I am 16, going on...24?

If when reading the title you hummed along to the Sound of Music soundtrack, stand-up and applaud yourself. Full bow, too.

My woes of being mistaken for a much younger woman have long since been recorded...by me...in my head...and now right here. Instances like:
In a Doctor's office::
    Nurse:"We need your father's insurance forms...your father... ::looks at my paperwork::...Alex"

In Target:
    ::I go to try a cracker/cheese sample::
     Cracker/Cheese Lady: "I'm sorry, but you'll have to get your mom to try a sample."

At the Russell Stover Factory:
    Teller: "Would you like to sign up for the Rewards Club?"
    Me: "Sure."
    Teller: "Wait, are you over 18?"
    Me: "How old do you think I am?"
    Teller: "16, maybe 17."

And my personal favorite...

Meeting Alex's Co-Volunteers at an Animal Shelter:
    Lady: "Are you [Alex's] sister, you're not quite young enough to be his daughter?"
Apparently the lady had not met with the nurse, because she would argue differently.

In my humble, yet always correct, opinion I have looked the same since the 9th grade, so I cannot entirely blame these ridiculous people who do not notice the diamond rings conveniently place on my left hand, symbolizing the current co-habitation co-love-sharing state of matrimony, recognized in most industrial countries. It is also not only my ageless, timeless, classic good looks to blame. No! There is also Hollywood.


Yes, gone are the days when a sex symbol was curvy, womanly, and above all of-age. Marilyn, Audrey, and Ava these women were in there late twenties/early thirties during their prime. Some Like it Hot was made when Marilyn was 33! Have you seen stills from her last, unfinished film?

Flawless!

Above all she looked like a sexy woman, because she was a sexy woman...stress on woman. She was not 16, she was not barely 18. Today young girls, no need to name the "starlets", are dressing to look like a woman who knew how to handle the attention she got, and undersood the consequences of that attention. Monroe knew that she was typecasted, she knew it would be difficult to ever break the "sex kitten" image; she knew the delicacy of a reputation. No, this isn't the 1800s and people should be allowed to express themselves; but the reality is that a reputation is even more likely to be damaged, spread, and irreversible in the limited environment of a high school than the "real world" where there is mobility and a multitude of possible friends.

There is nothing wrong with being a teen, it's great and everyone should be allowed to explore fashion...if they want to...I personally can only shop for 10 minutes before wanting to chuck a mannequin out a window, just to know fresh air once more.  However, when you can no longer tell the difference between a top for a 24 year old or a 14 year old there is a problem. It is no wonder why I, and so many of my friends, are thought to be so young! We're all dressed the same.

I also understand we have limited options, and that stores like Express and J.Crew will also advertise to teens because they have more buying power then the twenty-somethings. Read, they have their parents cards, we have our starting salaries. But there in lies the rub, parents are buying these clothes. I have never been one, and it will be a long time before I am one to a teen; but surely parents can at least check their childrens' purchases. 

Boys find sex sexy, girls want to look like what the boys want, hollywood provides the images for the boys and role models for the girls. That is, if you do not intercede. And even if you can't convince an 18 year old boy that a brain is sexy, or a girl that being a sex kitten has consequences, then bite the bullet, don't be the friend and only buy your child age appropriate clothing. Let only us twenty-somethings look like twenty-somethings.

If for no other reason then so it is obvious that I am 23!