Toddler Goths & Rockers: Style Trend or Societal Issue?
Posted by Loobalee in News & Trends
Jul|9|2008
In searching for great children’s designer clothing around the web, we’ve come across some unusual trends for kids. Most noticeable is the growing number of online stores who sell and distribute kids clothing styles that are edgy, dark, and sometimes downright macabre. This is also a noticeable trend in the mainstream department stores, and I’m seeing higher-end designers picking up bits of the trend too.
These clothes are often plain black with cheeky or subversive text accompanied by “kid version” images of skulls, weapons, or heavy metal. Many brands and designers are producing pink and blue versions of the trend, which doesn’t make them any less morbid (for me).
If you frequent the malls, then you are probably familiar with the way many teenagers are dressing these days. Sure, not ALL of them wear goth-style black shirts adorned with skulls and chains, but there are plenty who do. You can at least argue that they are old enough to choose what they wear. But it’s the babies, toddlers, and young children without a personal choice that I see wearing this trend that raises the question of what kind of people put their kids in this style of clothing?
It’s wonderful to dress and treat your child like an individual, so please don’t get me wrong, but what child even has a grasp of the world around them enough to rebel against the clothing? Is it fair to dress your kids to represent your own feelings or disdains for society? I’m not sure. I realize that a lot of these clothes grew out of a need for moms and dads who hate “cutesy” or “soft” designs to put their kids in something they might wear themselves. But I think this trend has now gone too far.
I actually had an opportunity to chat with a Mom about this on our recent trip to Disney World. I noticed a couple adorned with tattoos, piercings, died hair, and black bathing suits in the pool. The were tending to a little blonde toddler girl in pig tails wearing a pink flowery bathing suit and using pink princess swimmies. While she looked like every other toddler in the pool, her parents definitely stood out.
I couldn’t help but ask the Mom about the noticeable difference, to which she replied (as if she’d been asked a million times) “She’s only a baby!”. Although still somewhat confused, I found myself appreciative of her attitude. She felt her expressions were her own, and she was trying not to directly impose them on her child.
In my view, I worry about the message these trends send to the kids who wear them. Young children are very impressionable and able to take in the things in their environment in great detail. If their environment is filled with skulls and crossbones, then I wonder if they are, sadly, developing a negative or confused outlook on the world this early in life. The photos shown here in this article, which I found around the web, are not uncommon. I didn’t have to search very far to find these example expressions.
There is also the matter of the perception of others. Of course it’s not right to judge a book by its cover, but a lot of kids haven’t learned this yet. Isn’t being a kid and making friends hard enough as it is? Do you really want your son or daughter to be labeled by others before they even know who they are? Is it a better idea to dress your child for success as an individual, than set them up for being different?
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this style trend that seems to be gaining in popularity at stores nationwide is that it isn’t a style trend at all. The clothing itself is nothing new— t-shirts, onesies, or dresses that any kid can wear—but what is printed on the clothes associates it with a trend. All sorts of style trends come and go, but it will be interesting to see how long the life span of this form of expression lasts. It seems the “message” is more pointed than the actual style itself.
Needless to say, the majority of this type of clothing is not designer quality and won’t be listed for resale on Loobalee. But, what do you think? Should parents dress their kids in these negative and seeming antiestablishment clothing, or should they keep them in the bright colors and fun designs we know kids like? Are your kids’ clothes the right medium for expressing yourself?
One Response
Catherine
16|Jul|2008I think we need to get past the idea of “negativety” to begin with. They’re clothes, and how you react to those wearing those clothes is what kids pick up on.
I don’t put my daughter in the trendy stuff because it’s too expensive, she’s growing too fast. But if she picked something out she wanted, I’d try to get it or something like it for her.
Besides, some kids like to look like their parents, and sometimes their parents are wearing black. I think it’s cute.
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