Monday, December 3, 2007

Who You Calling 'Junior'?!

This morning LP and I went to the mall to buy Chanukah presents for some of her cousins. Wanting to be the "cool, hip Aunt" we went to the Macy's Juniors Department to get a present for my 11-year old niece. I figured Juniors was like a mental and physical step up from the girl's department.

Now, it has been a while since I shopped in the Juniors Department, but I shop at Gap and Old Navy, I figured I had a general idea of what clothing would be on sale there...boy was I wrong.

LP and I had to circle the entire department twice until I could comprehend that we were even in the right place. I felt like a martian. The picture to the right is an actual "sweater" taken from the Macys Juniors Department web site.

The clothes fell into a few main categories: really sophisticated looking (fur collars? sequins? SHE IS IN 5th GRADE), really...ummm... "hoey" (cut down to the navel? SHE IS IN 5th GRADE), or just plain bizarre (those hooded sweaters that double as a cape or something.). Is this really what teenage girls wear?

I found one shirt and a few decorated sweatshirts that I would even consider buying my gorgeous little niece. It is mind boggling to me that I was actually even IN the Juniors department. I though that the average age of a Junior Department shopper would be 12-16. Has the Juniors Department become the place to shop for women in their twenties who think they have the body of a 14 year old? Am I a prude or an old fogey?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Neither. If you stop to take a look at the dolls these kids play with the clothes make total sense. Have you seen the Bratz? Holy cow! Talk about sexualized. It is disgusting, isn't it?

KiKi said...

Another old fogey in the house. Clothes for juniors are way too sexy. Thank goodness my aunt is a seamstress because I certainly won't be buying that stuff for my daughter! Even now it's hard to find age appropriate stuff for her, and she's four years old! They have APPLE BOTTOM JEANS in her size. They have THONG UNDERWEAR. Yes, I said THONGS. They have LACE UNDEWEAR. I even saw a shirt with "Sexy Young Thang" written across the chest. Unfrickinbeliveable.

Tiffany said...

I agree with you and the comments. Young girls are wearing clothes way too old for them. I refuse to ever buy a Bratz doll - never for my niece or my daughter. Can't wait until my daughter is a teenage and we get into arguments over what she can and cannot wear!!