Cultures often clash when parents, students decide what's appropriate to wear

Weatherford resident Lynn Roof and her daughter Chandler, 12, typically agree on fashion, though the preteen said her father tends to be a bit "old school” when it comes to her clothing.

Renee Jones of Oklahoma City said she and her daughter Aundrea sometimes clash when it comes to miniskirts.

What is and isn't appropriate is typically in the eye of the beholder.

Youths generally opt to show more skin.

Parents generally opt for more clothing to cover it.

"She's tall, and I told her that she could have a certain length, and she could wear leggings,” Jones said of the miniskirt issue.

She said the leggings provide a good compromise.

Jones, 38, said shopping for clothes is harder these days, particularly for her 9-year-old daughter, Jasmine, because of styles that reflect more adult trends.

"It's sad to say, but it's getting hard to find clothes that are not too adultlike for children,” she said.

"You have to really be careful about that, because the last time I checked, my child was 9 years old.”

Roof, 49, an elementary school teacher, shared similar sentiments.

She said part of it has to do with pop culture and the way young girls seem to identify with the styles and trends reflected on TV and in other media.

"It seems like little girls are growing up way too fast, and their role models are not always the best,” she said.

Los Angeles author, attorney and political and cultural commentator Carol Platt Liebau said Jones and Roof have touched on an interesting phenomenon in today's fashion.

Liebau, 41, said she wrote the 2007 book "Prude: How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls (And America, Too!)” to raise public awareness about the way celebrities and other aspects of today's pop culture often drive the fashions of teens and younger girls.

She said stars such as Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce Knowles have their own clothing lines that may be geared toward women but nevertheless affect a younger crowd.

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