I wrote the following in my personal journal. I'm sharing tonight because of a friend's Facebook post about a similar experience she and her daughter had at Target today . . .
August 12, 2012
I just returned from Target, where Nora and I were shopping for AHG khaki slacks and a dress. We came home with the pants, but no dress. The word "skanky" kept coming to mind as we looked through the racks--poorly made, looked like a nightgown, and looked like a beach cover-up. These were the options. None even made it to the dressing room.
As I sat waiting for Nora to try on the khaki's, I overheard the mom next to me talking to an older daughter about a younger sister's continued rejection of dresses. "She looked so nice in the one, but I guess she isn't ready to accept that sort of dress--one where you can see the complete shape of her body. But, she looked great in it!" Minutes later, the girl in question emerged from the dressing room with a whole pile of dresses that were tight fitting, too short, and generally way to grown up looking for the 13ish year old I was watching. She too left Target without a dress. Good for her!!
I need to find a place for Nora to buy clothes that she loves and looks good in. When I was a girl, my mother very generously, and sacrificially, took me to Nordstrom's Half Yearly sale twice a year from the time I was a pre-teen. I'm not sure that our budget can include Nordstrom for Nora and Lucy, but there must be a place--and it may be their own bedroom mirror with the wardrobe arriving in the mail. Target's fine for underwear, socks, and AHG uniform pants, but it's no place to build a self image.
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