What are your teenage children wearing?

A couple of weeks ago, members of a WhatsApp group I am in happened to have a discussion about how their teenage children dress nowadays.

I was not on phone when the discussion kicked off, and when I finally caught up with social media a few hours later, the discussion had concluded and the group had moved on to other things.

I must say that as I went through the chats, I was, once again, relieved by the confirmation that my teen and pre-teen are normal.

The first time my 15-year-old son emerged from the house wearing “slides” and socks as we prepared to leave for church, I was scandalised. My mouth must have hung open for a couple of seconds before, perplexed, I asked him why he hadn’t worn shoes yet we were running late.

“What do you mean?” he had asked, sounding genuinely puzzled, “I’m ready…” he had added, giving his feet a quizzical look.

But he was wearing slippers, I pointed out, to which my son, with a short laugh, informed me that what I was calling slippers were actually called slides, and yes, he was going to church wearing them.

Badly dressed sons

You should have seen me standing there, stupefied, sure that he was joking. Why couldn’t he just wear tennis shoes? Or at least take the socks off?, I wondered.

After some more back and forth, during which, at one point, I told him he was not going to embarrass me by going out in public dressed as if he was on the way to bathroom, I finally gave in, after a mental reminder to myself to pick my battles wisely.

I, however, decided that I would pretend that I didn’t know him, lest someone accused me of being a mother that neglected her children.

I should also mention that apart from the bathroom slippers and socks, he was wearing grey sweatpants, (the kind you’d throw on to the shops on a Saturday morning) and a formal flowered cotton shirt, like the one badly dressed tourists tend to wear. I groaned inwardly.

But I need not have worried. My teen was telling the truth because that Sunday, and to my immense relief, I spotted a couple of teenagers in church wearing the said slides, and with socks no less.

It turned out that sweat pants paired with a formal flowered shirt was in vogue too because I saw a couple of his agemates dressed that way. “Tuko wengi” has never sounded so good after I spotted several mothers walking alongside their badly dressed sons.

Love for oversized t-shirts

Another trend I’ve noticed is their love for oversized t-shirts, t-shirts that almost reach the knees. Why, oh why? Sometime in November last year, I borrowed my 12-year-old daughter’s t-shirt to attend a function that required attendees to wear black t-shirts.

I figured that I would not spend money on something that I would probably never wear again, and since she had a humongous one that could fit me, I helped myself to it, consoling myself that at least, she wasn’t barring her midriff. 

That said, though, I recognise that what I have written is subjective. I’m looking at this matter in the eyes of a dash-dash-year-old.

While contemplating this subject, I decided to go through my photo albums, (now you know how old I am) and could not help chuckling at the clothes I wore during my teenage years.

I showed my daughter some of the pictures and she exclaimed while holding one of them, “Mum! What is this you’re wearing?!” before breaking down in laughter. I was dressed in baggy bright red jeans, an outsized green t-shirt and a baggy black leather jacket.

At the time of taking that picture, I’m certain that I thought I was hotter than an iron box – moto kama pasi, they say.

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