Is it so hard to...?

teach modesty? Chris and I went on a date to a local music festival. It's a huge deal around our area, so there are thousands of people there on any given night... many of them teenagers.
There were groups of young teenagers... I'm talking like 12-16, everywhere, and I don't think I ever realized until then that some parents must obviously not care.
There were girls wearing shorts with their butt cheeks hanging out, their stomachs completely exposed (like they were wearing bikinis, but the were just short shirts), their chests pretty much completely exposed. Chris and I probably looked like creepers because we kept looking at them and saying how we would never let Grace out of the house wearing some of these things. It became somewhat of a theme.
Oh, and did I mention that this night was Faith and Family night... yeah.

I don't mind short shorts or skirts as long as nothing is hanging out, and she can bend over without exposing anything. I'm not going to make her wear everything to her knees... although, I think Chris would like that :p
Her tops are going to have to cover her stomach and chest... gasp! A teenager with modesty!

Oh, and no see through tops. I cannot tell you how many girls I saw wearing white shirts with a rainbow of different color bras underneath them.
Or thongs... a rainbow of thongs on these young girls too. Who in their right mind buys their little girl a thong? I mean, I might understand if it was just a plain white one so they could avoid panty lines or something, but these were bright, colorful, supposed to be sexy thongs sticking out of the top of some of these girls' pants.

There is only one thing that these type of clothes are asking for. Teenagers have enough hormones and pressure to have sex as it is. I just don't understand how parents can buy their children clothes that are meant to be sexy. Something that is meant for a woman to wear to a club... heck, some of it too risky for a woman to wear to a club!

We came up with some general rules...
If her chest or stomach is exposed, then she either can't have it or has to have an undershirt.
Her undergarments will be age appropriate. No push up bras or underwear that are meant to be sexy.
As for skirts and dresses, if you can see her underwear when she bends over, it's too short.
As for shorts, if her butt cheeks are hanging out or the pockets of the shorts are hanging out (I hate that new fad), then they are too short.

Then we got to thinking about Brentley... Granted, he will be a little bit easier, but we still came up with one thing. Clothes that fit him properly. A shirt that hangs down to his knees, definite no. Pants that he has to hold up while he walks, DEFINITE no. Technically, that could be considered immodest as well because it started as prisoners' way of showing they were available for intercourse. But I just think it looks ridiculous.

Speaking of fitting correctly... if one of them is overweight, they will have clothes that fit. I have nothing against people who are overweight. I am a firm believer that people of all shapes and sizes are beautiful. However, when someone buys a size small because they don't want to admit they are a size large, they are not doing themselves any favors. You should never look like the Hulk fixing to bust out of his shirt.

Bottom line, I will be teaching my children how to properly dress from an early age. That includes modesty, age appropriateness, and presentability. Even if it shouldn't be the case, you are judged by the first impression you make on a person, and that first impression will include how you look.