How the Mighty Have Fallen

One time Abercrombie and Fitch was a place America's royalty and plenty of other royalty shopped. This link is from the Wikipedia page, however a google gives plenty of info backing this up and there is even a book out there where the author sounds off about why they hate A & F and how the mighty have indeed fallen. And they have. Fast forward to 2011 and their attempt to convince girls as young as 7 years old (funny that, my eldest is 7) that they NEED padded bikini tops. Um, yeah over my dead body. It got a not so surprising negative reaction and shame on me for blogging about something that's been all over the interwebs today and that Abercrombie has now decided to market only to girls 12 years old and over. But it bears repeating, girls NEED to stay girls. Period and no matter how often it is repeated.

Consider these Land's End swimsuits. Feminine and cute. AND age appropriate.

If you page through the kids catalog, you do indeed come across 2 piece styles vs the tankini style above but they are age appropriate AND cute and feminine. This is a company that I love, love, love for providing stylish options for men, women and kids but also providing the tried and true classics that stand the test of time and aren't affected by trends. If you are looking for cute dresses and other summer clothes for girls, the LE "Knit Kit" is another sure bet. Cute feminine clothes, dresses for twirling with leggings or shorts underneath, and the prices are right. Garnanimals for this generation of girls.

And our girls will need to grow up soon enough anyway, right? I was heartened my eldest wanted some leggings to wear under one of her girly dresses the other day and she looked cute as could be when she put the look together. Let's hear it for cute and age appropriate and girls having the time to be girls.