LOVE YOUR PHOTO. It's obvious ya'll had fun. This reminds me of when mother would stay up at night cooking her goodies to hand out the next day. She would go to the new Kroger that stayed open all night and made her SO thrilled! She would call me and say " OH,,, my goodness, it's like going to the circus or fairgrounds.....you just would not believe what you see at all hours of the evening in the store! Do they care?" We would laugh and laugh. I'm sure you felt the same while viewing those that really don't care! It's like all those Walmart e-mails I get....It ain't pretty!!! AND as you said," I am not talking about facial features!"

Morning Meg, Boy is this article timely, I was at Kroger Friday and this young woman, whose thighs would make mine look like sticks, (& you know I have chubby thighs) had on a mini, and I mean MINI dress. She was proudly sporting a tatoo on her upper thigh the size of both my hands with fingers spread wide open.

I did not look when she bent over to unload her grocery cart...didn't want to vomit that early in the morning. I just thanked my lucky stars that both of my children dress appropriately and in good taste.

My early morning nightgown-gardening couldn't hold a candle to this young woman

And to think that their children are learning to be just like them... We're in trouble, Meg! A few days ago, there was a woman at the store whose shorts (or truly, lack thereof) were drawing complaints and calls for me to "DO something!" Unfortunately, this was not a situation that would allow my intervention, but I stayed close, apologized to the moms and dads who were trying desperately to distract the eyes of their little ones. As she walked away, she dropped her change on the floor. I darted to her as quickly as I could. "Please, please, PLEASE allow me to get that for you! Please!" I bent down to pick up her change for her, handed it over, and she thanked me and walked away with her Sugar Daddy. Suddenly a roar of both laughter and cheers erupted, as they all cheered "That was great! THANK YOU!!!"

I have enjoyed reading your articles, Meg, and have also enjoyed your friends' comments. Today, I especially appreciated noone referring to these examples as "ladies." It so irks me to hear males--and sometimes females, but generally not as often--calling undeserving women "ladies." The way I was raised, there's something a little more special about a lady. Clearly, the folks mentioned in the article and comments are not "ladies!"

Keep up the good work!

OK m'luvs, to get a real look at what I saw, go to U Tube and watch "people of Wal-Mart" you're so right Marlene, these are no ladies and gents!

I am also deeply disturbed by the trend of students running up to my local Kroger in their pajamas in the middle of the day. Is it that hard to get dressed in street clothes at 4 pm? Especially the tiny girls wearing those little bitty sweat shorts that say "Juicy" or Pink" on their derriere, did their grandmother's not teach them anything? My mammaw taught me two valuable life philosophies...never leave the house without a bra and always take a moment to put on a little lipstick before you exit the car. These girls have no shame.

Meg, Oh so well said, I can see you and Masie back in the day walking down Clayton Street in your high heels, coming from the paper to have lunch, dressed in your darling, snappy dresses, and oh remember when panty hose hit??? You two were the first to sport them. . . I think Americans are the worst, it is really offensive and absolutely amazing . . . it is free entertainment, that's the best I can say. Down here in Thomasville with the temperature over l00 everyday this summer, well you can imagine the lack of clothing and the many tatoos I've seen . . . to think our government has paid for these works of art on people is just amazing. . . Linda Cofer

Oh, Leigh, the words on the bums are one of my biggest pet peeves! Those began to gain popularity when my daughters were very young. I determined immediately that the only purpose in their design is to teach little girls to feel comfortable with men looking at and commenting on their bums and their womanly parts. It is NOT okay, and I will not have my little girls thinking it is normal and acceptable. It wasn't until after age 18 that one of my four began to wear them (as she no longer has to have mother's approval) and all the others still shun the bootie words, thankfully. The whole concept is offensive. No, Leigh, these girls have no self respect.

Anita, the sexualization of young women starts when they are pre-school age. As my little girls have gotten older (soon to be six), the clothes options have become more sleazy, with vulgar sayings emblazoned across midriff skimming t-shirts and on the butt of too-short shorts. The more expensive clothes, of course, don't carry such yuck, but lots of the cheaper brands do. So this means it's going to cost more to stay away from the "Hoochie Mama" clothes (but it will be money well spent).
On a kind of related note, I recently read a opinion piece that says when you talk to a little girl, don't comment first on her appearance, on the cute shoes or nice dress. Instead, ask, "Can you swim?" or "Do you like Dora?" or "Can you sing Happy Birthday?" I've been doing this with Clara and Margaret's compatriots, and the responses are great.

Glad you shared with us Rebecca the comment about how to speak to little girls. I will keep that in mind. For the life of me, I don't know why these coeds dress so scantily! They are "asking for it." if you get my drift!

Oh how the pendulum swings. My daughter wore Bloomingdales underwear with each day of the week written on the bottom (a gift from her grandmother). She also wore what she called her "big panties"...white cotton with a slight ruffle from Elephant's Trunk, some had xmas or easter motif on the bottom.

My I tell the young mothers, this did not influence her to dress like a tramp in her teenage or young adult years. Neither did one man zero in on her bottom.

As for commenting on either my son or daughter's appearance, YES I DID, and I still do!. I tried to reinforce appropriate attire and nice grooming. There is a happy medium to attain when complimenting children on intellect or attire, and I personally think both are necessary in child rearing.

Meg, in the Episcopal church we are not suppose to show bare arms. If I wear a sleeveless dress, it is always accompanied by a shawl.

Enjoyed the column Meg. At first I thought perhaps we are just living in portions of "Red Neck" country, but I also recall seeing folks dressed as you describe in Colorado (urban areas and mountain resorts areas), and in NYC during the summer. Where are the role models? Where is the self-respect? My mama, who has gone on to her great reward, would be appalled at teens shopping at Kroger in their jammies... and seemingly proud of it!

Thank you for reading Linda. I remember getting sent home from the last day of school back in the early 1960s for wearing coulottes! Shame on me. And of course as a student at UGA women wearing shorts to class had to cover them with a rain coat! My, my how times have changed. And it's NOT just Southern rednecks. Look at the Jersey Shore fans and actors. Yipes!

What about Earth Fare, I laugh every time I go there.

Because of the tatoos or the clothing?

Meg...Indeed, it's a sad commentary on American culture when there is a YouTube site dedicated to footage of how people dress to shop at Wal-Mart! I must say that in Augusta such footage could just as easily be shot in any grocery store at any time of the day or night...just shameful! What has happened to pride in one's appearance? I loved the earlier comment about NOT complimenting young girls on their clothing, but rather asking about their interests instead...great advice!

I've been to Wal-mart three times this week doing "retail research, and visuals" for my upcoming column about school supplies! Love the way they have eased the pain of parents ams children collecting their " goods." but also find a slight overlap/redundancy of my musings in this piece! Please click in Sat. Morning

Once, when I was a Teaching Assistant at UGA, I noticed that a student took his final exam while wearing his pajamas, slippers, and bathrobe. This was excessively informal, for a certain level of decorum and wardrobe in public is reasonable.

"But where I come from, men are asked to remove them when sitting at the table for a meal. So much for good manners."
--Me too! I've been slapped up side the head many times for sitting at the table with a hat on. Still makes me cringe to this day to see someone eat with headgear on.

My father once offered a minor celebrity a bottle of wine in return for his approaching a man dining in the Porterhouse Grill with a baseball cap on, and asking him to remove it (which he did). He loves to tell that story, which happened several years ago.

Meg, I was laughing out loud at my office reading this! soooo my sentiments exactly. Its just beyond belief how people dress these days. I remember when we dressed up to get on an ariplane...Delta had a strict dress code for employees.. eventually as this changed we stuck out like sore thumbs...so they lowered the standards for the dress code!!!! ..we wouldn't even board a man in one of those sleeveless under shirts or anybody that smelled bad or had on flip flops.....gone are the days. My Dad wouldn't even let us go downstairs in curlers much less outside...so glad we know better! xo jk