The overall trend in the women’s
and young women’s market right now is towards large, blousy shapes. It may sound odd, but since most women’s
lines now come in 0 and 00, and many items in the lines skew young, you may
want to try looking in the women’s departments for your children. Conservative clothes are alive and well
there. Jumpers worn with t-shirts
underneath are especially trendy for fall.
