Modesty in young girls’ fashion?

[Mel15sa]

I’m honestly quite shocked at what I keep seeing lately. So many young girls from those walking with their mums to groups of older teens wearing these high-waisted, skin-tight gym shorts that are basically leggings chopped off mid-thigh. They leave nothing to the imagination.

When I was that age, yes, we wanted to look fashionable too. We wore jean shorts, maybe a crop top on a hot day, but there were still some boundaries. Now it feels like modesty has completely gone out the window.

I can’t help but think: is this really just “fashion”? Or are girls dressing like this for attention, because it certainly draws the eye? It makes me sad that such young girls feel they have to put their bodies on display like this.

I know people will say “times change” but is this really a change for the better?
Are we doing girls any favours by normalising clothes that show off absolutely everything?

For context, I’m not bitter or jealous. I get compliments, and I could wear the same if I wanted to. But I choose not to, because I believe in dressing modestly. Even in the gym, I don’t dress in skin tight clothing. What worries me is seeing younger and younger girls thinking this sort of exposure is the norm.

What on earth has happened to modesty? Am I the only one concerned about this?

I call bullshit on this — if you were wearing hot pants in the 1960s and 70s you would have been embarrassingly old to adopt the “whale tail” when it took off in 1997; it was a look for high school students! If you were wearing a thong to be visible above your jeans in your 50s in the late 1990s your fashion advice is clearly absolutely suspect. I was 20 in 1997 and considered the “whale tail” high school look to be utterly vulgar and only for silly teenagers 😆🤣

People did that when I was at secondary school in the 1980s - I'm not saying it's necessarily a wonderful thing, but what it definitely is not is new!
Girls' school uniform has been sexualised and pornified for many decades, and girls have rolled up or cut the bottom off their school shirts for decades too.
Unfortunately when I was at school we were even made to do "cross country" runs, including a mile along a B road with a lot of quarry machine traffic and other lorries, in teeny tiny "games skirts" and actively forbidden from wearing shorts, let alone tracksuits - again, 1980s.

I don’t know whether you mean 3 year olds or 13 year olds. But lots of girls wear leggings, or shorts like this which are sort of like short leggings. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it? They’re good for sports, tight to skin so you don’t need to think about how you’re moving / at risk of showing knickers which is case for baggier shorts and skirts.

I guess I’m fairly prudish, I don’t like crop tops on anyone, or topless boys/ men… a girl wearing shorts like this and a short or long sleeved top is perfectly fine on a hot/ warm day? Not immodest or too revealing. Just wearing a practical outfit

I agee they’re not remotely offensive even for little girls. They look nice and comfy

Ds(21) came home with his gf last night, I was sitting with my boot slippers on, blanket over my legs, and a thick jumper (we are in Scotland so it’s cold here). She was wearing shorts that were probably smaller than the knickers I was wearing (under my denims!) and a crop top! Must have been freezing although she said she wasn’t! 🤣

Having mostly boys in our family, and the girls we do have are more likely to be wearing denims, or leggings and longer tops it is a bit weird having this half dressed young woman in the house 🤣

Just 'cause I enjoy this - some more pics of 1970s fashion. Yes, folks, this was FIFTY YEARS AGO!

Shucks, but young people today have no 'modesty' any more.

@GarlicPint but PP said it didn't happen so you must be lying

You be you, @greengagesummers, and I'll continue to be fashion-forward in my own way. FWIW I was in my best-ever shape from age 35-45 and make no apology for having taken pride in it.

We all know what the fashions of the past looked like, but those are pictures of adult women doing sports or out on the town, and none of the clothes look like the current gym fashions, nor are they pictures of young teenage girls.

Women used regularly to go clubbing in bras and tiny hot pants in the 90s; does that mean twelve year olds were wearing the same out and about? No it doesn’t.

These are all just false equivalents.

@GarlicPint is 100% correct, We must be of a similar age.
This is exactly how it was in the 1960s & beyond. Crop tops were called mini jumpers in the late 60s. We used to buy children’s sizes that were way too small. In my case a beige jumper from about M&S age 7/8 when I was 15 or so.
There is nothing new or particularly immodest in 2025. They weren’t called mini skirts or hot pants for nothing.
Also school skirts rolled over to convert to extremely short minis too.
We’ve seen it all before.

God, you're like a dog with a bone aren't you?

People have given their own experiences but because it doesn't match yours, you've decided they're all lying. Weird.

14/15 year olds are not "young girls"
Stop infantalising teenagers

I don't like the word modesty applied to women's clothing. It implies we should all cover up but my God why do young women wear flesh covered bum scrunch leggings. There is nothing attractive about them at all.

The rolling up of school skirts didn't happen at my school circa mid/late 70's. It was an all girls school, so maybe that was why🤔.

It definitely wasn’t fashion forward to have one’s thong on show! But absolutely fine for an adult woman to wear whatever she likes.

Would I have thought it was fine for a 12 or 13 year old to have a thong on show, however? No. Would you?

I am definitely not lying. I was there! Young girls & teenagers wore mini skirts which got shorter & shorter each year. We also wore false eyelashes & very black eyeliner with white eyeshadow. Current fashion has copied this era!!

You don’t think a 14 year old is a young girl?

Think we have Madonna to thank for bras as being worn to be seen. That's from 1984. So 41 years ago. It's not new!

All girls Grammar school in Dorset here, we certainly did roll up our skirts!!

"You don’t think a 14 year old is a young girl?"

Of course a 14 year old is a young girl.

But it’s just fact that the very specific sports clothes worn today by young women just didn’t exist in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Posting pictures of adult women wearing things that don’t look remotely the same is not somehow proving this wrong 😆

Ye boys just walk around completely topless or with those vest tops cut out at the side so there's barely anything anyway...

The term "modesty" makes my skin crawl. It reminds me of those Neo-puritan American "Christians" who like to slut shame women.

Well, of course the exact same clothes didn't exist - but clothes that were just as revealing certainly did exist, yet you still seem to be banging on about how they didn't.

You were wearing stuff like this at the time, were you @DemelzaandRoss ?