Teen fashion trends push the envelope
By EMILY BATTLE
The Free Lance-Star
Stroll through any store that sells clothes for teenage girls these days, and you'll see the choices young shoppers must make.
There are plenty of cute, modest options out there--polo shirts with collars turned up, ponchos that cover everything from collarbone to waistline, blazers adorned with bright rhinestone brooches.
But then, the miniskirts, tube tops and lacy camisoles that resemble underwear sure do look like fun.
And when most young girls turn on the television, they're likely to see an array of stars from Britney Spears to Lindsay Lohan to the middle-aged moms of "Desperate Housewives" decked out in low-cut tops, skin-tight jeans and stiletto heels.
"I would have been scared to death to wear that stuff to school," said 28-year-old Maggie Fensterle, who was walking through Spotsylvania Mall recently, glancing at the clothes on sale.
"I have a niece, and she's not old enough to wear that stuff, but there is no way that I would let her go out in anything like that," she said of the slinky camisoles and skirts that look as if they'd barely cover the panty line.
At Chancellor Middle School in Spotsylvania County, Principal Shirley Eye said most of her students seem to be making the right choices about what's appropriate for school.
"We're seeing a student body who is very well-dressed," she said.
But every now and then, she said, she spots a plunging neckline that shows too much cleavage, or a blouse that doesn't quite cover the midriff.
As for the boys, the problem comes when they want to show off their boxers. They'll pull their jeans or even the shorts of their gym uniforms down to make their underwear known.
"We ask them to change or put on another layer," Eye said. "They seem to respect that a great deal."
Erika Karres, a North Carolina-based researcher who taught in public schools for 35 years and has written several books about teen girl culture, said she notices that girls in particular are starting to express sexuality through clothing at a younger age.
The challenge for parents, she said, is to learn how to tell their kids what's appropriate to wear before they get old enough to push the envelope.
"These girls start learning style information at 10," she said. "Parents can't just sit there and say, 'Let's deal with this when it comes up.' Parents have to be ready."
Karres recommends that parents start getting clued in to teen culture before their children get there. That means glancing at teen magazines every now and then, keeping an eye out for what's hanging in the windows of popular mall stores and monitoring what teens on television are wearing.
"You plan ahead and make fun of some of these fashions. Giggle and laugh with your daughter as you go through these magazines. Laughter can be the best medicine," she said.
And for girls old enough to shop on their own?
"When the clothing comes home, have a little fun time to show it off, and send it back if need be."
Karres also recommends getting involved at school, joining a parent-teacher organization and, most of all, getting a copy of the school dress code.
In the Fredericksburg area, most jurisdictions handle dress codes on a school-by-school basis.
In Stafford County, though, a 12-person committee is working to develop a systemwide dress code. Donna Krueger, former principal at Widewater Elementary, has been heading up the committee, and said she hopes it can present a policy sometime this spring.
"Our whole intent is to get this information into parents' hands by the beginning of summer so that when they're shopping for school clothes, they have something to go by," Krueger said. "I think they would be grateful to have something point those things out to students."
The bottom line, she said, is that students need to recognize that dressing for school isn't the same as dressing for a party or for a Saturday at a friend's house.
"School is a place of business," Krueger said. "It's about the business of learning."
To reach EMILY BATTLE: 540/374-5413 ebattle@freelancestar.com
