Arg! The other day I went to the mall to find clothes for my daughter. It’s come to our attention that she’ll be going to sleep away camp in a couple weeks and, without me there to do laundry constantly, she’ll need a full week’s worth of clothes. She specifically requested tank tops that are NOT cropped.
Well. Did you know that’s impossible to find? At least, at the stores I was at (Hollister, American Eagle, and Aerie.) EVERY SINGLE tank top was also a crop top. I would see a display labeled “tank tops” and would rush over to see this:
Now, it’s not that I object to my daughter walking around scantily-clad (no, I gave up on that a while ago.) But places, like camp and school, have dress codes. And they usually- school, for sure- involve not showing your stomach.
I know I could shop elsewhere. But these are the stores and styles she likes. I can just imagine coming home and saying “All the tank tops at your stores were positively indecent, so I went to Walmart and bought you some sensible shirts instead!” Ha ha… I don’t think so.
Today she went to camp wearing a tube top with a Pride logo (from Hollister.) This camp seems to be fairly lax, and I haven’t gotten any calls so I guess it’s fine. I’m not sure how strict the sleep away camp will be, but I know her current wardrobe will not be acceptable for high school. School starts August 10th and it will be hot here until November, so she really needs tank tops. Sigh.
Ironically, after I tried and failed to shop for my daughter, I went to Athleta and bought myself… a crop top.
I’ve mentioned it before, but in the heat of summer I can’t stand to have a shirt touching my stomach while I run. I needed some new shirts, and I had some rewards points left from when I used to have a Gap credit card. The best thing about that credit card was that the points can be used at Athleta. Here’s that cropped tank in action:
After the mall, I stopped at the library to pick up a few holds that came in:
So many good books to read! But first, I have to finish this one:
My son and I both recently read Ender’s Game, and he moved on to the first book in the Ender Saga. He said that Speaker for the Dead was the BEST BOOK HE’S EVER READ. With that recommendation, I had to read it too.
This book is a lot of things, but at its core it’s a mystery. And I love mysteries! I don’t think I like science fiction quite as much as my son does, but I’m definitely enjoying this book and I love the fact that I can discuss it with my son. It reminds me of when we both read Harry Potter (ah, the good old days!)
He’s already on to the next book in the series, but I’m going to pause after this one to read some of my library books. So many books, so little time.
Have you read any of these books?
Any recommendations for cute, non-cropped tank tops for a fourteen-year-old girl?
27 Responses
Haven’t read any of those but my husband has read Piranesi and liked it a lot. I have given up on buying clothes for myself as everything is either massive and swooshy and swamping on a short woman or has bits carved out all over the place. I’m OK at home as I just wear yoga pants and plain men’s tshirts (cheaper and better quality than women’s!). But argh, indeed.
Yes, I have had a lot of trouble buying regular clothes (not running clothes) for myself these days! I used to like Old Navy but now everything seems too young for me (sigh.)
I LOLed when you bought yourself a cropped tank after rejected all of the them for her.. EVERYTHING is CROPPED. I have no recs. Except maybe All in Motion at Target?
Sigh. All in Motion would be too “sporty” for her! I like them, though.
Piranesi was good! Really unusual and it took me a while to understand what was going on, but in the end I liked it. Haven’t read any of the others, and no suggestions on the clothing, I’m afraid, but I hope you can find some non-crop tops for her!
Yes, the review I read made the book sounds kind of bizarre, but compelling. I’m looking forward to it.
So many crop tops! My daughter really wants a crop top but I haven’t gotten her one yet — just out of laziness, I guess. Plus, it seems like maybe the events/locations where crop tops are acceptable would be limited? Maybe not; I know it’s the style. And I wore MANY a crop top when I was in high school, so it doesn’t faze me really.
Two places that I have gotten non-crop tops for my daughter this summer are Old Navy and Target. I think J Crew Factory and Primary also have some regular length tanks, but I haven’t tried them on my kid yet.
I took her to Old Navy but she didn’t like anything (sigh.) I really should try Target again though- she’s gotten other tops there (some graphic tees) and she likes them.
There is such a disconnect between school dress codes and store offerings!
I was going to ask if she’d wear Athleta tanks — did they have full-length ones? I have some full-lengths I got from Athleta ages ago. I need longer tops to keep Scooby’s running leash off my skin. 🙂
I don’t know if she would wear Athleta- it may not be her style (she’s not very sporty, let’s just say.) Athleta definitely has full length ones though.
Target/Mossimo used to have a couple of very standard long (regular) tank tops that I would buy all the time! I have not bought one in a while though. Also I don’t know if you have a Nordstrom Rack, but I always find good tank tops there. Or maybe she needs to shop in an older (gasp!) section rather than in the teen stores? I actually have not bought clothes in so long and basically live in running clothes most of the time (and luckily those tanks are not cropped) so maybe she would have some luck in the athletic section, or at a more athletic geared store?
Hmm! We have a Nordstrom Rack- I’ll look there. And she’s not opposed to Target either, but last time I looked a LOT of the shirts were cropped. I”ll check it out though.
I did know that everything is cropped now, as I have been on a mission to find myself some tank tops and every goddamn store I look at has nothing BUT cropped tops. Even my beloved lululemon no longer sells long tanks. I am just not willing to do that. I wore cropped tops back in the day but you know what, it’s a no for me now.
The only thing I can think of is that at least jeans and pants are so high waisted now, that a crop top doesn’t show too much skin, in terms of dress code (do not get me started on how stupid I think dress codes are).
Ha ha… that’s true. Most pants are high waisted. So maybe my daughter can get away with a longer crop in high school.
I have so many thoughts about Ender’s Saga. THOSE BOOKS ARE ALL SO GOOD (well, maybe not Exile). I think Speaker for the Dead might be the best book I’ve ever read, too, so that’s too bad your son read it so young. LOL. I really liked Xenocide, too, but it was at this point in the series where knowing about OSC and his personal beliefs really interfered with my enjoyment of the series. Regardless, they’re all worth reading and I’m going to leave you with an xkcd cartoon because it’s so relevant.
https://xkcd.com/304/
Someone gifted my daughter two cropped T-shirts…which I let her wear over a longer tank that she just tucks into her shorts/pants. The long tank is Old Navy brand, but I got it at a thrift store…so maybe all the Old Navy options are cropped now, too.
Shockingly, I now own a crop-top set of PJs. It’s only when I raise my arms, but the set is SO comfortable, I overlooked the length of the shirt.
Ha, well, I’m assuming you don’t wear your pajamas out of the house- so anything goes.
Ugh, crop tops. I loathe them. I do not have the stomach to wear them. I understand that anyone CAN wear a crop top, though, but I would NOT feel comfortable in one. I recently bought some camis to wear under tops for work and after I had cut off the tags, I realized they are crop tops! What in the world! It doesn’t matter since I am wearing them as an under shirt when the shirt I am wearing is a bit too low cut (not that I wear many low cut shirts! But some have a slit at the neck and it’s just a little too, um, showy for a professional situation… but to be clear, there is no cleavage to show since I don’t have any!). I feel like a crop top is a very uncomfortable shirt length. I’d prefer something a little bit too long that I could potentially tuck in versus something very short!
That is so fun that you and your son are reading the same book(s)! It would be really fun to discuss a book with my child. I look forward to those days! I can’t wait until he’s old enough for me to introduce HP and some of my other faves, like the Roald Dahl books. And it’s just overall awesome that your son is choosing to read as a college aged student!!! That is parenting goals for me!
You’re not too far from Roald Dahl! Harry Potter will probably have to wait a little. Because he wanted me to, I started reading my son the Harry Potter books when he was four. We both loved them… until we got to Goblet of Fire and I realized they had gotten WAY too mature for him! We stopped (I had to pretend the next one wasn’t available at our library) and came back to them several years later.
I definitely fall into the category of people who “can” wear tank tops but probably shouldn’t, ha ha. I only wear them for running (and it’s a matter of survival.) I wouldn’t wear them as regular clothes!
No I would say you for sure fall into the category of people who not only can wear crop tops but look in them!
I am thinking we will check out a Roald Dahl book soon. Surely they will be better than our recent experience with Stuart Little!!
It’s so weird… for a while tank tops used to be overly long (which I liked, although I don’t scoff at a nice crop top either)… why aren’t there both choices though? It’s ridiculous.
Yes, and I have a really long torso, so the super long tank tops were GREAT.
I’m glad I don’t have to negotiate the teenage girl’s clothes buying anymore. My girls didn’t like wearing anything too skimpy. Yes, finding non-crop tops and shorts that cover their butt cheeks was a challenge.
I read Ender’s Game a while ago and planned to read further into the series but subsequently forgot. Thanks for the reminder to move it up my TBR pile.
The next book after Ender’s Game- which is actually the first book of the Ender Saga- is SO GOOD. Better (and different) than Ender’s Game. I’m loving it.
Jenny, I completely understand this frustration! I can’t even find any good workout shirts at Target because EVERYTHING IS A CROP TOP. I don’t want to wear a crop top when I’m working out! Old Navy has some good options, but I see from your comment replies that she didn’t like ON, so whomp. That’s a hard battle! I get that crop tops are in now, but some of us don’t want to show off our bellies when we’re trying to buy groceries, ya know?!
Yes, crop tops are everywhere. I’ll be glad when this phase passes.
I’m in the same boat as your daughter – no to crop tops, thanks. But, unlike her, I prefer the sportier, longer stuff from Old Navy. That and the thrift shop (which, around here, sells a TON of Lands End, ha) are my primary sources of clothing. I was going to suggest TJ Maxx, if you have one, but I suspect she’s off to camp already, dress codes be darned…