A mother's concerns about a dress she found at Target have sparked widespread debate about whether the outfit is appropriate for girls.
On February 25, Meghan Mayer posted a TikTok video of her shopping at Target's spring clothing collection. The Detroit teacher wondered if she was “exaggerating” after being shocked by the style of a dress she found.
“My oldest daughter and I are at Target and there are some cute spring things,” Mayer began. “I'm a little more conservative when it comes to my kids' clothes. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but let me know what you think of these dresses.”
Mayer pans the camera to reveal a rack full of pink and blue babydoll dresses with a plaid-like print. At first glance, there doesn't seem to be anything unique about the clothing. However, Mayer then zoomed in to show her viewers the small cutouts on the sides of the garments.
“So, this is the children's section… for reference, these are children's sizes,” the father proclaimed. “Look at these little slits on the sides of these dresses, right at the hips on all of these dresses.”
Mayer's original thought, before noticing the cuts, was that the dress would be perfect for her youngest daughter for Easter.
“And then I see the little indentation in the side,” he confessed. In her opinion, the open fabric might be appropriate for a 12-year-old to wear, but for a six or seven-year-old, the style was not appropriate.
“Like I said, I know I'm a little more conservative. Normally I don't even let my daughters wear bikinis, but maybe I'm overreacting, I don't know,” Mayer admitted. “Thoughts?”
Mayer's video attracted 1.2 million views and more than 16,100 comments. Other parents chimed in to share her opinions. Some agreed with her, while others refuted her thoughts.
“I completely agree. My daughter is four and she's a 6/7. Absolutely inappropriate,” said one mom, while another wrote, “You're not exaggerating. You're parenting appropriately.”
A third commented: “No, no. There is no reason for those holes to be there. They should have pockets! No holes!
“I think retailers are trying to mature our children too quickly. “I agree with mom,” one woman proclaimed.
“I don't think they're too revealing, but I do think the holes are ugly,” another TikTok user argued.
One mother who bought the dress for her daughters wrote: “Exaggerating. My two daughters have the blue and the white, it's not even very noticeable, it's not that big of a hole. The dresses are so pretty.”
“There will surely be an overreaction. It is super cute! Now if it was super short or short, I would 100 percent understand what you're saying,” another person noted.
The independent has contacted Mayer and Target for comment.
