Teen Clothing: Tasteful or Tawdry?

American teens spend over $170 million annually on clothes. Clothing makers are chasing the teen market, and banking that sexiness sells. 

“Don’t show off too much.” That’s C.C. Docken’s cardinal rule for daughter Automne, 13. The Orono seventh grader is required to wear shorts underneath any skirt she wears.

“I check!” says her mom.  

The Dockens appreciate that their daughter doesn’t follow the crowd when it comes to clothing.

“Automne does her own thing,” says Docken. “For example, she decorated her sneakers with purple glitter glue to personalize them.”

“No short shorts, no camisoles by themselves and no string bikinis,” says mom Angie Swanson. “And this year we’re trying something new: a yearly clothing allowance which includes everything from socks to dressy clothes. When the money is gone, it’s gone.” 

Kerri Simafranca checks her 15-year-old’s shirts to make sure they aren’t tight or revealing.

“I had to tell my daughter, ‘guys notice chests,’” the Minnetrista mom says.

“No writing across the rear” is the only clothing rule Cindy McQuinn has for daughter Megan, a student at Wayzata West Middle School. “Thankfully, we haven’t had any issues because she dresses modestly,” says McQuinn.

“We don’t have clothing issues,” says Kirstin Andersen-Beaver. Daughter Taylor, 16, describes her style as “sometimes sporty, sometimes dressy.” Taylor helps pay for her clothes and she likes to shop at dELiA’s in Ridgedale Mall.

Leah Daly doesn’t feel the need to monitor her daughter’s clothing.

“She makes the right choices,” says Daly of daughter Carly, who likes to shop at Heartbreaker in Excelsior.

Teens may feel pressure to wear a certain style or brand to gain social ranking.

"Girls tend to pick a role model and dress like them," says Erin Martin, owner of Martin's Clothing Boutique in Wayzata. "They'll think 'so-and-so would wear this' so then they'll buy it."

“Freshmen are more prone to follow fads to get attention or fit in,” says Carly Daly, 18. “As you get older, you realize the dumbness of it.” 

“In middle school, everyone tends to dress alike, with name brands like Abercrombie,” says Orono High senior Alyssa Overturf. “In high school, people are more interested in finding their own look.”  

Overturf describes her style as “conservative and unique” and she prefers to shop at Express, Macy’s and Forever 21.

Twelve-year-old Annika Mueller asks for clothing store gift cards instead of birthday and Christmas presents.

“Annika likes to go shopping with her friends, but she still needs my guidance, especially where cost is concerned,” says mom Kimberly Mueller. “She picked out a dress for her music recital, but it was pricey. I told her she could buy it only if it went on sale.”

Luckily for Annika, it did.

Students not only have clothing rules at home, but at school too.  

The Orono School District’s dress code, for example, defines inappropriate clothing as “short shorts, skimpy tank tops, and tops that expose the midriff.” 

Despite the ban on short shorts, teens say the rule isn’t enforced.  

“Teachers tell us shorts can’t be more than two inches higher than your knee, but no one wears shorts that long,” says Meghan Swanson, an Orono Middle School student. “It’s actually really hard to find shorts that long.”

As a teacher in the Wayzata School District, Angie Swanson occasionally sees dress code violations.

“I once asked a student to keep her sweatshirt hood on because spaghetti straps are not allowed to show,” says Swanson. “I also told a boy to pull up his pants to keep his boxer shorts covered. That lasted an hour. It’s hard to enforce the dress code if parents don’t know or don’t care.”

 “Classy outweighs flashy,” says Kathleen Healy Twistol, owner of Tres Chic wardrobe consulting. “I tell my clients and my daughters that it’s okay to follow trends, but take a little of what you see in magazines and add your own personal flair.  Confidence really comes from inner beauty.”