To wonder why creosote tans, blinding white teeth, false eyelashes and BIG hair....

[lazyhound444]

became the norm? I appreciate that not all young ladies adopt this look (my own DD being one of them) but I couldn't help feeling a bit skiffing through my DS's Instagram last night at the endless duck face pout selfies of young ladies he goes to school with who all look exactly the same because of this current "uniform". It just made me feel a bit depressed. I'm 48 but when I was young we had a bit more diversity and of course we were au naturel. AIBU?

Kitty My DH had snakebites when I met him. I thought they were so cool.

We invented the selfie! Looking away from the camera all moody and emotional. Stripy neon socks with battered converse and cartoon tee-shirts.

I asked a friend about the sideways peace sign, and apparently it's something about copying the Japanese that do this in all their photos....who knew!?

Bookofruth yes! I was a proper grown up before I started using blusher; it had been that instilled into me that blusher just wasn't to be worn! I was amazed at the difference it made - and by the difference wearing a lipstick that actually suited me made.

I definitely look better (if more knackered) in my 30s than in my late teens/early twenties.

I think that 'sideways V' thing is from 'Pulp Fiction' (Mia Wallace). They think it looks cool so they do it.

I tell you what does make me sad though and that is younger children covered in make-up, straightening their hair and wearing inappropriate clothing.

A friend of mine put up some pictures of her daughter on FB the other day, the girl is stunning but was dolled up to the nines and she is only 11 years old, now that definitely makes me shake my head .

YANBU OP. I live next door to a secondary school so I get to see the parade twice a day - huge dark hair dos, orange skin, fake lashes, tons of make-up, pale lips and brainless, pouting expression, and very short skirt (regardless of body shape). I call it the TOWIE effect.

We've got a wall of student photos in our office. c. 80% of the girls are doing the duck face thing. It looks really strange. It's the photos taken for their student card, which will have been taken in the middle of the library with a large queue behind them. I'm not sure how they managed it actually. I just look confused in my staff photo.

I'm not sure me and my friends looked any more diverse when we were teenagers though. Different to what current fashion is, but we call owned the same pair of Adidas trainers and carpenter jeans with flares.

We call them oompah lumpas round here.

All orange skin, scraped back hair.

I am so glad that my dd has decided to be an individual, she is only 10 but doesn't follow the crowd with her behaviour or look.
I'd like to think I had some part in it as I was never a sheep either and as a family we lead an unconventional lifestyle.
But the confidence to be able to be like this obviously comes from her.

The bun on the head thing is no worse than the giant pineapple on our heads we wore in the 80's.

Scrunchie - check

Back of head really tight with hair on a ponytail at the very top - check

Diana eyeliner and mascara - check

Sun In 'highlights' - check

Neon - I once went out the house in an acid yellow shirt, acid orange coat, and a red beret

Frosted pink lipstick and rara skirts anyone? Pixie boots?

My sister did the full Disco New Romantic fusion with head band, purple ruffled shirt, purple pedal pushers, gold shoes and -piece de resistance-gold lipstick! No pictures of that, sadly.

And I remember school friends taking hours over dying just the right blond patch in their giant quiffs/flick fringes. Not to mention agonising over whether it was ok to fancy a boy who was a-whisper it-casual.

We all looked utterly vile, in style terms, but also beautiful, because we were young. 'Twas ever thus.

My 20 year old niece is a TOWIE wannabe, nearly white blonde hair with to her waist with extensions showing, half a tonne of make up, fake eyelashes, orange skin including stained hands

Her latest thing is she's getting a boob job for her 21st now every time I see her she's spilling out of tops, she's not a skinny girl probably about a 14 but apparently her boons are fake and not nice so she's getting real fake ones instead.

I wonder what the next trend will be?

Never fails to make me laugh how many mumsnetters kids are the individual, forward thinking ones ??

I want one of you to admit to having a back combed made up daughter.

Or realise that your kid looks Exactly like their mates do.

Go on just one........

I remember sailing down the stairs with bleached back combed to within an inch of its life blonde hair (see Madonna circa 1987) artfully ripped jeans (one across the knee, one across the arse cheek and one across my hip) and mascara and eye liner so heavy I could hardly hold my head up. My Dad looked at me like then turned to face the TV silently having obviously been warned by my Mum to say nothing!

I think the girls today look rather stunning for the most part, we didn't, we just thought we did.

I always think that too Lola, no sheep kids on MN

My Dd is only tiny. She is middle-class scruff from Central Casting though. I admit it.

My teenager (a boy) doesn't look in any way fashionable. But I'd imagine he looks quite a lot like his (similarly) unfashionable mates. I think he's hoping the grunge look will come back in.

DD isn't at all "cool". She never will be. She is too much of an introvert. She isn't geeky, but she doesn't fit in the the "goldfish army" as she and her friends used to call them because she doesn't look the part.

She is interested in clothes but as a late developer she doesn't do the tight fitting tops, crop tops etc. She is very slim and looks great in skinny jeans though, but just wears a loose fitting T-shirt with them.

She does wear make up but looks like she isn't. She hates the fake look as much as I do. Interestingly most of the over made up girls have mothers who also wear heavy make up so perhaps they take their cue from their mums.

lola

What's wrong with being individual, not everyone wants to follow everyone else and enjoys being different.

It's just a trend. When I'd just left college it was emo that was the big thing. Black hair, shitty extensions with colour streaks in, lip rings, chest pieces on the older ones. This trend just gets more exposure because of t'internet.

OMG the white teeth on tv is just ridiculous.

If you look at someone you look at their eyes, the window of their soul, but not if they've got blinding tombstones for teeth.

So you glance at the face and instead of your brain doing it's usual 'I like' or 'what are they saying' it says 'OMG what's that' then you have to disengage from the teeth and tell yourself to listen to what they are saying. Madness.

DD1 is only 9 but I can tell she's already coveting DNieces "look"
DD2 is a tomboy and has her own style already

DD3 is only 5

Young men these days seem to favour that caught-in-a-wind-tunnel look where the hair is swept forward unnaturally.

It's the fashion.
In my day it was Madonna circa Like A Virgin look. For 3 years I couldn't get a brush through my hair. The half a can of Elnett won every time.
My make up was blue eyeliner & mascara, pink and gold eyeshadow and the obligatory twilight teaser.
Bless them, they are beautiful to their peers which is all they need to be.
Good luck to them I say

I think the look is porny and that's what's upsetting about it. I think that there have always been tribes of teen girls but it's the genesis of this look that's the problem.

I used to wear fishnets, short short skirts/shorts crop tops with net vest. All that was missing was the whip and subscription to Teen Dom Weekly.
I used to hang out on street corners too
Nowadays, I look like every other mid 40s woman nice and safe in Boden White Stuff.