It looks like Abercrombie & Fitch bowed to public outrage over its new line of padded bikini tops for young girls by removing them from Abercrombiekids.com.
Danville Patch contributor reports Web visitors could not buy the ‘Ashley Push-Up’ padded bikini top on any Abercrombie site as of last week.
On March 28, Abercrombie Kids’ Facebook page posted this update about the Ashley tops: “We've re-categorized the Ashley swimsuit as padded. We agree with those who say it is best 'suited' for girls age 12 and older.”
A few days earlier, morning talk shows and bloggers blasted the company for unveiling the Ashley bikini tops that were first described by Abercrombiekids.com as “push-up triangles.”
According to website Parent Dish, this is not the first time the company has fired up parents over its provocative fashions marketed towards young girls.
“In 2002, the company offered thongs to the My Little Pony crowd,” Parent Dish reports.
We had our Patch Moms Council from the Tri-Cities area take a closer look at this topic. Here's what they had to say about sexy clothes, like padded bikini tops, for young girls.
- , Union City, mom of three sons: This is so sad. I am sure that many girls will buy something like this, but what will it lead to? Eating disorders? Future breast implants? How about the girls who see this at the store and know that they could never fit into something like that? I am really glad that I don't have to go through childhood again, because it seems like there are way too many pressures nowadays. There should be some kind of guidelines when marketing children's clothing. Children are not mature to know what is good for them, and unfortunately some parents don't either.
- Jennifer Hill, Editor of Fremont Macaroni Kid, mom of four (2 teens and 2 toddlers): Hopefully parents will use their judgment and not purchase things like this for their children! This will help discourage companies from targeting our young children with sexual items. These are geared at 7 years and older? That's a shame! How many 7-year-olds have anything to even "push up!?" Even at 12 years old, it's not appropriate. As a mom to a 15-year-old, I discourage the sexy clothes and refuse to buy things that are inappropriate. Hopefully more parents will do that as well!
