For the last few years, the new school year has marked a time of certain dread for many parents of teenage and certain preteen girls (and sometimes boys).
Here’s the routine. It’s breakfast time. You’re muddling through the morning, nose stuck in the newspaper, spooning the cereal and hoping for the best. Then the teen comes slouching to the breakfast table in full regalia. Depending on the temperature, this can vary. But usually, for girls, it will include something that exposes vast portions of the anatomy, particularly the midriff. Everything’s skintight. For boys, this can include excessively baggy jeans–or if it’s really cold, shorts.
Then the battle begins. You’re not going to school like that, are you? The battle escalates through eye-rolling and verbal volleys to a final, sullen cease-fire. The parent doesn’t often win. This is a time-honored battle and one that defines every generation. Whether it’s hair, clothing, makeup, piercings, tattooing, or whatever is the latest fashion affectation, it’s designed basically to achieve one effect: complete and total parental outrage. What good is, say, dressing for school in pajamas, if the parent doesn’t begin spluttering at the breakfast table?
Now all of that intergenerational angst may be taking a short hiatus. The latest rage in school fashion, some fashonistas say, is preppy. Yes, tweed’s in. So are V-neck sweaters and other updated prep standards like argyle vests and tartan plaid skirts that cover previously exposed flesh.
Here is our reaction: !!!!!
We haven’t exactly seen evidence of this trend in our homes yet. Those teens that troop through, including the ones who live there, aren’t divulging their fashion plans for the fall. Lest we betray too much enthusiasm for the preppy look, thereby dooming it in the typically rebellious teen mind, we’ve decided to keep mum for the time being.
Our natural skepticism dictates that we await empirical proof of any fashion trend. But it seems to us that the pendulum had definitely swung about as far as it could in the underdressed mode. Even some kids realized that. You may recall Ella Gunderson, 11, who became a media sensation a few months ago when she wrote Nordstrom to complain about the skintight tops and low-cut hip huggers.
Is modesty making a comeback? The first day of school should provide a clue. Until then, the tricky part is how to plant this notion in a usually resistant teen mind without triggering a large and sudden spending spree.
