May is here and that means lots of young American girls are preparing for that high school rite of passage known as Prom. Just today, the New York Post reported on this year’s most popular fashion trend for this big event:
Prom is going porn this year.
The days of dressing like a lady are over — with teens preferring to parade around at their first big dance looking more like strippers than schoolgirls.
The hot trend is slutty chic — with cleavage-revealing frocks, bellybutton-baring gowns and dresses made of barely enough fabric to make a washcloth.
What?!? Does this upset anyone besides me?
The article goes on to report that one of Saks best-selling dresses this season is a little (and I do mean little) leopard number with a bare-midriff that looks like something a belly-dancer would wear. What?!?
Do these gals realize that their clothing choices send a message? Have they asked themselves what that message might be? (And if they haven’t, where are their moms or aunts or older sisters to help advise them?)
And as if this isn’t bad enough, don’t get me started on what’s happening to our littlest young ladies. Where I might have played dress-up as a little girl and worn high heels for play, three-year-old Suri Cruise has been photographed wearing silver peep-toe heels made for children out on the town.
So today I want to take a moment to encourage our young women to stay true to themselves and dress in what makes them feel pretty, confident and vibrant not because it’s what everyone else is wearing, but because it’s what they consciously choose to wear. Because they understand that whatever dress they choose for prom will reflect their personal values. Because wearing clothes that draw attention for attention’s sake won’t make you feel good about you. Because dressing for any event shouldn’t be about making an impression but rather about making an expression of your authentic inner self.
Yes, there is plenty of societal pressure for teens to bare as much as possible as soon as possible because that’s what they see teen celebrities doing. But certainly not every young lady wants to attend prom looking like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman before her makeover.
So for the few willing to be brave enough to refuse the skin-tight, down-to-there and up-to-here dresses on the market and willing to instead choose a conservative, feminine and oh-so-pretty gown, I present today’s VPOD.
This 1950s lace and tulle gown by Harry Keiser can easily be worn off the shoulders to bare some skin but with a message that says “I’m a lady” instead of “I’m a lady of the evening.”
It’s a beautiful age-appropriate choice for a young vintage fashionista!
Available at Vintage Virtuoso.
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