Teen Style Tuesday: Can an Older Teen Dress Too Young?

Polia left this nice comment on my Family Camp post:

I like your daughter’s daring mix of prints, although I would never, ever guess that she was nearly 18 based on that outfit. Do you think it’s possible to dress too young when you are in your late teens? Or does anything go, as long as it is suitably modest?

My answer:

Overall, I think most “rules” are specific to the individual idiom, or at least to the style personality. Meaning that, while this outfit might look young on most people, certain individuals could wear it even in their old age and look perfectly normal. Because it suits their idiom.

The only rules I think are generally applicable to everyone are: face as focal point, feeling like yourself in your clothes, being able to move and function and, of course, modesty.

But that all doesn’t really answer your question. I’d love to hear from others on it.

Your thoughts?
Later, as my hero and I were out for the evening stroll, I asked him the random question,

“what do you think of the faux hawk?”

To which he answered, after first ascertaining that I indeed meant the hairstyle emulating a mohawk without shaving the head,

“it’s fine, if you’re nine”

Although most of the pictures I found online don’t look bad, in person almost everyone who wears it does (look bad, that is). Why is it that so many guy trends are basically unattractive? Sagging, for instance.

When I related the above conversation to my daughter (the tie-dye one), she shot back positively,

“nine year old boys don’t have hairstyles”

To which I replied,

“of course they do, their moms do them”

Which she thought was about the most pathetic thing ever!

So here’s another question: at what age should a young person have responsibility for their own hairstyle? Feel free to comment on the faux hawk as well. 🙂

5 thoughts on “Teen Style Tuesday: Can an Older Teen Dress Too Young?”

  1. I *like* the faux hawk. My seven year old has one ;). And pathetic isn’t quite the word I’d use referring to children and style- but someday your daughter will realize that. My children are an extension of *my* style, and if they look bad, I look bad. When they look hip, it helps *me* look hip. My 7 yo has always had great hair (except when hubby has decided it needs to be cut…by him). At a Waterdeep concert, with his worn-in jeans, his faux birks, his super cool hair, and his little brown message tee, one teen commented that he was the coolest little kid he had ever seen. SO pathetic? No. Fun? Yes.

    And nine sounds like a good age to let kids have a litlle freedom with their hair (and clothes?)– but I’m not there yet, so who knows.

  2. the faux hawk: I loved it on Sanjaya but he was putting it to theatrical use. Since you don’t watch tv, this was an inexplicably (to some) popular young man who was an American Idol contestant.

    For real life, I personally don’t care for anything either on me or anyone else that looks as though you’re trying too hard to attract attention. I thought this idea was a theme that went through several of the modesty contributions. “Show-off” was a term that caught my eye.
    I would like to say that I don’t mind individualistc and sometimes outre style choices but I can’t think of a single example that doesn’t look like it’s meant to shock or be an attention hog. I don’t condemn it so much as it’s a little sad.

    Many years ago I used to love to go into bars alone, if alone, and sit for periods of time and wait to be entertained by human nature. Or so I thought. On one occasion of an afternoon I was in a pub-by place having an interesting conversation with one of the regulars. He observed to me about someone else – but clearly also talking about himself – that the people who spend long hours in bars are hungry for attention. It wasn’t any condemnation just a matter-of-fact evaluation. I saw that it applied to me and that wasn’t a choice I wanted to make so I left and stopped doing that entirely. Or anything like it. And it’s something that I apply to the choices I make in what to wear. “Different” is fine for me but “head-turning” or “stared at” is not.

  3. just to add- my son never stands his hair up, I just like the more-hair-on-top-and-in-the-middle- look. My two yo i(*curly* headed) boy is about to get the same treatment.

    So Vildy, you thought by “faux-hawk” Rebecca meant Sanjaya’s hair. That is totally attention grabbing.

  4. Just to be clear – my daughter thought that by age nine a child should be doing his own hair, which was the reason for the use of the word “pathetic”. I don’t think she actually objects to the faux hawk.

    And, while I still think it is one of the least cool styles I have ever seen, there are many people I love and respect who like it … including you, bonnie!

    I am a little curious now myself why I dislike it so much. And it’s not Sanjaya’s hair that I mind – it’s the mild ones.

    Vildy ~ I agree with what you say about attracting attention. I like to see different and fun, and I think certain personalities support more theatrical looks than others. Sometimes I feel like I’m walking a tight rope between blending in and standing out. Life would be easier for me if I was comfortable with either extreme!

    I never would have guessed that about people who hang out in bars, though.

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