Strollerderby

My central concern here is that Terri Hatcher is at the White House Correspondent's dinner.  Oh and her daughter needs to cover up.

I think it looks fine, and normally, I'd be the first condemning Bratz dolls and hideous clothes on girls.

It looks fine to me too--since it's floor length. If it were a short strapless dress, that would be entirely too much skin.

I always think of strapless dresses as being held up by a bosom of some kind, which implies a certain maturity level (age and physical development.)  So I think nine is too young for it.  I think spaghetti strap dresses on little girls (tastefully done - no plunging necklines) are very cute, though.  

So spaghetti straps would have made this better?  I mean...really?  Two tiny, thin strands of fabric?  I get that the strapless look is usually more grownup but as you said, Amber Breslin's dress had thin straps.  For all we know Emerson had a wrap with her, just not on for the photos or at this time.  I think this is pretty silly.  It's one thing to not like how it looks, but to argue that spaghetti straps are less revealing than strapless is a bit odd.

I didn't really care for Hatcher either until I watched a Barbara Walters interview with her (I was pregnant at the time ... not terribly discriminating in my TV viewing). Anyway, Hatcher said she nursed her daughter until she was 2.5! Love that (not just the extended nursing from a Hollywood mom but that she matter-of-factly said it on TV)! I think Barbara's hair melted a little after that.

Lena, I'll admit that when I read that she nursed her kid 'til she was 2.5, it made me like her a teeny bit.  :)

And yeah, Bluestar, I think spaghetti straps would have helped.   Not because they would provide any more coverage, but, as BBGMom said, strapless implies breasts, which implies physical maturity, which implies maturity in general, which a 9-year-old simply does not have.  Just my opinion.

I think it's fine. I agree that having a problem with this because two thin strips of fabric are not present is just silly.

And Teri Hatcher nursed her daughter until she was 2.5? I don't care for the woman, but she just climbed a notch in my book.

If the dress had been above her knees, made of leather, backless or all of the above AND strapless...then it would be inappropriate. As it is, it looks fine.  

She's covered in all the appropriate places.  If it was a picture taken of a child in shorts and a halter top playing outdoors in the summer, chances are it never would have hit your radar.  

I have a problem with bikinis on little girls for the same reason - a bikini looks like a bra and therefore implies breasts. I actually have more of a problem with kiddie bikinis than I do with this dress, which I do think is a bit age inappropriate.

I think Terri chose this dress because it shows off Emerson's back tattoo so well.

I'm so glad to know that all a gal has to do to impress you guys here at Babble is breastfeed until the child is old enough to say "Please Mother, may I have access to your nipple?"  

One word--but if you are reading outloud make it last:

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

I don't have a problem with this particular dress, but I never ever would have chosen something like this for myself when I was 9.  My Dream Dress would have been some kind of crazy Princess Diana Wedding Dress Extravaganza with extra sequins, some glitter, and possibly a unicorn.  Oh, and it would have been purple.

I do think it's funny that some folks say strapless is bad, but spaghetti straps (which are essentially string) would make it okay.

a lot of nine year olds have breasts...

I love a good snark-fest as much as the next guy, but I don't find Emerson's dress to be that upsetting.  I wouldn't choose strapless for my nine-year-old daughter because, like a previous poster, I sort of assume that the time this dress is most appropriate is when the wearer actually has the bosom to support the dress.  Having said that, this particular dress is really no big deal.  She looks sweet, in my opinion.

I have to say that I saw Terri Hatcher getting numerous temporary tattoos at the Atlantis in the Bahamas last year.  I didn't oppose the activity itself, but I did think that Hatcher's expenditures on these tattoos (literally hundreds of dollars), which last five to seven days (if not exposed to solvents like suntan lotion), was pretty bad values in itself.  

Hey, little girls are people too! Whatever the reason could be that they were at the White House Correspondent's dinner (yikes), maybe Emerson Rose wanted to dress like a grown-up for this grown-up occasion. I think 9 years old is old enough to let a girl play a little (in my mind overly mature, but still classy) dress up.

OK, I have no way to defend this, but I think that yes, a couple little straps would make a difference. It does on women's dresses. (No need for the two-handed grasp 'n yank.)

Eh...I gotta say this one doesn't bother me. Showing shoulder is pretty far down on the list of skin to keep under wraps. In fact I remember buying my first article of clothing with my very own allowance at 9 - a kewl 70s tube top.

Lorrie - chill on the breastfeeding stuff. I think the point is that most celebrimoms don't have any commitment in this department at all so when one does, color us impressed.

Lorrie- I completely agree!

Breastfeeding a 2.5 year old is "ewwwwwww," but a 9 year old dressing like a 16 year old isn't?  Huh.

SO let me get this straight: the daughter went pretty much from nursing to wearing strapless gowns in 6.5 years. That's a short childhood, for sure.

It's a beautiful dress, but I do agree it's too old for 9.  It would be more appropriate on someone quite a bit older, or with straps or a cute wrap.

I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with the strapless dress.. and I'm an often over controlling, over protective father to my three daughters. The dress is simply beautiful! Period!

Alisyn, who admits to being a Teri-Hater, has gone way too far on this one. Hey, It's Teri's child! She can dress her any way she wants.

Get off the moral morality train for a minute PLEASE!

Hey, it was a wonderful night out with mother who is proud of her daughter.

That headline? That sums up our week. When we weren't knee-deep in placenta juice (mmmmm), we were kicking kids out of restaurants, wondering why new moms are so damn selfish and getting an odd feeling that celebrities aren't using "yoga"