Recession - Jezebel

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boxspelunker
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
I was one of those children that was very tidy. It didn't come naturally to me - I was mimicking my mother. I wanted to play, but never did, because I knew I'd catch hell if I came home with dirty clothes. I can say absolutely that clothes had a profound effect on my psyche when I was little. #kidsdesignerclothes
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Wandell
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
Some kids just don't like to get dirty, I knew a few of them as a child. I don't think that designer children's clothing is as big a problem as they make it out to be.

I, on the other hand, was all about getting everything dirty. If a kid wants to get dirty, they will, even if you say not to (believe me, I know).

Anyway, I think this whole thing is being blown out of proportion. But to those few parents who ACTUALLY buy Marc Jacobs for kids: WTF???

Please Mum FTW!

(god, I hope they have Please Mum in the States or I am going to look like a fool....) #kidsdesignerclothes
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Maritsa
11/06/09

@Wandell: They don't, but I gather it's a reasonably-priced children's line (even w/o Googling!). For me it's Kohl's and Target all the way, though for holiday pictures I'll sometimes spend stupid amounts. #kidsdesignerclothes
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Wandell
11/06/09

@Maritsa: Ya, Please Mum is a reasonably priced children's clothing store in Canada.

Well, sometimes you need a cute dress for your kid to pose in pictures in, or go to a holiday party in, but I think we all know it's not appropriate for the playground. #kidsdesignerclothes
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applejuice
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
My son's nursery class is continually telling the parents to dress the children appropiately -

ie:
When it is cold and damp please don't send your daughter in a skirt and thin tights and open toed shoes that she will be cold in. They play outside! Dress for playing in the cold weather.

Send the kid with a jacket EVERY DAY. Again, they play outside, and weather can change.

Put the kid in something with an ELASTIC WAIST BAND. Buttons, zips, snaps and belts are hard for a 3 or 4 year old to manage on their own. Send them in something easy for them to get up and down in the loo. It helps them to be more independent.

They tell the parents this personally, they put it in notes, post stuff on the board over and over but people still don't listen. It is weird because in my mind these are things that make the child's life easier and more comfortable.

(I personally ONLY buy elastic waist trousers for my kids until they can do up buttons and snaps reliably. Fashion be damned, I'm not having my kid pee their-self because the pants were cute!) #kidsdesignerclothes
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EdnasEdibles
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
Is it really so much the dirt and ruined clothes? I remember one little girl exposed her underpants to the entire class in kindergarten during recesss and we never let her forget it (because kids are assholes) and I think she wore pants every day after that. #kidsdesignerclothes
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BytheSea
11/06/09

@EdnasEdibles: Really? I showed my underpants on the playground every day until someone told my mom to make me wear shorts under my dresses. And, uh... it was a horrid childhood trauma that I've just remembered now.

Thanks.
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Edited by BytheSea at 11/06/09 9:52 PM BytheSea was starred BytheSea was unstarred

TheUptightMidwesterner
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
Then there is my son who has worn the same camo fatigue pants every damn day for the past 2 months.
He firmly believes shoes are overrated and why would he wear clean clothes when they are just going to get dirty again? #kidsdesignerclothes
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quatrevingtquatre
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
But then you just find other little girls wo don't want to get their clothes dirty? I mean I was kind of a priss and my mom spent a lot of time dressing me just so, but my friends were similar. I didn't climb trees or make mudpies, we made daisy chains and played "Pioneer Girls" or went on swings. I never felt out of place and my clothes were always clean. #kidsdesignerclothes
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Lymed
11/06/09

@quatrevingtquatre: I'm there with you. I wasn't prissy, but I never liked dirty. I don't think it is something I got from my parents, I just never liked the feel of dirt or mud. I would stand on the sand and scream until I got picked up because I hated the feeling of sand on my feet. But I did still ride bicycles and play little league. #kidsdesignerclothes
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Dictator for Life
11/06/09

@quatrevingtquatre: I was one of those girls too. The first time my parents took me to the beach, I was two, and I spent the whole time wiping sand off of myself with paper towels. #kidsdesignerclothes
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thesciencegirl
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
You know what I think? I think we should stop psychoanalayzing children we don't know just because their parents are famous. #kidsdesignerclothes
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NellMood
11/06/09

@thesciencegirl: But then what would all those doctors-who-don't-treat-this-person... quoted in magazines have to do?? #kidsdesignerclothes
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Tchotchke
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
I hate to say it, but as a child, I was very much like Suri. I wore smocked dresses, a corresponding bow and mary janes every day of the week. Most horrifyingly, as a little kid, I made my mother or father wash my sneakers everytime I came home from the playground because I wanted them to stay white. I was, to be certain, a pill.

But kids get older and they change (a lot of kids are very obsessive and finicky anyway). My father's favorite memory was looking at the kitchen window and watching his little princess, dress and all, body-checking a boy twice her age in a particularly vicious game of street hockey. So, I don't worry about Suri. #kidsdesignerclothes
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TheFormerJuneBronson
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
I always felt like this was one of the pleasanter aspects of having a boy, though plenty of boy moms I know dress their sons inappropriately for playing. He looks adorable in everything I put on him, and heck, markers and paints are generally washable. I insist that he have a suit for weddings and/or funerals, but other than that, jeans and polo shirts and we're good to go.

I feel sorry for Suri, really. I wish I could take her to my kid's messy, comfortable daycare, where everyone's having fun in the play kitchen and stacking Legos and wearing dress-up clothes. They finger-paint, and glue things, and sing off-key. I kind of miss being three. #kidsdesignerclothes
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bluetrain84
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
I've already decided that when I have kiddos, they will be clothed in Target unless it's a holiday, photo, or other special occasion. Clothes only fit them for a short window, and I want them to be outside getting dirty and playing, not worrying about staining a dress. #kidsdesignerclothes
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morninggloria
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise

I'm totally on board with the notion that children dressing poorly can mess up the lives of their peers. I wore this tie-at-the-waist Canadian Tuxedo outfit in fourth grade, and my entire class died. #kidsdesignerclothes
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funzette
11/06/09

@morninggloria: Don't worry about it. Had you worn a Finnish tuxedo (corduroy on corduroy), you might have taken out your whole town.

Had you worn an Icelandic tuxedo (ice blue corduroy on ice blue corduoroy), we wouldn't even be having this conversation, because the internet would never have existed.
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Edited by funzette at 11/06/09 2:11 PM funzette was starred funzette was unstarred

lo-mantang
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
My kid has nice clothes (yes I am a sucker) and she also goes out wearing her knickers on her head as a hat. She comes home from kindergarten with her nice clothes covered in paint and sometimes completely trashed.

So everyone gets their way; she looks sweet to me as she leaves in the morning, she rearranges her clothes to suit herself and I guess the kindy teachers get some kind of evil pride in sending her home looking like a garbage pail kid. It can be a win for everybody! #kidsdesignerclothes
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pearlsdream
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
One of the things I've noticed since working with kids, is their ability to pull off some freaking outrageous fashion choices. Let me tell you- they work it. FIERCE. hahaha :p

So yes, it makes me sad to see Suri so erm- for lack of a better word- "dolled up". I mean she's an adorable little girl, let her have some fun! Let her make her own choices.

...Reminds me of a "Supernanny" episode where the mom had a SERIOUS issue with letting her girls pick their own outfits out, she was "embarrassed" by their lack of coordination etc. It was really out of control- I mean, what an awful influence when there are already so many awful influences of female beauty expectations.
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TheFormerJuneBronson promoted this comment Edited by pearlsdream at 11/06/09 2:02 PM pearlsdream was starred pearlsdream was unstarred

TheFormerJuneBronson
11/06/09

@pearlsdream: One of my son's classmates, a boy of about 4, was absolutely rocking this blue velvet dressup dress when I picked up my kid yesterday. He was like, "Isn't my dress great?" And seriously, it was. #kidsdesignerclothes
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BlondeGoddess
11/06/09

@TheFormerJuneBronson: This reminds me of my boy next-door who wore a Snow White dress for six months when he was 3. #kidsdesignerclothes
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PilgrimSoul
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
Mostly I just find it horrid that some people want to dress their kids in high-fashion names from the get-go. It is dooming an entire generation to think it really fucking matters what their clothes look like.

My thirty cats would like to record their agreement on this point.
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Edited by PilgrimSoul at 11/06/09 2:00 PM PilgrimSoul was starred PilgrimSoul was unstarred

NellMood
11/06/09

@PilgrimSoul: I don't really care what other people dress their children in- my future kids will not be wearing any cashmere, but I don't object if that's what other parents want. I do care if parents are telling their very young kids that they can't play because they'll get their clothes dirty. I wore, and destroyed, many a beautiful dress as a kid, and don't remember any lectures from my parents. #kidsdesignerclothes
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PilgrimSoul
11/06/09

@NellMood: Well, I find the distinction between caring about whether children get to play and caring about whether they become soulless consumers implied by your comment... it doesn't make any sense to me? #kidsdesignerclothes
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lo-mantang
11/06/09

@PilgrimSoul: Well I have a personal stoopid weakness for buying my kids nice clothes and I don't think it automatically imparts consumer soulessness to them... The distinction is, as NellMood made it, you have to laugh at yourself and let your kids wreak inevitable havoc on the gorgeous stuff you dress them in. #kidsdesignerclothes
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PilgrimSoul
11/06/09

@lo-mantang: But you're teaching them that "gorgeous" is worth paying for, aren't you? I ask this not to yell at you about how you are parenting your kids, really, but because I assume that kids get their buying habits from their parents habits (among other factors). #kidsdesignerclothes
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NellMood
11/06/09

@PilgrimSoul: I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand this comment. I did not intend to imply that I do or do not care whether or not children become soulless consumers. I'm not making any assumptions what kind of consumers toddlers will be based on their sweaters. My point was that if kids are worried about getting their clothes dirty from play, they're getting that message from their parents. #kidsdesignerclothes
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lo-mantang
11/06/09

@PilgrimSoul: If you automatically equate nice clothes with expensive then yes... but some of the ugliest crap out there has an expensive label and price tag.

I just like nice clothes because I like nice clothes and I'd say a lot of people have been like that since the dawn of time, only now it's easier for us to buy nice stuff than learn to make it.

You could say that's being a soulless consumer, but I could say that the time I don't spend learning to sew is not wasted if I'm reading my kids stories or building a tent fort in the lounge. #kidsdesignerclothes
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PilgrimSoul
11/06/09

@lo-mantang: Yeah I'm really talking about the expensive label obssession, not the appearance, so we're not in that much disagreement. #kidsdesignerclothes
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clairedeloony
11/06/09

In reply to Stylish Duds Will Be The Downfall Of Suri Cruise
I was walking into Target the other day and a mom was yelling at her dress-clad five-year-old, who was climbing the landscaping like they do: "You don't climb in a dress! What do you think you are, a boy? Girls don't climb things!"

I hope she goes nuts on the jungle gym at school, dress or no dress. #kidsdesignerclothes
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NellMood
11/06/09

@clairedeloony: Ugh, that's so depressing. I exclusively wore dresses until first grade, and I was a master tree climber. #kidsdesignerclothes
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lilyHaze
11/06/09

@NellMood: This is what shorts under dresses are for. #kidsdesignerclothes
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NellMood
11/06/09

@lilyHaze: Totally. Or tights- I went through an awful lot of tights. Anyway, figuring out how to deal with a dress that's flipped over your head on the monkey bars is an important part of growing up. #kidsdesignerclothes
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