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Over the weekend, I took the senior, sixth grader and the sixth grader's BFF to our nearest mall over in Kingston-Upon-Thames for a bit of retail therapy. All of the girls needed some clothes for spring break, plus the sixth grader needed a birthday gift for the sleepover she's attending Friday night after the middle school dance.

There isn't a Top Shop store in the mall, but the big department store has a Top Shop section and it's always a hit with both girls. It's not as cheap as H&M, but the prices aren't bad for generally expensive England. 

The sixth grader and her bud are new to the excitement and independence of shopping, now allowed to look on their own and visit the dressing rooms without mom peeking around the privacy curtain to make sure it passes inspection. I was cracking up because the younger girls were really drawn to these Top Shop shirts and just had to have one.

When I was their age, there was no way in hell I would have worn one of these shirts to school... truth in advertising. Pointing out the obvious and promoting stereotypes. But the 6th grader wasn't fazed and so she asked me to buy two of them for her. She posted a pic of her wearing the GEEK shirt on Instagram and another friend, the most popular girl in her grade, was the first to respond with "Cool shirt" and asked her where she got it because she said she wants to get one, too.

The more I thought about it, I realized that the girls would have no problem wearing these shirts because they perceive them as humorous rather than accurate or true. However, there probably isn't enough money in the English treasury to get one of them to wear a shirt that reads BEAUTIFUL.