Worn this as teen cyclist?

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06-01-2010, 11:24 AM
shootingstar

Worn this as teen cyclist?

Would you have risked being uncool as a teenage girl cyclist in your time to wear the outfit below?

She came with her Mom (well, looked like an adult woman) and the young girl. All three biked and dropped by the bike commuter station that was temporarily set up for a few hrs. today ..in celebration of Bike to Work, also Bike to School Wk. now.

Girl is wearing rain pants under her school uniform kilt skirt.
Courage to her to be uncool! But bike cool now!! Maybe she went to an all-girl's private school where there MIGHT be some less pressure on the fashion stuff in some girl groups.

But it's tough to be a teenage girl and bike to school often. It's nice to see the rare one.
06-01-2010, 11:55 AM
BikeDutchess

When I was in "junior high" in a bicycle-friendly country, the school next to ours was a really conservative school and the girls were not allowed to wear slacks. Many of them cycled to school in slacks (and often rain pants too) so they wouldn't freeze, and would pop into the bicycle cellar in our school to change into the required skirts before heading over to their own school. Seeing the picture you posted reminded me of those long-ago days!
06-01-2010, 12:03 PM
Trek420

What was the weather like that day? Rain pants are always cool. I think the whole ensemble is great topped off with a practical storage, bike bag etc.

Good for her finding a practical comfortable solution. And with a very cool and fun helmet. :)
06-01-2010, 12:33 PM
tulip

I don't see a problem with what she's wearing. I wore wool cycling shorts with real leather chamois back when I was in high school (pre-lycra and pre-bikes-as-cool). I don't think I was ridiculed--at least if I was I didn't know about it, so it doesn't matter.
06-01-2010, 12:48 PM
PamNY

Her outfit looks pretty normal to me. Bike commuters wear all kinds of things.

I wouldn't make too many assumptions based on age.
06-01-2010, 04:54 PM
colorisnt

Sadly, I would be more concerned about her getting made fun of because of the helmet than the pants. I always got ridiculed for mine - both on the bike and the horse. Mom and Dad never budged and after many falls off my bike and being run over by numerous horses, even kicked in the head after being rolled on, I am still alive!
06-01-2010, 06:48 PM
shootingstar

It was slightly rainy drizzly this morning.

Her outfit for cycling with rain pants underneath..wouldn't be typical for a teenage GIRL, not woman. I meant it as a compliment to the young lady. :)

Come on...most girls her age want to look hip/cool and fashionable.

Rain pants for cycling ain't high fashion. Not in alot of teenage gal circles.

Have we all forgotten how much we wanted to fit in with the gang, have we forgotten the peer pressure as teenage girls???? :o :confused:
I think it's great she is wearing what she needed to wear for weather protection. Not for fashion, at her age.
06-01-2010, 07:28 PM
PamNY

Quote:

Originally Posted by shootingstar

Have we all forgotten how much we wanted to fit in with the gang, have we forgotten the peer pressure as teenage girls????

I think kids are individuals just as adults are, and some have a greater need for approval than others. I was pretty independent at that age, and didn't get involved in groups. I wanted to look good, but I rebelled against the cookie cutter mentality in high school.

It's not admirable, but I would have totally enjoyed one-upping people with Gore-tex pants.

I always laughed when adults said "Oh, you want to be like your friends." I had a smart aleck reply along the lines of: "Yes, I want to be a short, tall, fat, thin, Baptist, Buddhist, Catholic who is going to law school, becoming a nurse, getting married, joining the Peace Corp and the Army..." etc.
06-02-2010, 06:05 AM
MommyBird

From the style and fit of everything his girl has on, I would say this is a look she is very comfortable wearing. Some teens are more uncomfortable wearing the latest style than they are the less stylish practical options. If you teamed her rain coat and shoes with a pair of cycling tights and a sleek helmet she would look unbalanced.
To me it looks like this little girl might need a bike fitting over a style make over.
06-02-2010, 06:11 AM
Zen

Quote:

Originally Posted by shootingstar

Come on...most girls her age want to look hip/cool and fashionable.

Rain pants for cycling ain't high fashion. Not in alot of teenage gal circles.
.

That's a mighty broad paintbrush.
The girls who are concerned with being hip/cool/fashionable aren't in the same group as this girl.
06-02-2010, 07:50 PM
Trek420

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zen

The girls who are concerned with being hip/cool/fashionable aren't in the same group as this girl.

They could only wish to be in the same class as this girl. :cool:
06-03-2010, 05:42 PM
malkin

I was in a pretty odd gang of misfits in Jr. High and HS.
06-03-2010, 07:24 PM
salsabike

I think that in certain circles what she is wearing is considered to be cool and hip.
06-04-2010, 05:37 AM
Grog

I was a bit of a geek in high school. I don't think I would have worn rain pants because I really dislike rain pants, but I have worn worst things. :) I discovered early that only women really care about how other women dress, and that I didn't care that much to please them...
06-04-2010, 06:12 AM
zoom-zoom

Quote:

Originally Posted by salsabike

I think that in certain circles what she is wearing is considered to be cool and hip.

+1 She looks a bit on the hipster side, perhaps.
06-04-2010, 06:56 AM
PamNY

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grog

I discovered early that only women really care about how other women dress

That is so true. The sooner one figures it out, the better.
06-04-2010, 04:51 PM
salsabike

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

+1 She looks a bit on the hipster side, perhaps.

Exactly.
06-04-2010, 05:54 PM
jdubble

Quote:

Originally Posted by salsabike

I think that in certain circles what she is wearing is considered to be cool and hip.

yup, she pretty much looks like any number of the hipster teens i see biking to/from the high school in my PNW neighborhood. :)
06-14-2010, 10:20 AM
sfa

FWIW, back when I had to wear uniforms (including one remarkably like the one in the photo, only in brown), it was normal to wear pants under them when the weather was cool or cold and shorts in the summer. We'd take off the pants at school but the shorts stayed on all day. Eventually leg warmers came along and replaced the need to wear pants under our uniform skirts.

Quote:

Maybe she went to an all-girl's private school where there MIGHT be some less pressure on the fashion stuff in some girl groups.

Hahahahahahahaha!!! Not in my experience. Even with a uniform there are very clear fashion do's and don'ts, and Lord help the girl who doesn't comply. There's skirt length, brand of shirt (yes, the brand of plain white shirt was important), brand of shoes (much less of an issue in the school I went to where you could only wear one type of shoe from one supplier), brand and style of coat, purse, backpack, hair accessories, jewelry, etc. It was brutal. And because in private schools the students often come from families with a lot of money, I think the pressure is even greater (I went to public school through 4th grade and didn't see anything like the peer pressure there that I did in private school), and harder for the kids who were there on scholarships who didn't have the wealthy background.

P.S. That's an awesome Nutcase helmet she has on.