# What makes some teenage girls choose a 'classy' look over an 'arsty' one? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721 "2017-05-02T15:28:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![femmejean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/0ea827/32.png) [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/1 "2017-05-02T15:28:17Z")
I hope I don’t offend anyone with this thread. I’m not criticizing people for choosing their appearance but I will say that I’ll be ‘blunt’ in my descriptions. Going to school, youth groups, tutor classes a few years go, Most girls dressed like most girls, decent and definitely not bad. However I did notice quite a number of outliers. I couldn’t figure out why quite a lot girls dyed their hair more colours than were on the visible light spectrum 😃 Not that dying your hair is bad, but there are some colours that just don’t look that presentable. What was very interesting is that a few (tiny minority), would dress in this classy posh manner. They definitely weren’t richer than others since I live in a middle class area with little inequality. They also weren’t stuck up, entitled, arrogant, or believed people were beneath them; I actually talked to a few of them and they seemed just like other girls. But it was obvious and still is today that something was/is driving them to dress so elegantly. I remember some girls I saw in a tutor class dressed better than the teachers! What gives ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/2 "2017-05-02T17:05:26Z")
Those girls are actually young-looking police officers, looking to root out crime. (In the American sense of the word, not the Australian.) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/3 "2017-05-02T17:12:58Z")
Got a link to pictures or a description of the kind of look you’re talking about? Could be there’s some celebrity or movie or TV show they’re imitating. Could be they just like the look (or one or two of them do and others are following suit). ---
**Author:** ![moldmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@moldmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moldmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/4 "2017-05-02T17:16:58Z")
My daughter dressed this way in HS. She likes clothes and how they make her feel without much concern about what others think. She didn’t neccessarily spend a lot either. Now that she’s in college. It’s running shorts, tshirts, ballcaps, and Jesus sandals mainly because of time restraints. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/5 "2017-05-02T17:18:52Z")
Social class and money are not the same thing. The girls that had the posh look may have come from families or social circles where they were exposed to different styles than the more typical middle class girls. Also, about their manners, surface good manners is a hallmark of upper class woman and often does not indicate anything about how they actually feel. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/6 "2017-05-02T17:49:44Z")
Classy is so incredibly rare in the media these days, the mere mention of the word brings to mind the outfit worn by ESPN baseball commentator Jessica Mendoza, on opening day: > **[Log into Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/jessicamendozaespn/photos/basw.AbpQGxolbpS9WoT7OwuIQPM7BxFyeJYv6xTformeg1wroADLcmimHG7PGlg7LC5BlJGZ6XhksArOencPyASxstNYsnVfWPO0QyAAqJ7A18dqm8BgyvYhH2qztwzRoGTpHS-H9GV9tP84ggz29e62JLa7bPMyOC8WYxH2wlpUPt4uKA.910561482362164.10153479241280734.1284660098293638.350177751741882.1244859855541647.1389007761148344/1284660098293638/?type=1&opaqueCursor=AbrOTxrMaA2z_G517YawW7dwzOvwsY-tw5EXDWpk8r7tZZI0e9AQIpJpHpKXSqve0YQijltu6U9w4Rz0ktoRxBCScSSIJLHMbZUdcBT2TziJh-9CFJu31vXTX9PcwadHwhIX4cUIGUPHAYbqyb6GcbfttN5l1yKFVUHvn5_okZgWBnsAp_BN9hmSKUptIgzPMX6O1xvFNfTWvrMBjBu5fd03dAzVoPTnI_UjPOxPTD1o1-NMQUBmtHHv0h526HQBEeOmx6B8zYVJ63faNzSyImVQSc4yOkYhQEb2HzF7eNeTnMxS9bW1fIoyO5p07sToteh4ALJeWY3biv5Q9gCCoMo5wpSFKXot1nzmUzS9C6N5qJUYKOCakNB0hcZEa8htY5a28QVfUk5VwMu-c83ijfoQOQKiIMuj9A9iomVQVt5tx0wdXp8OdDpOlUvQYvstgNBTCggDIy3xe3z4ygav0K7T1Y34PAydDWICJA7fxeY2ItItqa7Yuiz1b-JquHx6JyMU973CZQc96XhQbzfRbTHakz3zi8upWg9kGp6k4Rd_dqET6giyB1E0O303D7cMCWcHxN1SLJuk-41UyIJAOaIjXuAL8lfSoH1K_6ltI_U2ZGMRQL7RbtFVyKpuBfa0bTkpHkPbJBF7djw5Arrsn3JTxXjmN-tnsF8majJrAKmrzarH4J2ssfF35YwrE-H9apNNlTEH-3nc7ung3IYcbe87&theater)** > > Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know. I don’t know what the OP means by Classy, but this does it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/7 "2017-05-02T18:32:02Z")
Your link doesn’t work, it presents a ‘content not available’ page. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/8 "2017-05-02T18:39:27Z")
Teenage girls almost always dress using someone else’s standards, not their own. They’re too inexperienced to have their own standards. Usually it’s their peers, who get their ideas from the media targeted to them. For a teen to do otherwise, something else would have to be in play. Parents (possibly with preppy values, or religious values about modesty and appropriateness), a very odd peer group (happens!) or a strong-minded quirky individual who marches to her own drummer. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/9 "2017-05-02T19:04:27Z")
Personal preferences, no need to examine them for anything deeper. I myself have been known to put on a jacket and tie to take my Wife out for pizza simply to look smashing. A savvy shopper can pull together a very high-quality wardrobe (one builds a wardrobe, one does not simply collect “outfits”) at thrift stores for a lower budget than buying common clothes at the mall stores. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/10 "2017-05-02T19:15:43Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Your link doesn’t work, it presents a ‘content not available’ page. Here’s another one: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8cNoM9UAAAS2NO.jpg) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8cNoM9UAAAS2NO.jpg) I guess the first one, you have to be logged into facebook to view. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/11 "2017-05-02T19:41:54Z")
Their mothers probably buy their clothes. StG ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/12 "2017-05-02T21:45:11Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Here’s another one: > > [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8cNoM9UAAAS2NO.jpg](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8cNoM9UAAAS2NO.jpg) > > I guess the first one, you have to be logged into facebook to view. Um. . . Are you sure you got the right picture? That one is not exactly trashy, per se, but it’s FAR from being classy. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/13 "2017-05-02T22:59:09Z")
I guess it depends how shapely their arst is to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/14 "2017-05-02T23:20:13Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Here’s another one: > > [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8cNoM9UAAAS2NO.jpg](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8cNoM9UAAAS2NO.jpg) > > I guess the first one, you have to be logged into facebook to view. I’m logged into facebook and I couldn’t see it either. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/15 "2017-05-02T23:45:59Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Um. . . > Are you sure you got the right picture? That one is not exactly trashy, per se, but it’s FAR from being classy. She looks like she’s wearing a curtain. ---
**Author:** ![femmejean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/0ea827/32.png) [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/16 "2017-05-03T15:38:09Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Got a link to pictures or a description of the kind of look you’re talking about? > > Could be there’s some celebrity or movie or TV show they’re imitating. Could be they just like the look (or one or two of them do and others are following suit). [‘Arsty’ Style](http://s3cdn-lookbooknu.netdna-ssl.com/files/looks/large/2012/01/22/1884028_dandgshirt1.jpg?1327235487) [Classy Style](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/71/bd/90/71bd90f13c3cf9771a62d881443a3755.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/17 "2017-05-03T15:58:58Z")
> [@femmejean](#): > > [‘Arsty’ Style](http://s3cdn-lookbooknu.netdna-ssl.com/files/looks/large/2012/01/22/1884028_dandgshirt1.jpg?1327235487) > > [Classy Style](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/71/bd/90/71bd90f13c3cf9771a62d881443a3755.jpg) What’s so classy about jeans and snow boots? ---
**Author:** ![moldmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@moldmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moldmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/18 "2017-05-03T16:34:44Z")
Yeah thats not what I was thinking of when trying to describe how my daughter dresses. ---
**Author:** ![femmejean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/0ea827/32.png) [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/19 "2017-05-03T17:24:27Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > What’s so classy about jeans and snow boots? I didn’t necessarily mean classy as posh but rather just well dressed. It seems quite uncommon among young girls here in Ireland, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721/20 "2017-05-03T17:24:35Z")
That’s twice you’ve written “arst”. So it’s probably not a typo. What does this word mean? Help a clueless old fart with all this new stylish lingo. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-some-teenage-girls-choose-a-classy-look-over-an-arsty-one/785721.md?page=2)