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Nursery School Stilettos?
By admins | September 29, 2009
The fashion industry has caused plenty of pain (which we’ve written about extensively) for women from the pressure to be thin, to painfully tight jeans, to frumpy plus size options, to inequality in the apparel workplace. Now it seems the fashion business has targeted young girls. No, we are not talking body image issues for once but actual physical pain. For example, the pain that comes from squishing your foot into a hot new pair of heels despite the inevitable blisters and lower back pain that will ensue. These are things that a child should never have to feel let alone a toddler. Unfortunately, as you can see from the photo above, the country’s’ most fashionable and famous 3 year old, Suri Cruz, is setting a new trend, high heels. For us, wearing heels may add a much needed few inches, but toddlers are supposed to be vertically challenged. For us, a pair of sexy stilettos will arch our backs accentuating our chests and our lovely behinds, but what exactly is a 3 year old accentuating?
Several years ago, one of our writers was designing for an intimates company who among other categories manufactured girls underwear. When the company requested the designers create a small line of thongs for girls 4 to 6X the design staff vehemently opposed the concept. Thongs for little girls, holy inappropriate, right? Well, apparently not! Because a few seasons later, after begrudgingly creating a line, buyers from stores across the country began placing orders. Our writer soon found out, thongs were not the beginning of the sexualization of young girls, but rather a reaction to it. You see, the retailers were requesting low-rise thongs because the children already had a wardrobe of tight fitting low-rise jeans. Apparently, droves of mothers were now looking for compatible under garments that would show no pantie lines and sit low, on the not yet developed hips, of their young children.
High heels, thongs, low-rise jeans, what’s next for our little girls? Being a woman is painful enough, why would we willfully push our children into it? Oh yeah, as if there is not enough wrong with that photo, rumor is that 3 year old is sporting $1,100 custom made Louboutins.
Here is more related scoop;
Topics: fashion industry | 23 Comments » 
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September 29th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Great article! This is really disturbing on so many levels. Makes me glad I don’t work in childrenswear, I doubt I could take it! I once saw a thing(i think i tv) for girls padded bras! WTF!
September 29th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
How big is your glass house?
September 29th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
I would relate this more to the Chinese practice of binding upper-class women’s feet – which men loved because the women were helpless and teetered around, as if on stilettos, accentuating their sexual characteristics and making women appear continually sexually available. Men also apparently loved the smell of the festering feet.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
i think it looks really cute on suri. but im strongly against buying expensive and uncomfortable shoes for little girls. their feet grow pretty fast.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
glass houses? does that even make sense here!
This reminds me of those freaky pageant girls. I always wonder who the hell gives their kids extensions, fake teeth, and false eyelashes, I guess the same nut jobs that have their 3 year olds walk the streets in heels.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Playing dress-up in mommy’s heels or a pair of kid-sized play heels is one thing, going out in public is another. From a mother’s perspective I’d be terrified of my daughter turning an ankle whilst jumping around, running, or climbing and would never allow a small child the chance to do that. Not to mention the health issues of tiny growing feet that need support to grow. My daughter has always been fascinated with fashion and adamant with her choices; however I’m the parent and while I try to foster her creativity and give her choices, ultimately I say what she is and isn’t allowed to wear. It is possible for a child to look fashionable without being inappropriate such as this.
@Swifty, I thought of those horrid pageant children as well — definitely not dressing to represent other children, but rather to appeal to some twisted adult view.
September 29th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Disturbing, this is a creepy photo! It just makes one cringe to look at.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
I am horrified. This is completely ridiculous. I am equally horrified when I see 3-year olds getting pedicures at nail salons. People, these are children!!!
September 29th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
When I was about 4/5 years old I had these 70’s wedges that were about 2 inches at the most. I wore them to preschool and fell on my face and I still have the scar on my forehead to prove it, bad idea!
It is one thing to have “heels” for dress up, I used to wear my grandmothers size 5 1940’s heels when I was really young but wearing them out on the town seems really absurd for children. I still can’t believe my mom let me wear those shoes to preschool. She is usually really level headed. I remember throwing a big fit, I guess it worked.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
omg…that is awful! i had these cheap plastic high heels that i could wear around the house, but they wouldn’t last three steps outside. and i also loved wearing my moms shoes…but to walk around?
high heels are horrible for ADULT feet…they give us corns, hammertoes, bunyuns… they’re bad for our backs, they shift the bones.
i used to walk around in high heels for miles on end, some things started going wrong with my feet that weren’t pretty. now i just wear them ‘indoors’ and walk around in nothing higher than 2″ unless it’s a platform, but nothing more than a 2″ incline.
i’m not a doctor, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that suri is still growing, her bones are so malleable at this stage, it can do some serious permanent damage.
way to go mom!
September 29th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
ok, ok, maybe i’ll walk around in 3″ but never 4…
:-/
September 29th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Absolutely pathetic example of parenting here-but anyone who has watched those horrible pageant reality shows cannot be too surprised. Pageant mothers, stage mothers, using children for financial gain-(Kate!)-show biz kids have it the worst what with the paparazzi recording every outfit. Sad on so many levels.
September 30th, 2009 at 1:45 am
Hey!
I’ve been reading your blog for sometime now and I needed to comment. Sometimes I just read and forget to comment (my memory isnt so great lol)
I know you attended deannes (dreamsequins) event its a shame I didnt meet you. I’ve never seen you post pictures of yourself.
I found your blog when I worked in 1407 broadway in sales for about 2 years and I always cracked up with that rat comment regarding that building.
In relation to this article I find it rather disturbing and upsetting. I think as a woman your going to feel you should wear heels as you get older a kid should not have to deal with that pain.
October 1st, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Being a mother to a 2 and a half year old girl, i find this picture very disturbing.
My little girl loves to play dress up with my clothes and make-up but i wouldn’t let her wear childrens high heels.
Wrong on so many levels, what on earth was katie thinking?!
October 1st, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Hell.No.
That is absolute madness. What’s funny is that people are shocked at younger kids getting involved in more “adult situations.”
I don’t like it. It’s disturbing.
October 1st, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I am the minority here. I believe there is nothing wrong with a little girl leaving the house dressed like a “princess”
Disney makes a pair that can be worn. And as mention above other people have worn them as a child. (here is a picture at my site)
http://fashionafterforty.blogspot.com/2009/09/fashion-way-younger-than-40.html
What is not mentioned is that Katie had a pair of back up pink sneakers. Like any logical mother she was probably faced with Suri not wanting to change, but knew that instead of arguing with her, she should take along a pair of sensible shoes.
The link is here proving this
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1215037/Now-little-lady-Suri-Cruise-stops-traffic-pair-dress-heels.html
So many papers only post part of the story.
October 1st, 2009 at 3:14 pm
I dunno, it reminded me of when I would put on my mom’s heels while playing dress up as a kid. But any more than an occasional wearing would probably be a bit much
October 1st, 2009 at 3:49 pm
omg! This is so awful, the thongs are even worse. I feel so worried for the girls grwing up today, it was hard enough in the 90s!
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:09 am
We are all thrilled that you all have shared such excellent points. With all your added info, especially from you moms, we could have doubled our post’s length. It is nice to know there are so many level headed people out there when it comes to children and fashion.
Nubia- So glad we could make you laugh about 1407’s furry friends
Sher/Fasshonaburu- I think the concern goes beyond just Suri and heels. But even in her case a busy city street is not the place for dress up. Even we have turned an ankle or two in the city and with traffic and subway grates it’s just not safe for a toddler.
October 5th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
I agree, this is madness. I hope to goodness those are just a pair of play barbie shoes and the little one persisted to wear them to school. I’ve got a superman over here that has many a time asked to wear his costume to school. Ok, I’m trying to be understanding. Next… what the heck? G-strings for toddlers? Seriously??? Who buys these for their small children? This is too disturbing to continue. I am close to being a “hate commenter” which I have never been. Dang.
October 30th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Might as well get on Disney for selling princess dress up chests that have similar shoes included. As you can see from the series of pictures that Sher posted, it’s obvious that they’re dress up shoes and that she has a matching child’s purse.
Posting only one photo and adding that it’s rumored that those shoes are Louboutins is obviously going to cause an uproar (which is obviously what the author of this article wanted).
I understand that dress up has a time and place. Going out and about is obviously not one of them. This just boils down to a mother’s personal choice, whether that be because they’re going to let the child to what it wants or because they’re the same type of person who thinks that thongs for a 2 year old is a great idea.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
I’ve seen those photos and we had similar reactions.
You said it better though :D
November 1st, 2009 at 11:24 am
There’s nothing wrong with a little girl wearing small heels (and small heels they are).
As for the pain, does she look like she’s in pain?
Or as if she’s being forced to wear them?
The answer to both is no.
She looks like a very happy little girl.
If she was wearing these tight fitting low risers or thongs than i would certainly see what all the fuss was about, but she isn’t. She’s carrying a soft toy, and wearing unrevealing childrens clothes.
I think people have riciculously over-reacted to this.