Only knickers in the Co-op

[1981RickyVilla]

A teenage girl (aged 15 or 16, roughly) in front of me in the Co-op was wearing a crop-top and a pair of knickers only. Not bikini bottoms, not short shorts but cotton M & S midi style knickers. I didn’t say anything (none of my business and she probably wouldn’t have approved my sartorial choices either). If I had been her mother, seeing her before she left the house, I would have said that it looked unhygienic and wasn’t an appropriate way to go to the shops.
YABU: People of whatever age can dress how they like when they go to the Co-op.
YANBU: A mini-skirt or pair of shorts are a minimum requirement when you’re off to the shops.

Sounds like the channel Five version of Only Murders In The Building.

YANBU. But your right, I can have a good guess at her response if you'd made a comment - can't say anything to anyone any more without being accused of something.

How awful! Is it the latest trend on TikTok?

I really despair.

Quite seriously the way a lot of girls and young women chose to dress has got to the point of being ridiculous.

How do they they honestly ever expect to be taken seriously?

I don't see it as body positivity - no matter how much those of us who dislike seeing virtually naked girls and women in our day to day lives are told that it is.

I see it as desperate attention seeking and it smacks of a total lack of self worth

Yep. See this regularly where I live on warm days. As a 57 year old man I feel uncomfortable (been told on mn "don't look then" in the past). But if you're walking behind someone..

I was out with a group of friends from school on Friday night and the women all commented on the amount of boob on display by some of the youngsters in the pub

People can dress how they want but I just think it does impact others...

I always remember being at a friends house with DH, their then 16 yr old daughter came down in an outfit which was a bra top , thong and some sort of mesh trousers over. My poor DH didn’t know where to look and found it uncomfortable as did I to be honest.
There need to be some boundaries for what is acceptable and decent and having your arse hanging out in public is going too far IMO.

I voted YABU by mistake sorry!

I'd worry about the mental health if anyone doing that, of any age.

I can’t imagine going out in just my knickers and nobody making a remark about it, at the very least

I've seen a few sleb shots where the young lady in question has been convinced to wear 'designer' trousers (which are really knickers) in place of real clothes. NB the male slebs are not (being asked to be) doing this.
Google Nicole Kidman's most recent red carpet appearance.

www.google.com/search?q=underpants+as+designer+outfit&client=firefox-b-d&hs=Vs1U&sca_esv=ac7700c26f5fc397&udm=2&biw=1707&bih=908&ei=ndfbaau2BuO6hbIP_r7MiQ0&ved=0ahUKEwjr-IO27OiTAxVjXUEAHX4fM9EQ4dUDCBI&uact=5&oq=underpants+as+designer+outfit&gs_lp=Egtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZyIddW5kZXJwYW50cyBhcyBkZXNpZ25lciBvdXRmaXRIpnRQ9QJY0nJwAngAkAEAmAGbAaABpQ-qAQQzMS4xuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIOoAKmB8ICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICCBAAGIAEGLEDwgIOEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEYigXCAgUQABiABMICDRAAGIAEGLEDGEMYigXCAgQQABgewgIGEAAYBRgemAMAiAYBkgcCMTSgB-lGsgcCMTS4B6YHwgcGMC4xLjEzyAcugAgA&sclient=gws-wiz-img#sv=CAMSZBoyKhBlLWtFcERMaVh2T1RyT3NNMg5rRXBETGlYdk9Uck9zTToOUlJObVRvVklIcE81aE0gBCokCg5EMHNNSGlUV21VNl96TRIQZS1rRXBETGlYdk9Uck9zTRgAMAFKBAgBEAIYByDvqdX_DEoIEAIYASACKAE

Ah - so it’s a thing! Thanks for this. It’s still pretty grim, even on the slebs, though there’s a bit more to their pants. Their knickers look a bit sturdier than the ones being flashed in the Co-op.

I wonder if this is the whole point of it: so they can identify you as a 'body-shaming bigot who is probably just jealous anyway' on social media.

It wouldn't surprise me if they or a friend nearby has a discreet camera to record any interactions. I can imagine that tags of 'going to the shop in just my knickers' and 'bigot slut-shaming me' would appeal to at least two demographics of monetisable eyeballs.

@1981RickyVilla , it's actually been a thing for a while now - a grim thing admittedly. I can't remember how long ago I saw some unfortunate starlet wearing a 'suit' of top/blazer/jacket + ... matching knickers. Fortunately, they seem to be the bigger sort of knickers but really !

The problem is, if you question it (even on MN) you get the “women can wear what they want”, “stop body shaming”, “it’s all men’s fault they shouldn’t look - it’s their fault if they’re uncomfortable” and so on.

but I totally agree there’s a line. It’s not ok IMO to go out in your undies and of course it’s for attention. Why on earth else would you do that? And I do think boys/men are stuck between a rock and hard place with it all.

Was she on her own or with friends/adults?

Did she look scruffy/unkempt or did she have her makeup and hair done?

If I’d seen a teenager in just underwear I’d be pretty concerned, maybe some past trauma, mental health issues or she’s absconded from an abusive situation or care home.

I mean, I could be totally wrong, and she could be a sane person from a normal and caring family - however whoever her parents/carers are absolutely shouldn’t allow her to leave the house like that.

Thing is, kids that age go and come as they please usually. Expect parents at work or doing other things. Obviously we don’t know that for sure. Could have gone to friends and changed.

I would have asked if she needed help tbh

Sounds totally inappropriate, I would say the same if a 15 year old boy was out and about in just briefs too. Or anyone of any age really.

She was with a friend and seemed otherwise fine. The two of them were cheerful and not apparently under the influence of anything. The friend was a bit sulky when the assistant was not keen to sell her a vape but they just seemed like normal teenagers.

I completely agree.

I might have been tempted to say something but wouldn’t have gone down well. Really grim. There as someone in my bodypump class wearing a bikini (bra top and very short but shorts bottoms) and I thought that was odd .

Girls are very different to when we were younger. Non inform day is interesting. Lots of boobs on display and they are very confident. I dread to think what the boys say when they are out of ear shot. I recently told a girl who was vaping in the churchyard, with a group of boys, from my school, that having her buttocks out and swearing in front of people was disrespectful in a churchyard. The boys went very quiet and I was waiting for her response. I was ready. Fortunately she left. It’s not about the shock factor, I am not - it’s just trying to teach youngsters about dressing appropriately for the surroundings.

Laughed out at this! Bravo! 😁

I saw a girl today walking through a shopping centre. Her skirt was halfway up her buttocks. You could see her actual bum cheeks and I won’t go into detail but I do not believe the girl was aware of what she was exposing. I think people look down and see their clothes but don’t see it from the angle they will be seen in.
I felt bad for her and for some reason I didn’t tell her because I was wary of being seen as shaming her. But hopefully she will be told by a friend.

At least it's better than those "tramp stamps" that were in fashion years ago, knickers aren't a permanent feature !

I saw a similar dressed teen in tesco a couple weeks ago. Dd 15 was with me and she said she does dance classes. Doesn't seem like an appropriate outfit for a supermarket, I'd imagine I'd get huckled by security if I walked about in my knickers.