No way was I going to buck the wind and walk outside in that kind of weather. Instead, I drove to a nearby mall to get some exercise. Once I adjusted to passing senior citizens doing laps behind walkers or with oxygen tanks in hand, my attention shifted to store window displays.
With Halloween only a few days away, costumes were the theme of the week. In fact, two boo-tiques (not kiosks, but actual stores) were completely devoted to the dress up clothes. The more I passed the stores, the more they blew me away. The guy stuff was bad enough. Lots of super hero and fantasy garb along with traditional spooky stuff: vampires, werewolves, zombies, and some things bordering on sadistic. But women’s costumes outnumbered the men’s three to one. And they were much worse, all trumpeting the same sickening theme.
Sexy sailor girl
Sexy police girl
Sexy waitress
Sexy nurse
Sexy maid
Sexy Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz
Sexy witch
All of the above were accessorized with stiff petticoats designed to push the already short skirts even shorter, fishnet black stockings held in place with black garters, and stiletto heels.
The message to boys is bad enough: Real men should be strong and tough and scary.
But the message to girls is worse: Sexy is all that matters.
Those are messages kids don’t need. What they need is time with Mom or Dad rummaging through old clothes. They need to hear their parents tell stories about old letter sweaters, cowboy hats, fancy formals, and crazy blue jeans. They need to be shown how to make an old suit coat and cane into a hobo costume, or a full skirt and scarves into a gypsy costume. They need to experience the fun of taking old stuff to create something new. They need time to be kids.
