Does Anyone Else Hate Super-skinny Jeans?

Updated on February 18, 2012
J.B. asks from Boston, MA
37 answers

My SD (age 14) and I got into an argument over clothes on Christmas day. She has no pants that aren't super-skinny jeans so I picked up a cute skirt and leggings a couple of days before Christmas, she tried them on, they looked great, she agreed to wear them and then pitched a fit on Christmas Eve before Mass and on Christmas morning. After saying in many delicate ways that super-skinny jeans are not appropriate for a family holiday gathering or Christmas Mass, I finally unloaded and let her know that I think that super-skinny jeans (the kind that are fitted to the ankle and look painted on) are almost universally unflattering, look awful on just about everyone and that especially with the tops and shoes she and her friends wear with them, they look skanky and in 10 years, she'll look at pictures of herself from now and wonder why she ever thought they looked good. Perhaps that wasn't the nicest way to say it, but "unflattering" "too fitted" and "inappropriate" weren't getting through to her.

Anyway...does anyone else not get why these are so darn popular? I think that on women who have great legs and very balanced figures, they can look good with the right cut and length of top and tucked into boots that balance out the silhouette. I think by clinging all the way to the ankle they look stupid with canvas sneakers (like the Vans that she wears) and even worse with her Timberland work boots, which look white-trashy to me and that if you're not wearing nice boots, you should wear the kind that don't cling all the way to the ankle but sort of drop straight from the mid-calf.

I know it's just a trend and will go away eventually, which is why I haven't said anything before and just let her wear them, but does anyone else hate them as much as I do? For the record she's a size 0 or 1 so it's not that she's not thin enough for them, I just hate the look. Also, we're taking her out to buy some nice black dress pants soon to avoid this in the future ;-)

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K.A.

answers from San Diego on

I used to wear skinny jeans in the 80s. The big diference is they weren't hip huggers so they looked very nice. I recently tried on a pair of skinny jeans and they looked really nice. I didn't have a problem until I sat down and they pulled down so badly in the back that I was showing a lot of my underwear. They weren't even hip hugger.
I like them. I think the whole "boot cut/bell bottoms" thing is annoying personally. They make my legs look fatter than they are. They do not "slim" my hips etc..they just make everything else balloon out and look the same.
I don't think they make someone look skany and I don't mind them on guys either. Get them in the right size and they look fine.
I think I'm in the minority from the looks of it though.
Now..with that said. If it's a nice activity we don't allow any jeans or we allow a pair of nice black ones (mostly that applies to my nicer black fashion jeans and not typical jeans). The boys know that if we're going somewhere nice they grab their cords or a pair of khakis. My daughter gets a dress or a nice pair of pants or leggings. Jeans are not considered dressing nice, skinny or not. Instead of attacking the style of pants just tackle that they are jeans in the first place and jeans are casual not dressy attire.

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☆.A.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Yo! Hate 'em....for me....because I'M not super skinny! LOL

I think they look OK on the girls...now on boyzzzzz.....whole other story!

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K.M.

answers from Chicago on

I think she needs to learn that it is important to dress appropirately for the event, not just to please her mother. My mom always showed me WHY it was important to be properly dressed for where I was going, to this day I rather be a touch over dressed then at all underdressed. The "jeggings" jean/leggings combo are what my neice wears, I have no issues with them, I would rather she styled it differently but I am working on that too! She has had no one in her life take an interest in how she presents herself to the world, I have already helped her in many ways and her clothes are getting better with each shopping trip. I do not think it's the jeans that bother you but the style or lack there of that CAN be taught.

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M..

answers from Appleton on

Well at least it was your daughter and not YOUR MOTHER!!! I walked in the door and my mother had jeggings on. She is a slim person, but she looked 6 months pregnant. I must have been staring because she said "what don't you like my outfit" OMG - I know you don't need to dress like an old granny, but whoa!!! (p.s.) she also likes to shop at Holister.... I laughed one day when I walked in and she had Holister plastered across her backside!!! I take deep breathes and smile!!! :-)

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

I lived through the 80's.

Before they had stretch in the same style, and you had to lay down flat on your bed and use pliers to zip up the zipper.

"Kids these days" just have it too easy. ;)

*I* will never wear them again, but kids and fashion? Teenagers are the most unimaginative dressers on the planet, wearing what their parents wore before them, what everyone else is wearing, and thinking they're "unique".

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C.C.

answers from San Francisco on

I think anyone over the age of 7 should hate the skinny jeans trend. My 9 year old is very fashion-conscious and wanted a pair, and so we sat in the mall for a while and observed. I asked her honestly - see that girl over there in her skinny jeans? Do you think she looks good in them? (She had to admit that the girl did not look good in them, although the girl was skinny.) I kept pointing out girl after girl in skinny jeans and showing her that it just honestly doesn't flatter anyone. Then, we looked for girls whose outfits we liked. We saw a fair number of girls wearing other trends (plaid skirts, herringbone tweed, jeans with knee-length boots over them, skirts with thigh-high boots... lots of trends this season). Anyway, we agreed that out of all the on-trend clothing we saw, skinny jeans were by far the least flattering, whether they were on little girls or grown women. Therefore, when we went clothes shopping for her, she chose clothing other than skinny jeans. I refuse to buy into trends I don't approve of. I know my daughter is still young, but as long as I'm buying, I think it's my job to make sure she doesn't look like an idiot. Us moms have to stick together on this!!

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M.C.

answers from Washington DC on

Hate them. I think they make girls look like skeletons, and on guys, um yuck!

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L.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Trends are just that, trends. They come and go. I look back at my high school pictures and shudder at some of the things I wore, or even worse, at my enormous big spiral permed hair, with bangs sprayed 3+ inches high with Aqua Net. Would I LOVE to go back and do myself over with a more classic, timeless style? You bet ya! Would my 14 year old self have had any part of being 'classic' or 'timeless'? Hell no! LOL

I think many parents dislike the styles their teens wear. Or at least don't prefer them over other, perhaps more flattering styles... but as a teen, they don't want any part of what an adult, especially a parent, thinks looks good.

My encouragement to you/her is that when you take her shopping, make the agreement beforehand that she will try on a bunch of stuff before deciding she HATES anything. I recently took a 15 year old good family friend shopping, and she was just walking past the racks saying, "I don't like the sleeves on that," or "I don't like the way that hangs"... So I picked up those things and convinced her to try them on before she made a decision about whether she liked them or not... and of the 4 items, she ended up loving and buying 3 of them. I learned that from Stacey and Clinton (What Not To Wear) - LMAO! TRY. IT. ON!

Anyhow, back to your question... Ehhh, I don't love skinny jeans, but I don't hate them either... to each his own!

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L.A.

answers from Austin on

Hated them the first time they were popular in the late 70's and hate them again.. They are awful.. This is the were the term "Camel Toe" came from.

I rememeber the "country girls" wore them so tight in high school, they used to have to use hangers to zip up their jeans. I even remember a few girls who fainted at school, their pants were so tight.. Ah,m the good old days.. Not always that good, fashion wise.

Rent "Dazed and Confused" and "Urban Cowboy" and explain the girls wearing the tight jeans in these movies are now 50 years old! Ha!

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H.P.

answers from Houston on

I don't even have tiem to finish reading your request because I need to get out of here, but I have to respond. I hate the skinny jeans trend and do not understand why it's so big. They are even unflattering on little girls. Only very thin girls under the age of 10 years should even consider buying them. Most people I see in them shouldn't even go around spelling the word skinny--why make a skinny jean to fit a fat girl??

Skinny jeans were designed to help add some illusion of meatiness to those who lack it. Same with thong underwear and swimsuits. You can almost bet your life, though, that you'll see more of the exact opposite wearing them. There should be a cut-off size.

I've had people tell me that they ROCK skinny jeans. I tell them that there's a difference between wearing them and rocking them. Just because you can put 'em on doesn't make it right.

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C.N.

answers from Baton Rouge on

I'm 47, I wear skinny. jeans and I rock the hell out of them!

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E.S.

answers from New York on

Recovering 80s child here, too! "Back in those days," if you didn't have it, you didn't flaunt it." Muffin tops were reserved for just the baked good.

That said, I loathe the whole skinny jean concept. It exudes prelude to body image issues, as if we gals don't have enough of that on our own. I nearly gaped when I saw skinny jeans for toddlers!!!

I'm hardly one to dictate advice for parents/step-parents of teenage girls, I might see myself letting her get one pair, reserved for just hanging out.
Besides, we all need one thing to look back at and say "what were we thinking." I.E. Parachute pants.

Anyhoo, maybe discuss the dress code for holiday gatherings in advice?

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

They make gals' legs look like spindly toothpicks. Yuck...

Dawn

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C.W.

answers from Santa Barbara on

I graduated high school in 1984!! I remember at your step-daughter's age talking brand new Levi 501s and using my mother's sewing machine to make them more tapered like the skinny jeans of today (and removed the back pockets very carefully with a razor blade). I even wore Vans, they were cool back then too!

Did I think that look was fabulous ten years later when I was either wearing scrubs or suits to work? No, but it was fun at the time. Parents and kids have been at odds with clothing, music and hair since the beginning of time.

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B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

When I was a teen I remember my sister wearing jeans so tight you needed lay down, breathe out and use pliers to pull up the zipper.
Don't ask me how she managed to use the bathroom.
Then there was that fad with the jeans and ankle zippers.
Yeah, the hip-hugger look and the skinny skin tight clothes look horrible on everyone unless you happen to be seriously anorexic.
There are so many who don't mind the flab jiggling over the top of the waist band and think they look so hot and attractive when they really look like over stuffed sausages - if there were fashion police, these muffin topped people would be doing hard time for gross out violations.
You've already let her have some clothes like this in her wardrobe.
Just make sure the trend does not take over.
Have other clothes available, and when the skinny stuff wears out (really wash and put through dryer twice to help wear it out faster), be REALLY SLOW to replace it.

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L.L.

answers from Topeka on

I don't care for them unless a person can pull them off & if they are worn with tall boots other than that leave them @ the store don't waste money on them.I have never bought my girls a pair but this is what the oldest she is 4 has received for the past 2 yrs & I will let her wear them but she must wear tall boots with them not any other kind of shoe.She now has a pair that are like stone washed from the 80's & i'm like great PLAY JEANS...Daddy hates these & on boys are even worse seeing their package this young gross & wearing them with high top tennis shoes well it's their life they think they are in style for them yes for us adults no.We wore what our parents hated us to wear when we were their age & now the cycle continues with our own we just need to guide them into what is appropriate to wear & what not to wear take pictures of them & laugh later about it....

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3.B.

answers from Huntington on

My feeling is unless you are a teenage GIRL, they have no purpose on your body. And as far as teenage girls go, I think they are okay with longer shirts that cover their butts. No bellies showing, no THONGS showing etc. We also had awful trends when we were teens. But my mom laid down the law, and if we were going to church, out for family functions, or to my granparents, certain things were just NOT allowed. PERIOD. I think now a days so many parents let their kids do and wear whatever. So when we try to set some rules we are looked at as lame, too strict etc. My sister lets her daughter do ANYTHING and she just turned 16. Nose piercing, belly, lip, BOOTY shorts ......ugh!
Just lay down some ground rules for certain occasions. Then as long as she's not being innapropriate, just let it go. Pick your battles. This is just the beginning lol

Updated

My feeling is unless you are a teenage GIRL, they have no purpose on your body. And as far as teenage girls go, I think they are okay with longer shirts that cover their butts. No bellies showing, no THONGS showing etc. We also had awful trends when we were teens. But my mom laid down the law, and if we were going to church, out for family functions, or to my granparents, certain things were just NOT allowed. PERIOD. I think now a days so many parents let their kids do and wear whatever. So when we try to set some rules we are looked at as lame, too strict etc. My sister lets her daughter do ANYTHING and she just turned 16. Nose piercing, belly, lip, BOOTY shorts ......ugh!
Just lay down some ground rules for certain occasions. Then as long as she's not being innapropriate, just let it go. Pick your battles. This is just the beginning lol

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L.L.

answers from Orlando on

I think they're cute on skinny girls.

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H.W.

answers from Portland on

Not a fan, so I'm there with you. They didn't bother me until I started to see ads for them: "BORN TO FIT" read one (okay, so our kids were born with no other purpose than to fit into skinny jeans? *that's* the pinnacle of what they can achieve in life? looking "hot"? ugh.) And then seeing them marketed to wee little kids-- absurd is the nicest word. For some slim teen girl, fine. For a supermodel (who has decided to enjoy a life of lookism), fine. For just about everyone else... no thanks.

My mom was pretty clear with us about what was appropriate apparel for school and special occasions. Last fall I worked doing childcare for some special events for a religious group. Some of the young women were so inappropriately dressed as to nearly be falling out of their tops, on a religious holiday. I was mortified for them and wondered if their parents didn't need their eyes checked.

Remember when we used to have to actually 'sneak' clothes out of the house to wear something more mature, and then put it on at school or at the mall? Makes me nostalgic....

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A.J.

answers from Williamsport on

Well, I've worn some crazy and unflattering clothes in my day, and at the time, they seemed awesome, but bottom line, I wasn't allowed to wear tight stuff to church and family functions OR SCHOOL. I intend to uphold similar rules with my kids when they're older, no skin tight stuff, super short stuff, super low cut stuff, etc. Skinny jeans? Not unless the top covers her butt or the proportions of the general outfit somehow avoid skankitude. I think young girls dress way too slutty today to be honest, trend or not. You can't make her hate the jeans, but as long as she lives under your roof, you call the shots on obscenity to whatever extent you decide. So tell her she's lucky she's wearing that MOST of the time, and she needs to cut you a break even considering it for decent functions or church. And unless she works and bought them herself, you should remind her you can take them away or quit buying them. In my early 20's it was the looooow rise super tight jeans, like, 2" rise. Yes, I wore some. but I bought them myself and lived on my own at that time and wouldn't have been caught dead in my tight low jeans around my parents :-0! Some of the skinny kids today can pull off the skinny jeans with the right tops and jackets, but lots of the girls look trampy in them for sure. Oh, and in the 80's I did wear the super tight black stretch rocker jeans, but always with long men's shirts over them :)

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H.B.

answers from Dallas on

I personally think my 6 year old looks really cute when she wears her skinny jeans and boots...but they aren't "super skinny" so maybe its different. Although I do see some teenagers wearing their skinny jeans so tight it just looks painful! I am a child of the '90s ie, baggy, grunge so I can't say it was much of an issue for me.

That being said I do want to say that she is a teenager and while she may not have bowed down and agreed with you the first time when you told her you thought they were "unflattering", your words have power and she did hear you. The second time you unloaded on her and told her they were unflattering on her and that she looks "skanky" I'm sure you lost her for good on that subject. Take it from someone who used to have a psycho stepmother who critized EVERYTHING I did, said, even thought, you are not going to get anywhere calling her nasty names and putting her down just because she doesnt see it your way. And I seriously doubt the issue will go away just because you buy her a pair of nice black dress pants.

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E.M.

answers from Honolulu on

I hate them too. I like flare leg jeans myself.

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T.J.

answers from Seattle on

I don't care for them either, but then again the things I wore in the 80s weren't exactly flattering either, almost everyone can look back and laugh at the things they wore growing up! Skinny jeans are just this generation's bell bottoms/acid wash jeans/cross colours! ;)

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A.C.

answers from Savannah on

Yes. ESPECIALLY on guys. Sheesh.

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R.Y.

answers from New York on

I don't mind skinny jeans. They are even cute on my toddler. If your SD is a teen and a size1 she may as well wear them now--they will only look worse later. But asking her to wear something other than jeans to church or a family gathering sounds like a different argument. The dressy, not fitted, black pants would be a nice addition to her wardrobe. They can be dressed up or not and go with almost anything.

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M.B.

answers from Austin on

Yep... it's just a trend... I work in a middle school and see them all the time and can't help but think how uncomfortable they must be! I personally don't like the look of them, but my opinion doesn't matter.

One guy used to wear them (last year... he is at the high school now), but as is typical on a male, he had no hips to speak of, and they tended to be a bit baggy... so..... they were baggy at the waist, and held on at the thigh by them being so tight, so that when you looked at him from the back, there was a little "bubble" or "pouch" at the butt that always made me think he had a "load" in his pants!

J.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

i think for Church she should be able to not wear them, but honestly it doesn't make sense why at family functions she can't be and look like herself as long as its not innapropriate and het stomach isn't showing....My nephew wears these, he;s 18 and wears them with sneakers and looks grungy...he comes to family parties like that, its who he is, and none of us judge him. I dressed odd at that age too....and I still like skinny jeans

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B.K.

answers from Detroit on

I'm a 28 year old mommy of 3 and I must say I ROCK my skinnies :) I rock em with tall boots, I rock em with short boots, I rock em with ballet flats and I even rock em with heels!

N.N.

answers from Detroit on

I am so tired of looking at women in these funky looking stretch leggings I could scream! they are every where I look as if they invaded our country & on every type of figure with unflattering shirts. In the grocery stores, at the bank and I can not stand, can't stand when I see them at the doctor's office! Just my pet peeve and vent. Oh same thang! Yep I agree.

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T.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

I think they look silly on anyone other than a teen. My teens are pretty tiny and they look cute. You made me laugh, my one teen got a pair of superman converse to wear with them :) My other one likes to wear boots or flats with them. I let them, i remember when i had the body for it.....sigh! I dont think it is as bad as some other clothing. The phase will pass, dont worry.

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J.A.

answers from La Crosse on

let her wear them think ask for kid grow up as pysho over strict parents lead kids hate they life too point can't take it she not little girl anymore So Stop be over strict ! i love skinny jeans i think she should wear skinny jeans i think terribe Parents most parents let kids at age become little self steam what ask for is her have no self steam at that age girls need it or they well ending mess up with they life you over strict parent was your kid would end up jump out window ! i hate parents like you think over strict need serious pysho help !

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J.K.

answers from Sacramento on

I think that lots of trendy fashion things look awful, but I remember wearing what was "in" when I was a teen too. There's a time and a place for it, and I don't think that it was wrong of your to object and have her change for church or a family gathering. It isn't about how they look on someone necessarily, it's about the occasion and being appropriate.

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R.M.

answers from San Francisco on

I think they are fine on teens. They don't flatter most adults, even though I must admit I own a pair.

The main point with her should not have been a style debate over skinny jeans, but rather that she had already agreed to wearing the skirt and leggings, and that jeans aren't appropriate for church and Mass.

But it's hard not to unload on teens occasionally, I know. Drop the subject, let her wear the jeans, but next time you have a special occasion let her know well in advance she will be expected to dress up, so choose her outfit and it's not jeans.

N.P.

answers from San Francisco on

Well, things could be worse. Public pajamas could be the next big "in" thing.
.
..
...
OH WAIT! THEY ARE!

http://glo.msn.com/style/pajama-party-7705.gallery

I was just in target the other day and someone wearing PJ's and UG boots strolled past me. I did a double take, laughing to myself thinking it was a fluke, and then I saw that article in the news and others like it. It's taking the fashion industry by storm. For going out, I'd take skinny jeans over nighties any day.

Don't get me wrong, I love my jammy jams but I don't go outside in them. And if it do, it's to make a mad dash to the mailbox and back in 2.5 seconds before someone sees me. The last time I wore PJ's in public was when I was on the way to the hospital to have an emergency C-section and before that, I was in elementary school and it was Halloween and my friends and I had all worn our jammies to school, splashed with fake blood and gore, telling everyone we were girls at a slumber party that was massacred my Freddy Krueger.

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K.O.

answers from Atlanta on

I agree. I don't think they look good on anyone (even the really skinny people). The only time they look decent is when the wearer is wearing nice boots up to the knee.

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L.N.

answers from New York on

i agree with you but heck it's what kids like. church should be a no no but hanging out with family i think i would state my opinion and allow her to make my decision. i have learned with my kids if i say you wear whatever you want but i don't think it looks good on you, or i don't think it looks good in general, and then back off, they will think about it and go with something else. if i push the issue they won't see it any other way other than their own. allowing them to make the decision and just offering advice in a kind manner works for me. good luck

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J.L.

answers from Chicago on

I completely agree...if you want a super fitted pant...stick to leggings which have a nice tummy panel for smoothing and are flattering to the legs...Super skinny jeans are unflattering....Unless you are pencil thin or weigh 10 lbs they will look foolish on most. I love my leggings!

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