I agree with Rabbit, I don't think we need to assume she has low-self worth. Maybe not a lot of *sense,* seeing as how cold it Una says it is! But I don't _automatically_ assume displaying your body is the same as secretly thinking it isn't worth much.

We can debate her lack of fashion math (cold out = pants + sweater + jacket etc.), and wish other people shared our own sense of modesty or appropriate dress, but considering how supportive we are of weight issues, perhaps we should do the same with nudity?

I really don't want to see anyone's underwear is all. She has a right to wear what she wants without others assuming she is hoochy, "asking for it", or has low self-esteem. But I don't have to like it either. What went through my head was "Did she MEAN to wear the skirt so short, or would she be mortified at the back view?"

Let's just leave it as "I have a poison eye for skirts so short you can see skivvies."

I don't think weight and nudity are equivalent either.

Perhaps a spin-off on the "bodies and morality" thread - "clothing and morallity"...

I disagree about the self-confidence since to me, this sort of convention-flouting sounds more like a case of blindly following something you saw Lady Gaga doing, or something you saw in an American Apparel ad.

Oh my! I don't mind different styles, but I'd rather not see some body parts in public, ever.

On a recent trip I saw girls and young women in the airport wearing the pantyhose and tights as pants with tops not long enough to cover anything. I don't understand it either. One girl was with an older man--I assume her father--what were they both thinking? Oh, and the girl needed to get some exercise. A well-toned gluteus maximus is one thing . . . but-- I won't go on. I chalk it up to naiveté and getting dressed without a mirror where one can see rear and side views.

And in the cold weather too?

And this is where I might contradict the opinion I expressed in the other thread: nudity and weight are NOT equivalent. There is some judgement to be made and had regardless of how one chooses to dress. While I try not to assume someone "is" something because of how they dress, it is awfully hard to avoid at least judging their decision to wear what they did. So I would try not to judge the woman as "being" promiscuous (that's not her identity or an inherent part of who she is based on me seeing her once), but I would also probably judge how great a decision she made to wear that to a mall. Like someone else said, there is a time and a place for everything, and I'm not sure the mall is the time or place to bare one's bum.

Ok, so it's OK for someone to be heavy and we shouldn't judge, but not OK to show their panties - which, so long as they cover the legal bits, is actually not flashing skin? What if someone were wearing a swimsuit under? How and why is that different? Would it make a big difference if someone was super fit, as opposed to untoned?

I'm kinda just goofing here... I'm definitely not saying Hoorah, anything goes, wait until the carpool lane gets a load of MY next look! We don't have to like it - but I'm wondering why we hate it so much. All these comments of "what was she thinking" - what are WE thinking? Really, I'm curious. Are we seeing this as a sex thing, like she's flashing a blue baboony butt sign that says come and get it? Or is it that wearing a certain length of butt-cover lives in the same brain-rule area like potty training, where we can't possibly NOT?

Side notes:
- I hate panythose in every form. If someone thinks they are pants, they are wrong; if they are wearing them because they think panyhose rock on their own, they are also wrong. They are spongy webs of knit plastic. Gahhh.
- It is really dumb to hoist spongy areas in freezing cold weather.
- I will never, ever, knowingly let my kid wear this look. Never mind me. Her father would have a fit.

IK, I think there is a difference between ascribing virtues or vices to someone based on how they look and other thoughts about them. For instance, when I see a really fit person I'll think "wow, that is inspiring - wonder how she got those biceps? Maybe she's a climber..." I DON'T think "Boy, that person must have too much time and money if they can spend all that time at the gym" or "She's so shallow and vain".

I don't believe I mentioned anything about this girl's looks, other than that she was young. And I did say at the beach, over a bathing suit, would be okay. As I said, my immediate thought was whether she knew her tail was hanging out like that and would she be embarrassed if she found out.

Let's flip it around - are we supposed to be okay with everything? Should she wear this to church? Dinner out with her grandparents? Do I want to sit in the seat she just used on the bus? Or behind her on an escalator?

All in the interest of good wholesome debate! I wouldn't go so far as to say I HATE it. That's reserved for bigger fish. But is it something fashion related that seriously bugs me? Heck, yeah.

Haha ! Susie goes right to the main sartorial question : did the undies match ?

Also, AG, I hope that you had fainting salts with you.

I have to say that is a big thing where we live...except for the underwear. Not so common. : ) a couple of weeks ago, it was -10 degrees and I saw a woman at Staples wearing lightweight clamdiggers ( you could see through them ) and flip flops with brightly colored nails. The first thing that I thought of was , " Dang, I am a wimp" and second, " Holy frostbite , Batman ". Though young men do wear t shirts with their pants right below their "cheeks" and their boxers waving in full view with the wind. ??????????

Ag, so wise! Also I laughed out loud. I am certainly not okay with everything! I just like understanding triggers and where they come from.

I recommend none of you move to Austin, where the Nearly Nude Bike Rider is a beloved local figure. I'm on a loaner computer so I can't attach an image, but here's the link.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SW-Z.....+biker.jpg

He's also apparently not a big believer in sunscreen.

Ok, so DH and I just got back from dinner, and man does the heat wave bring out the butt cheeks around here! Everywhere, major under-butt cleavage. And much of it hanging out of acid washed mom jeans shorts... although there was one girl wearing what looked to be black "cheeky" underwear as pants.

I'm definitely in the camp that that much skin feels impolite. This was in a part of town known for hip restaurants... I don't want to have to think about someone's bare, had-to-have-used-the-loo-sometime-today cheeks sweating on the sushi stool before I get there.

Eeww Rae!!!! Lol! That was cringe worthy over my cuppa early morning tea o_o lol

I've heard of "no pants commute day", where people deliberately wear no pants on public transit..... This is a world wide event, can you believe? But this is weekend and in a parking lot. Maybe she is trying to perfect the look?!? Hmmm.

I'm with you, Una, poison eyes for me too.

Una, I read your post yesterday and was horrified, but didn't imagine I would ever encounter such a fashion statement myself. Then tonight, we were at an auction in a fancy hotel downtown, and as we were leaving, I saw a woman at the checkout table wearing a short, very floofy dress with her striped panties hanging out of the back of the dress. She looked like a toddler with a party dress with matching tap pants, only they weren't tap pants, they were panties. I can only guess that this was intentional, as it looked like the dress was slightly longer in the front than the back. I really wanted to reach for my phone document this, but thought better of it!

What if it's going to be like 'sagging' your pants? Started over 15 or so years ago, and is still going strong isn't it? hahahaha...

Ah well my eyes will adjust, I actually think sagging can be kind of cute sometimes when not fully below the cheek .

Actually reading the wiki entry on sagging kinda illustrates how ineffective it is to try to legislate away a clothing trend that involves visible underwear: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagging_(fashion)