New Look responds to backlash over padded bikini for young girls

[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]
Yes, I think that's the real issue.

Because of the style of the suit, the padding looks like it's intended to make the whole thing sexier. If the style was overall more appropriate I don't think it would give that impression even with similar material and structuring..

I dont have a problem with moulding. I wish people would stop seeing it in the same veun as some push up bra. Truth is wgeh you are developing everything's uneven and sensitive and moulding is far more comfortable and stops you being self conscious. Puberty is hard enough without being used as some guinea pig to prove a point regarding arbitrary age limits and parents who seem to have forgotten forgotten what its like to be a little girl and sexualise even necessary underwear.

The bikini style itself I have to say doesn't look particularly practical or comfortable. As usual girls are having to pick between practicality and comfort and functionality. Would be nice to see some thought go into a bikini that had moulding but also a decent structure to stay in place that won't see shit come untied or being too tight to keep in place and would survive a wave or a dive

Bikinis and tankinis however are extremely handy for the beach and days out. The dreaded toilet trip with a swimsuit is something we all dread. Plus I don't know abiut anyone else but I've always been long in the body. I have to size up to not be cut in half lengthwise which leaves stuff baggy in areas you really don't want. Bikinis don't cut you in half and aone you can eveb mix and match so if you need a bigger top or bottom you can get it.

Ironically in this bid to not sexualise children parents would let them.wear shorts 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.

Personally I think a lined/moulded crop top style bikini top would probably be better and more comfortable i know o from experience that halterneck bra tops are a pain in the arse and I'd not inflict that on a child.

But a bit of moulding is no big deal but then I remember the humiliation of thise god awful non lined non moulded bras and I wouldn't do that to a child.

I'd be more convinced by the modesty argument being put forth by New Look if the bikinis had more structure to them than they do, as they're basically all cup and a bit of string.

It's not a style I'd encourage - my quite water sporty dds (now 13 & 15) favour racerback swimsuits or rash vest with board shorts or tankinis. Bikinis are rubbish for actual swimming/snorkelling/water polo/bodyboarding, & if you're just pottering on the beach it's just more flesh to cover with sunscreen, which is a faff.

But if they were choosing to wear a bikini (dd2 took a liking to a lovely colourful one in Primark when she was about 9 & I cheerfully bought it for her - she wore it for one season but grumbled that it kept getting twisted on water slides), they'd want moulded cups.

Both were developing by age 9 & would have wanted some coverage of breast buds.

Not that I think there is anything wrong with a developing 9 year old wanting a moulded bikini top for modesty, but age 9 does not mean 'for 9 year olds' any more than size 4 stilettos are for 9 year olds, it's just a size!

I’d have loved a moulded bikini top or swimsuit when I was developing breasts. I remember being really self conscious when I went swimming, especially when the water was cold.

I never wear a bikini that doesn’t have some sort of padding in now, because I don’t want to be ogled at, so I don’t see why a young girl shouldn’t have the same choice either.

I wear kids bras- the soft crop top type ones, for about a 12 year old as I am small and child size, even as an adult. They hide absolutely nothing, which doesn’t bother me as I don’t mind going braless I’m thin tops - I’m not worried if people can see my nipples, but if I was a kid wearing them I’d feel extremely self conscious, so I can see why kids want a layer of padding.

The thing with new look is the kids range is for age 9 to 15 hence the name 915. Plenty kids at the younger end need some form of support of feel more confident with it therefore why not have a bikini over a swimsuit. Instead of us stating what kids think why not ask them. There is no right or wrong just how they feel about what they wear on their own bodies. There is nothing sexual about kids in bikinis. Adults make that assumption out of fear.

Without moulding or padding I imagine 90% of girls over the age of 8 wouldn’t swim. Women really are distructive when it comes to themselves - ffs don’t any of you remember how frustrating it was at 8/9 with ‘athletic’ swimwear that not only showed the outline of nipples but often the colour too? Girls won’t accept that any more.

I think clothing that 11-12 year olds and teens want to wear does need to be available in a couple of sizes smaller than the target age group to provide for smaller builds.

My nearly term daughter is developing and is all nips, I think she'd prefer moulded for modesty tbh.

I prefer moulded cups for the reasons people have mentioned, not to make them look bigger. Many 11 year old girls would need an age 9 if they have a slight build, the shop isn't making parents buy them for 9 year olds. If parents don't like teenage style clothing then they should shop elsewhere for their pre teen children.

DD likes moulded cups for the reasons given above - not to make her bust look bigger, but to hide her nipples (especially when coming out of a cold swimming pool), and also she found a bit of soft padding more comfortable and protective.

However she’d never wear those New Look styles as they are too skimpy - she prefers the crop top / sports style as less revealing and better for swimming in.

Trying the link again!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9639277/amp/New-Look-fire-sexualising-children-selling-padded-bikinis-girls-aged-nine.html

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

I certainly would have benefited from some padding to hide the obvious outline of my breasts when I was that age, I wearing bras from year 4

The camo sets on the bottom left seem to have a bit more material below and between the cups which I think is better/ more modest

I'm torn on this one. I liked anything moulded from quite young due to huge nips and breast size differences. I'm not sure this is sexualisation. I just wanted to hide the nipples and the fact one boob was clearly 2 sizes smaller.

Adults wear moulded cups for the same reason, because for the last twenty years we’ve decided for reasons unknown that the outline of a nipple is not acceptable.

Being self conscious about the shape of your developing breasts doesn’t mean you are self conscious about the shape of your whole body and want to cover it all up.

I don’t get people who say they’d prefer to wear this type of bikini as they were self conscious about their breasts. Someone who’s body conscious would surely prefer to wear a full swimsuit and even a t shirt over it to hide their bodies? I know when I was a child I’d never have worn a bikini! My girls both wore board shorts and cropped (ie substantial) bikini tops once they started to develop breasts.

I can almost guarantee that the manufacturers of these bikinis didn’t think - I know, I’ll design a bikini that self conscious girls can wear to cover up in then come up with this adult design.

[quote stumbledin]Cant see another thread about this, but I am so downhearted that this sexualisation of young girls is still going on.

And www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/new-look-responds-backlash-over-20723688

I think Object Now! have been tweeting about this. twitter.com/ObjectUK/status/1400040409611575296[/quote]
Moulded I have no problem with, padding I do.
I do remember being so paranoid when my nipples would show through, so a thicker bikini top I am fine with.

Can't see any pictures so no direct comment but I have no objection to "moulded" cups being more comfortable for sensitive growing breast buds, plus hiding any unequal sizes etc. It's not necessarily to make them bigger, can give a smoother line. I'd quite like the option of a padded/moulded cup as a 28KK and I definitely don't need by boobs to look bigger.

Also age 9 could easily fit an 11/12 year old who is fairly narrow across the back, is quite likely to have growing boobs and might well find a 2 piece more convenient for a day at the pool/beach. Especially for getting changed in limited facilities!

In my early teens I also preferred moulded foam cups for modesty reasons. I felt self conscious about my breast buds and moulded cups concealed the shape and size. So I don’t think this is an issue tbh. The fact it’s a bikini and not a one-piece is more of an issue imo.

For me personally I choose to wear moulded cup bras and swimwear because im conscious of my boobs, it put me off swimming when I was younger which is a shame because its something I enjoy. If they were available when I was younger I would have felt more comfortable in them.