In search of modesty; Some teens want alternatives to body-baring styles

Since the popularity of belly-baring shirts and low-rise jeans is fading, many teens have begun to demand more modest clothing.

But some are saying that not much change is occurring in the stores and that it's not easy to find attractive alternatives. There also are girls who say that they don't want to cover up.

Becky Flanagan, 14, visiting from South Carolina and shopping at Westfield Shoppingtown Valley Fair, says finding a skirt she likes is almost impossible.

"They always rise high above my thighs since I'm so tall," said Becky, who was wearing a pink tank top and slightly baggy jeans.

Photo by Miriam Alvarado

Walking through Forever 21 in Valley Fair, a store where teen girls frequently shop, there is a splash of tank tops and short skirts hanging on the clothing racks. Despite the supposed reports of clothing becoming more modest, some girls seem to be frustrated with the type of clothes they find in their favorite stores, including Forever 21.

In recent national headline news, an 11-year-old Washington girl wrote a letter to Nordstrom, asking the chain to sell less revealing clothing for her age group. Ella's letter made its way all the way up to Peter Nordstrom, executive vice-president, according to the Seattle Times. Two executives responded by promising to educate employees on the fashion choices young people should have.

Other stores also are aware of the demands being made by teens.

Monica Gubrud, the special events manager for Macy's Valley Fair store, said, "Macy's has a broad sense of what the teenage girls wear. There is modest clothing, which is made to be cute, but at times is conservative. However, there is also clothing which is slightly risque to satisfy those who like to show a little bit of their stomach. We also market everything in between."

Macy's has a junior department that sells clothes ranging from designer labels such as DKNY and Guess to brands that are less well known, such as Necessary Objects.

"Our clothing basically reflects the runway models' style," said Lauren Halpern, public relations director for Bloomingdale's at Stanford Shopping Center. "Modesty is the trend for fall of 2004, but it will take a couple seasons to get popular because people usually wait to see if the style sticks."

Most stores sell a broad range of clothing that includes both risque and conservative styles. Many girls say the clothing they find in the stores doesn't bother them. They think girls should have a choice and as long as they feel comfortable wearing short skirts and low-cut tops they should be able to wear them instead of knee length skirts and boat-neck shirts.

"Everyone has a different comfort level, and if they want to wear revealing clothing and they're comfortable with it, then it's none of my business to tell them what to wear," said Julia Kwan, 18, who likes to shop at American Eagle.

Other teens believe that even as they voice their frustrations, not much changes.

"When I go shopping, I don't see anything different. The clothing is just as revealing as it used to be," said Jackee Nguyen,16, a Fremont High School student who tends to wear jeans and tops from Forever 21 and Abercrombie and Fitch.

Idols like Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, who favor body-exposing clothes, are now being challenged by the more elegant, feminine style of such stars as Mischa Barton (of "The OC") and Katie Holmes (of "Dawson's Creek"). Their characters are generally seen wearing sundresses, flannel shirts and jeans and in real life, they wear the latest clothes by designers such as Chanel and Carolina Herrera.

"I don't really like Britney Spears," said Flanagan, the South Carolina teen. "The main reason I don't like her is because of the clothing she wears."

The teens who are bothered by revealing clothing say that sometimes people are judged by the way they dress.

"It's true that girls are judged upon the clothing they wear, because if they're wearing some outrageous clothing, they're probably not going to be someone I would take home to see my family," said Mike Gorsche, 17, a student at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose. "To me it seems as though a girl wearing revealing clothes is still trying to find herself and trying to fit in."

Zehara Levins agrees.

"I personally judge people if they wear something tacky and overly revealing," said the 17-year-old from Gunn High School in Palo Alto. "I think it makes them seem trashy, but I'm not going to tell them what to wear."

No matter what the trend is, the girls interviewed for this story believe that modesty will never be entirely popular.

"Girls are always going to wear revealing clothing," said Cheryl Chu, 15, of Fremont High. "It's never going to change."