New Look responds to backlash over padded bikini for young girls

Lots of mothers choose 'mini me' versions of clothes for their daughters. You see lots of 'off the shoulder' type tops and dresses for really very young girls, these days.

I see young girls in the park dressed in totally unsuitable clothing for climbing and running, and often the mother's main concern is that the child doesn't get dirty, and continues to look pretty.

Without moulding or padding I imagine 90% of girls over the age of 8 wouldn’t swim

who swims in a bikini? Costumes are for swimming.

In my view the bikini cup is normalising, for young girls, the desired aesthetic for breasts.

I'm not a fan of small children in bikinis, but I can't get very worked up about this. The range goes up to 15 - I assume that's the normal age range they produce their teenage stuff for. Others have pointed out why some girls would like molding/padding.

When I was mid teens, I used to wear a bikini, rash vest and board shorts for swimming in the sea as I was very body conscious. So it's worth remembering there's more than one way to wear bikinis!

But beaches are absolutely full of people wearing all sorts of things. Running about in underwear or nothing at all.

Where are a the threads on men with beer guts hanging over the top of a pair of speedos. Or discussing how we git an eyeful from all the men or boys wearing white shorts.

Where are they?

Cos all we seen to do is pick apart girls swimwear and have little girls put in the impossible situation of having to please people who are constantly analysing their clothes.

Can we just let them run about on a beech and play please instead of constantly using them to make a point.

Oh yes I forgot about the rash vests I bought my three soontobe60

Dd had a bathing costume with moulded cups at 12 but wore tankini’s when she was younger (and older)

I wouldn’t have let her have a bikini like that, she’d be permanently adjusting her top

And before anyone says anything about not needing to adjust a bikini top, I’m talking about my daughter only 🙂

It amazes me with the push on keeping safe in the sun that bikinis are still being produced for children. A bikini is a fashion item - it’s not practical, doesn’t cover enough skin and therefore more skin is exposed to harmful UV rays. As someone who has had skin cancer, I can’t wait for the day when it becomes more fashionable to cover up our children to protect them from the sun.

Ironically in this bid tonotsexualise children parents would letthem wearshorts and no top because a 9 yr old girl is just like a 9 yr old boy and doesn't need a bra top... or let them just run about in underwear like children do, so covering the top half in a vest is fine but chop of a couple of inches of that vest and all hell breaks loose.

This was my thought too. In a way, little girls are already sexualised when we put them in bathing costumes that cover up their chests while boys run about in trunks.

Those of you who think these bikinis are fine because moulding hides developing breasts: have you actually seen the pictures?
I would not have worn them as a young woman, let alone as a child.

My DD is at this stage, has been for a year or so. She wears cotton crop tops, no need for a bra and certainly no need for moulded bikinis like these. They wouldn’t look out of place in The Rocky Horror Picture Show!

Tired of these oh-so-trendy designers pushing the boundaries of what they can get away with!

I very much doubt the modesty argument as a genuine one - it’s just a happy coincidence for New Look.

The shape is a problem for me if worn by a 9 year old BUT I suspect there's some slightly built 14-15 year olds who might well need age 9 or 10 and would find it easier with a bikini that is vaguely tight around the ribcage than one they like the style of but is big on them.

I was desperate to wear a strapless top in my mid teens but I could not find any tight enough across the back to have any chance of staying put. Had the same problem with prom dresses and had to get my wedding dress made... I suspect my DD will have similar issues and will be several sizes below her age where length is not a limiting factor.

[quote teezletangler]Torn on this. I don't have an issue with moulding, but the bikinis themselves don't look great to me. Not appropriate for a 9 yo IMO. I do think it's a fairly sexualised style.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9639277/amp/New-Look-fire-sexualising-children-selling-padded-bikinis-girls-aged-nine.html[/quote]
Yeah I agree with you here. It's the shape of the top that's the issue...The triangle moulded shape isn't appropriate for a 9YO - had the moulds been in the lining of a crop top style top then I think it's fine as many have mentioned, it can hide developing buds and provide modesty.

Why are we suggesting little nine year old girls need modesty clothing? Most really aren’t developing breasts at that age. Most are not going through puberty. It is sexualising children for commercial reasons.

Then again, it’s New Look. It’s market is cheap and cheerful high fashion. Not exactly a store for most nine year olds.

This has made me cross actually. The thread, not the swim suit. Girls should wear uncomfortable, impractical one piece swimsuits so as not to be sexualised? That's just the same as women wearing uncomfortable impractical high heels for the benefit of men, surely. Let them wear what they're comfortable in.

One-pieces aren't ideal for leisure wear because they're inconvenient. A bikini has the advantage that you can easily wear it under your clothes and avoid having to change into it on the beach. If it's warm enough for it to dry out, you can keep it on when you leave the beach too. You can't do that with a one-piece unless you are prepared to completely undress whenever you need the loo.

A one piece swim suit is a pain, as others have said and the school regulation type might flatten any developing boobs but they do nothing to hide cold nipples.

I agree on the modesty aspect. Not that 9yos should have to think about modesty, I suppose, but I feel more "dressed" on the beach if there's more than a slip of fabric between my nipples and the public. I always choose a padded bra and I couldn't actually care less how big my boobs look, I just don't want prominent nipples.

I have happy memories of being a kid and running round in a bikini. It was the most comfortable and practical thing to wear and also completely non-sexual. I was a kid. When I started puberty I switched to one-pieces due to self-consciousness and I’ve never really felt comfortable in a bikini since. I tend to wear tankinis now. But for me a bikini brings back memories of childhood freedom, not sexualisation.

My girls like tankinis or bikinis because it’s so much easier to go to the toilet! Nothing worse than trying to peel a wet sandy swimsuit off in a poolside loo. Also if it’s really hot they like them as it’s cooler.

However I agree that the New Look triangle styles are not practical for swimming - mine prefer sporty / racerback styles like Decathlon sell, as no worries about it coming undone or revealing anything. I did find it quite frustrating last year that when I was looking for bikinis for them it was hard to find nice sporty styles and most were triangle / bra style. I think I even posted on MN about it.

We need to start our own range of swimwear for girls and teens!

What if the 9yo doesn't want odd tan lines from a crop top?

Bikinis aren't just for swimming, they're for wearing when it's hot. I've never seen one ride up, that's an odd comment.

The bikini linked is quite adult in style.

PPs have said it better than me- I agree this seems more like moulding than padding or a push up style. And the 915 (i.e. Ages 9-15) range has been around for ages, they can't just suddenly make it 1315 or something.

Alarming that so many people on this thread are claiming that a bikini itself is sexualising your body. Surely part of feminism is the right to choose what to wear yourself? On a baking hot day when boys will be in nothing but a small pair of swimming trunks, why can't girls wear a bikini and why are we as women deeming this to be sexual? Can't a bikini be worn by kids simply because it's frigging hot outside?

Moulded cups stay in place when wet and are softer for developing breast buds (which can be bloody sore) I think a one piece might be a better option, but I cannot get worked up about moulded cups.

I don’t like bikinis for children full stop.

‘Just the stupidity of a bikini if you want to swim, and if it is just for prancing around in the sun, I am not sure why girls as young as 9 should be targeted with an item of clothing that was never anything other than to sexualise women's bodies.’

This is ridiculous. Bikinis are the least you can wear on a beach without exposing body parts that we consider private. That makes them the most comfortable thing to wear for many women and girls when it is absolutely boiling hot and clothing is uncomfortable to wear. It is the same reason why men in other countries wear speedos.

As for the riding up comment, that is just creepy and has no relation to reality.

Moulding / light passing yes. Triangle bikinis, no