Age Appropriate?

[ms-whitney]

so i was shopping at ruehl today (for those of you who don't know or have one near you it's an upper divison of Abercrombie aimed towards college/post college students mid twenties) and i couldn't help overhearing a kid (by that i mean she looked twelve) and her parents talking about the clothes she wanted to buy there.

the mom promptly suggested Hollister and the girl used the excuse that she didn't know if there was one in the mall.

i thought i was being helpful when i told them that hollister was in the mall along with Abercrombie and abercrombie kids.

the girl was still pouting and trying to get her parents to purchase goods there by the time i left.

i know it's somewhat of an expensive place (the cami i brought was 38$ and the tee 28$ which is okay to me but compared to what i made out with at gap...) and that's why her parents were effy on getting it for her

but i also think it's not age appropriate.


we all talk about "too old to wear this"

but we never seem to talk about "too young for this"

i thought the girl was too young to be wearing something from ruehl and to be honest, i don't want to be wearing the same thing as a twelve year old kid. which is why if i shop at abercrombie kids or gap kids i make it a rule to only get the boy tank or something basic (which can be crossed over) versus something that really screamed kids!

 

[sonya]

I'm not familiar with Ruehl but why do you think she's too young to wear the clothes besides the cost?

I personally would rather see a 12 year old in something more conservative than Hollister (which I'm assuming Ruehl is, since it is the "older" version of A&F). At the same time, the styles (also assuming) aren't super "mature" so the child won't look like she's playing dress up in her mother's clothing.

At that price point, I don't think a lot of people will think it's ridiculous that a 12 year old is wearing the clothes. It's not like she is asking for Gucci. (Even if she was, I wouldn't have a problem with it ... but I also understand that's not the norm so a lot of people may be put off by that.)

Just my opinion.

 

[chodessa]

True, better for a young girl to prefer to look more conservative vs. too provacative like some of these stores promote. I don't think it's appropriate for some of these young girls walking around in mini skirts with legwarmers and short bomber jackets in the dead of winter.....I don't know how they don't freeze their little bums off!!

 

[wtfomgwolfgang]

Style of clothing aside, kids are still growing and spending a lot of money on something that can be gotten for slightly less is just impractical.

 

[exquisite09]

it seems to me that kids/teen tastes are getting more and more expensive at younger ages. i see grade 11 kids with (real) gucci bags!

when i was in grade 11, i remember begging to get a guess purse.

 

[ilovechoo]

I'm not familiar with Ruehl but why do you think she's too young to wear the clothes besides the cost?

I personally would rather see a 12 year old in something more conservative than Hollister (which I'm assuming Ruehl is, since it is the "older" version of A&F). At the same time, the styles (also assuming) aren't super "mature" so the child won't look like she's playing dress up in her mother's clothing.

At that price point, I don't think a lot of people will think it's ridiculous that a 12 year old is wearing the clothes. It's not like she is asking for Gucci. (Even if she was, I wouldn't have a problem with it ... but I also understand that's not the norm so a lot of people may be put off by that.)

Just my opinion.

I agree with this. I dont think its that much more expensive than abercrombie anyway. Also, I'm 23 and won't wear rhuel because i think its too young for me...much more suited for someone around 16-19.

 

[ruusu]

Its an odd phenomenon. But kids that age always try to look older and that's probably why she wanted clothes there. I have to admit that when I was her age I didn't buy anything from the childrens deparments anymore. I moved on to clothing stores that were aimed for young adults just like the girl you saw. I personally don't think that it was too early for me. But that depends on the person. I didn't just buy those clothes from 'adult' stores to look older. I simply didn't find what I wanted anymore in childrens departments.

 

[Liberté]

^
Pretty much how it was for me too. I never wanted "childrens wear" from age 9 - 10 I think , I got clothes that were aimed at people 10 years older, just like many of my peers.

 

[seahorseinstripes]

i think magazines have a LOT of influence on that...

when i was young as that i only read something like BOP, and now girl as young as 10 reading teen vogue, where there's always stylist and rather expensive clothes. sometimes there's even a balenciaga, chanel or LV even put an ad there already.

if i was reading that when i was 12, i would also want to look like those girls featured there.
and i know that there's a section where they captured a celeb's kid as young as 12, and they already use branded items regarding who the parents are, maybe the designer clothes they have are hand me downs or something free form designers
even marc jacobs already using girl as young as dakota fanning to be their model on the ad.
so, not blaming the younger kids for wanting something like what they see.
it's the parent's job to teach what value they want to teach the kids then...

 

[[vogue]]

I understand where you're coming from.. I started wearing Armani Exchange a lot when I was 15..still do (I'm 18this year).. And got some flak for that... Now, I wear stuff ranging from MarcJacobs items, ck Clavin Klein, True Religions, etc... And still get people yakking behind my back about what I wear. But in the end, I DON'T CARE! Cos it's about ME, not about them!

 

[gucci_girl_gg]

i agree, i dont wear alot of 'designer stuff' at all but i have the odd tee's that ill wear and have done for a number of years. For example when i was 15 my dad bought me and my mum gucci tee's but i still wear it now and im 18 now! it fits the same as the day i bought it and doesnt look worn either. I have some d&g, chloé too and take stick for spending alot on a Tee but its my money ill do what i want with it!

 

[Pursegrrl]

I grew up in blouses, skirts, jumpers...things my Mom sewed for me (she is incredible...you couldn't tell they were homemade). Still, they were for the most part things SHE decided I should wear. (but I got to have a say in the fabrics).

I don't know when I 'snapped' but it was somewhere around age 9,10,11 when I suddenly wanted store bought clothes which were way out of my parents' budget. Peer pressure, changing tastes, flipping through Vogue or Glamour in the hair salon as a kid, who knows? Probably all of the above.

So, I can relate to what the OP observed with the girl who wanted something more sophisticated.

 

[joolluver]

I do agree that today's youth is maturing at much faster rates than before. I was just talking about that today with my boyfriend's sister who has 3 little girls from the ages of 6 to 2. She told me that her 4 year old asked for a BRA! At first my bf's sister thought it was cute, and that her little girl was joking, but she realized soon that she wasn't. The little girl ran around saying that she needs a bra because she has, excuse I would never call them this, I'm quoting a 4 year old, "titties." I didn't get a bra until I was 14. It's ridiculous to me how fast these little girls are growing up. I wouldn't even know what to do if I was in the mother's position.

 

[BTBF]

i think magazines have a LOT of influence on that...

when i was young as that i only read something like BOP, and now girl as young as 10 reading teen vogue, where there's always stylist and rather expensive clothes. sometimes there's even a balenciaga, chanel or LV even put an ad there already.

ITA. Teen vogue is a very bad influence.