It's been cracking me up, because my kids are just as ridiculous. My son has yet to wear a winter coat this year, even though he has a $300 varsity letter jacket as well as a fleece lined coat hanging in the closet. Oh, and he leaves for tennis practice in a t-shirt and shorts every day. When I question him, he says, "I'm only outside for one minute!" I then give a Debbie Downer response about what happens if he's in an accident and it's only 20 degrees outside? And then there's College Daughter with her asinine clothing combinations. How dumb does sweatpants tucked into Ugg-style boots look to you? And then she'll top that off with a dressy jacket. I just look away. A few times I told her I wasn't going to the store with her if she looked like that. Times have changed! Remember when daughters used to say that to their moms??
I found great entertainment last year when I was driving my kids to and from high school. The parking lot was blogger fodder, for sure. I enjoyed watching the boys with their pants down low, curious to see how they'd slide into the driver's seat of their cars. Their gait reminds me of toddlers with poopy diapers. My all-time fave was the couple who came walking down the sidewalk, hands in each other's back pockets, connected to one another by one of those wallet chains. Cool!
Husband, who hasn't been to a school dance in 30 years, was shocked when we attended our son's NHS induction ceremony in December. Apparently, an honors student's idea of 'dressing up' is vastly different than when he was in school. I'd seen it all already, so it didn't surprise me that 75% of the girls looked like they were heading for the clubs after school. It was funny to see them attempt to hold down their dresses as they climbed the steps to the stage to get their certificates. I guess if you don't have cleavage, you need to show off your ass? Watching them attempt to maneuver stairs in 5 inch heels was even more awkward. Again, sort of like toddlers, only this time, playing dress up.
I'm sure my mom thought this was just as ridiculous, when I was that age:
**Note: This is not me. It's a random photo I found online that resembles clothing my friends and I wore.
Oh my God, I had one of those double belts, too, on jeans with the too-high waist. Let's face it - half the purpose of teen fashion is to make your parents grimace.
ReplyDeleteOh, and my son says the same thing about only being outside for a minute when he goes to school without a jacket.
It's so totally ironic that you posted this today because I was just thinking about this earlier this week - I kid you not!
ReplyDeleteI live a city that is mainly composed of college kids because we've got so many universities in Philly, so I see this a lot.
"'30 degrees out and not a coat in sight,' 'It's pouring down rain and they're using their bookbags as umbrellas' and 'Six inches of snow on the ground and two girls are wearing flip flops!'"
Yup! In fact, just this weekend I saw several kids in my store with SHORTS on. I mean come on....I know this winter hasn't been that cold, but it's been at least down in the 20's and 30's.
"I enjoyed watching the boys with their pants down low...."
OMG...can I just tell you how much that irritates me to no end because it looks so sloppy. And I often wonder HOW they keep them on!?!?
Great photo of you! How pretty you are! And btw, I love what you're wearing.
Fun post!
Hope you had great weekend!
P.S. that guy standing next to you in the photo looks an awful lot like Brad Pitt!
Fun post- and so true, around here, too. My daughter was on the way out in a tank-top type thing, as it's sleeting/snowing/freezing rain..."I'm only outside to get the bus"..
ReplyDeletegrrrrrr
Agent - It must be universal, no matter what the climate. I swear that when my oldest was in high school, EVERYONE wore coats. Not that long ago!
ReplyDeleteRon - Ok, first, that IS Brad Pitt! But it's not me!!!! I just found that photo looking for something that looked similar to what my friends and I wore. We were not Madonna look-a-likes which is what most of the photos of 80's clothes looks like. I wore the skinny belts, skinny ties, with button down, monogrammed shirts or turned up Izod collars! And based on my research, I think they cinch their belts really tight to keep the pants around their thighs. But then they must shuffle with care.
Sailor - The thought of a tank type INSIDE in the winter freaks me out a bit. Then again, I keep a blanket in the car to put over my legs like an old lady!
Thanks so much for your comments on my blog! I so agree with you about crazy teenager outfits. The other night we were driving back at 11 pm in minus 4 and saw 2 teenage girls in backless strappy short dresses and high heels, getting money from the cash machine. They'd been partying or clubbing, I suppose, but seriously I would fall down unconscious if I did that now
ReplyDeleteThere again, I remember the boringness of my mother making me wear warm clothes to play in the snow when I was a kid (we lived in Germany)the clothes just got in the way of the games. But when we trudged to chapel through the snow at boarding school my frozen feet were just as bad as they would feel today.
The conclusion I draw is, when you're having fun you don't notice what your body feels like, when you are young. It's only when you're doing dull stuff that it matters. :)
Awwww, how cute are YOU?? I think this post will strike a chord with any parent of a teenage child - it drives me nuts none of mine deign to don a coat or a jacket outside, not even in deepest winter..
ReplyDeleteMy middle son isn't as extreme as the photo you posted but his boxers do peek out from under his untucked t-shirt on a regular basis. He claims it's because he has no butt. I know it's because he chooses to wear a belt that's not small enough to hold his pants up.
ReplyDeleteThat, along with his long bangs that hide his eyes... *shaking head* Someday his high school pictures will embarrass him!
Jenny - I like your conclusion and I think you are on to something!
ReplyDeleteShrinky - That's not me! It's Brad Pitt and some unknown girl. Guess I need to go back and make that known. This no coat business crossed the Atlantic??
Me - My son has no butt either, but his pants are never low. I've concluded it's because he has 'issues' with uncomfortable clothing (can't have seams in his socks, nothing can be too tight or have the slightest amount of static). Been driving me nuts since 1995!
It's much the same in Belfast. Young lads wearing T shirts when it's freezing, and girls wearing miniskirts and four inch heels for an evening out. They just want to catch people's attention, no matter how much discomfort it involves. Not that we once-young lads were much better ourselves, with our painful winklepicker shoes and cripplingly tight jeans.
ReplyDeleteNick - I had to google winklepicker shoes and I have to say they look like torture devices for your feet! That fad must have bypassed America because I don't remember them.
ReplyDeleteOne of the funniest things I ever saw was a young man whose pants hung down to about mid-thigh, having to break into a run to cross the street when the light went red. Not that anyone was revving their engine at him, or anything. . .
ReplyDeleteThankfully, the sagging trend seems mostly to have run its course in Our Town. But you know, it's always something. . .
When I was in middle school, there was a short-lived fashion trend in our backwoods northern town, of wearing belt buckles on the side. Which lasted until the first time you REALLY had to go, and it took most of a minute just to get your belt out of the loops. . .
;)
And wow - you used to hang with Brad Pitt? I'm sorta wondering how fat/bald 'Brad' is today. . .
;)
i saw a boy the other day who had his pants BELOW his crotch. i mean he half mast pants are stupid enough but this was beyond ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteas a teen i had one blous that was super baggy, like an artist smock. my mom hated me wearing it because she was afraid people would think it was maternity clothes. all i can say is i'd like a few smocks to throw on some of the scantily clad young ladies these days.
I don't think my son has a winter coat right now. He stopped wearing them because they just aren't cool I guess. He'll shiver in a hoodie rather than be caught wearing the likes of any jacket I might buy him.
ReplyDeleteHe's actually gone out recently in cut-off t-shirts too. Even though it has been a mild winter here this year, it's still light jacket weather!
When I saw his pants hanging way down the other day ..and his underwear showing .. I asked him what that was all about. It wasn't any fashion statement he said, just forgot to put the belt on.
As for fashion back in the day... I remember a certain knitted maroon and white poncho, a big bubble umbrella and bangs. ha!
Craig - My MIL loves to tell about the time a boy walking in front of her in a parking lot had his pants fall completely down to the ground, shocking everyone around her, EXCEPT her! She was a high school teacher, so she loves to make fun of youth.
ReplyDeleteLime - I remember the smock look, but I don't remember anyone complaining that it made them look pregnant - hahaha! Now we've got the other extreme going, where nothing is left to the imagination.
Chick - It's all about the hoodies now, isn't it? A bank I frequent put up on a sign on their door saying you can't have your hoodie up inside the bank (I guess that's what the bank robbers do?) Hey, they need to stay warm too!
Hi Bijoux,
ReplyDeleteI guess that I am showing my age(so be it) but, I do not see the point in some of the young kid's "fashion statements".
Those droopy jeans look bad to me.
I hope that for those NHS kids or other college bound kids, their parents will steer them on the right path for dressing for college or job interviews.
Take care.
Barb - No need to worry about college kids; according to my daughter, most wear pajama pants to class!
ReplyDeleteMy inner child is having a good giggle over the term "winklepicker".
ReplyDeleteOh fashion, how you define us and then turn around and mock us.
Haha its funny to see this from another point of view! I am not at the age when I can say "in my day" type chatter but I can vouch that some of the fashion trends are a bit absurd. I really dont get why boys where their pants half down their ass yet they wear a belt...I really just cant figure that one out!
ReplyDeleteFlutter - It was difficult for me to not type 'pecker'!
ReplyDeleteVie - Thanks so much for commenting with a younger POV....it seems as though the trend began when the popularity of boxers took off. I'm guessing it's related - a way to show off your cool boxers??
Hey! Brad Pitt looks pretty good for a cheesy 80s shot!
ReplyDeleteI am FOREVER telling my teenage son to (1) put a damn coat on! and (2) pull up your damn pants! He insists it's hot and they are up...so then I must turn my attention to the girls I see wearing tights as pants. That is happening way, way more than my eyes want to witness!