BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Women's Fashion Moms Dressing Like Teen Daughters

There was an intriguing article on CNN that said it was "bad" for a mother to dress in a style her teen daughter liked - or to even shop at the same stores!

Mothers Dressing "too young"

The article made me feel glad James is a boy and not a girl. It would never even occur to me to think about what someone else was going to think about what I was wearing! I wear what I like to wear.

I don�t even bother with what Bob would like He likes polo shirt / golf clothes types of things and that�s just not what I like to wear. He�s bought me a polo shirt or two over the years and they hang in the closet.

So to think that a family member would actively be upset because I was wearing what I wanted to wear baffles me.

I get the whole �teen girls are trying to separate themselves from their moms� thing. I also understand that it can sometimes look inappropriate for a person to wear something that is meant for a very different age group. A sixty year old women wearing a style meant for 5 year olds can look a little odd. Both Bob and Tim (my ex), if they didn't like something I�m wearing, would sometimes say �that looks like something your mooooom would wear� as if it was an awful thing. My mother dresses quite nicely so it wasn�t about a lack of fashion sense but more a �wrong age group� I suppose comment.

So I suppose equally they could think I was dressing too young vs too old. But our society pushes all women to try to appear to be age 20 or so. Young teens try to dress to look older. Older women pour thousands of dollars into trying to look younger. So I suppose what we wear ties into a lot of different issues.

Back to the summary, I tend to either wear sweats, yoga clothes when I'm doing yoga, or Holy Clothing dresses when I go out -



What if teens all started wearing holy clothing style dresses? Does that mean I have to stop because now it's inappropriate for me?

I just looked at the Abercrombie & Fitch website to see what types of clothes they have. It looks like tshirts and jeans! And tank tops. The yoga clothes look like yoga clothes. How would I even know that these things were supposed to be for "teenagers only"?

I admit the dresses are shorter than I would wear, but that's true no matter what store I'm in I like floor length dresses. That way I don't have to shave my legs

That's an interesting article. I shop at Forever 21 for tops and skirts and happen to have 2 pairs of Abercrombie & Fitch jeans so according to this article I'm a mom who dresses like a teen then?

The reasons I shop in those stores are: it's cheap, not boring, and the clothes fit better than women's stores where they cater to the average woman (5'4 size 12 or larger and round shaped).

Unfortunately I'm built like an ironing board and it sucks but the advantage is I get to buy cheap tanks and tees and jeans at teen stores and the Jr. dept. That's a nice tradeoff for being an A cup with no hips and no butt (LOL).

I really think people should wear what makes them happy and not care what others think. Like I'm supposed to feel bad because I want to look as young as I feel. I don't see the problem with wanting to look my real age. I may be chronologically 41 but according to real age test I'm actually 28 and I'm fitter and leaner than most 20 year olds. Have you seen women this age? They're seriously overweight and out of shape. I trained plenty of them at Bally's my first year as a trainer and it was shocking!

I thought this part of the article made a really great point: "But mothers aren't dressing like their daughters to look like teenagers, she said. Cognitive age is more important than actual age -- women feel younger, so they want to project that personality with their clothing, according to Ruvio. Ruvio suggests that another motivation behind this behavior is a lack of time to keep up with fashion trends on mothers' parts. Instead, they look to their daughters as fashionable role models and mimic the styles. We live in a society that one of the main values is to look younger," Ruvio said. "Most of these women have kids, work and they don't have time to monitor the market and see what is cool and hip, so they basically take a shortcut. Through their teenage daughters, they know they're safe."

I don't have teen daughters but my boyfriend has 3 tween girls who act like teens and I don't like the way they dress at all. I would not be caught dead wearing what they wear but I do love what girls in their 20's wear and have no issue dressing younger. I told my son I was buying a work type outfit for meet the teacher and he said why are you trying to look all serious and old. What you usually wear (jeans and tanks) is fine. Boys are so different than girls.

BTW, I don't think most teens would be caught dead wearing a dress like the one in that pic you posted. I'm sure it's comfortable but teens are all about trendy and cool. Don't worry your holy dress is safe! I like the lace up front but would definitely wear in a non Barney color (LOL) but that's a whole other topic.

Wow what an article! What is the problem with women wearing whatever they want? As long as you stick to the obvious age appropriate guidelines and look chic, I don't think it's anybody's business. I just saw something regarding this issue on an episode of Jerseylicious, where the daughter blamed her mother for looking too "sexual" and making her feel bad in a bikini.I do think it's interesting though, when the grandmother is so gorgeous and the girl is going through that teenage phase where she doesn't think she looks good, then the jealousy might start.

What about children dressing like adults? I posted this story on the Women's Fashion Facebook page about this 10 year old that models adult clothes in a provocative way.

Guess the fashion industry is mad! Like I wrote before fashion is for every age.

I agree that people should dress as they feel comfortable and mind their own business about what others wear.

"Kids dressing like adults" That's a great topic Dina!!! I've seen some scary stuff on Polyvore and thought what the heck is that about. It's really creepy to see a 10 year old being sexualized and I always wonder why would the parents of this kid allow that even if it is a photo shoot. I'm gonna go read that story.

True Jilly, fashion is a matter of personal expression.

Yes, Monica, I was so shocked when I saw that girl. Too much.

Just wear what you like,what you want,that's all....

I think women should wear what they want..but of course it should suit them. There is no problem in wearing jeans and tops and tees. It should suit your body. That's the most important.