The Fashionista And Her Fascination With Rue21

 

 

Note:  I was compensated for writing this post, however, all of the opinions expressed are mine. 

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My daughter's awareness of fashion began when she was in preschool. All the girls had to have Twinkle Toe shoes. When I wouldn't spring for the ultra-expensive shoes and sent her in with Target knock-offs, she was mortified. Apparently the other 4-year old girls knew her shoes weren't the real deal (!!) and made fun of her for it. Since then, Diva has been extremely vocal about the latest designs and even saves up her own money to buy the trendy clothes.

So when she saw me perusing Rue21's site while searching for a gift for a teenage girl we knew, she was thrilled. “Mom, I need Aztec leggings, shortalls, printed jogger pants...”  Her list went on and on. She knew what all of those things were while I had to search the site to see what she was talking about.

I don't mind her emulating young adult fashion, as long as it's appropriate for someone in elementary school. The Aztec leggings, though not something that would fit my middle-aged body, would look cute on her. Similarly, tribal leggings would be perfect for the current weather in the

Shortalls would not fit our school's dress code

Northeast. In fact, when it gets hot and she's wearing leggings, she just cuffs them up to look like shorts.

The shortalls are another story. They remind me of the hot pants that were popular in the 70's and although cute, I can't imagine they'd be in accordance with our school's dress code where the length of shorts must be a few inches from a child's extended hand. Shortalls are simply too skimpy for school and not appropriate for a child as young as Diva, although they might be all right for an older girl. 

Rue21's jogger pants are nice, but were not what I imagined when I thought of “jogger” pants. I was thinking something baggy in velour. These look more like leggings although they do have a drawstring waist and elastic in the back. Cute for a teen, but not really fitting my image of a younger girl. Similarly, the maxi skirts are lovely but look too old for teenage girls or any girls for that matter. Once again, in a blast from the past, I thought the chevron-patterned maxi skirts looked like something I wore when I was in middle school.

Together, my daughter and I chose a striped, double-scooped neck top for our neighbor and paired it with a high-waisted midi skirt I knew the birthday girl's mom would approve of. Her mother, like me, feels that young adolescents should not show off too much of their bodies.

There's tasteful, and then there's inappropriate. Rue 21 is a site where girls can “shop 'till they drop” and embrace their inner fashionistas without causing a mother too much concern.