Small Victories – Modesty Is The New Black

Small Victories - Modesty Is The New Black

Mar 11th, 2009

- Tagged: clothes · daughters

Dads with daughters, take heart - the hootchie outfits that you see tweeners walking down the street wearing may soon become a thing of the past if this article is in any way accurate. Apparently, modesty is the latest trend among women, in particular, younger girls. Me, I'm just hoping that it takes hold and hangs in there for the next, oh, 20 years or so. Who knew that the current crappy economy might actually have such a potentially positive aspect spring from it?

Ella Gunderson unwittingly amped up the modesty movement when she complained to Nordstrom in 2004.

"Dear Nordstrom, I am an 11-year-old girl who has tried shopping at your store for clothes (in particular jeans), but all of them ride way under my hips and the next size up is too big and falls down," she wrote, according to an excerpt on PureFashion.com.

Gunderson's story made national news, and Nordstrom responded with higher cut jeans — and more — when it realized hers was hardly a lone cry. "Around that time, a fair amount of people were looking for modest options," says Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White.

That prompted the company to add a "modest" category on its website. Although the designation was later dropped because there weren't enough people using "modest" as a search term, White says the chain did make sure to keep modest selections, which are available depending on demand in different regions of the country.