No Bare Bellies for Kimora Lee Simmons' Daughters

In a world where more and more little girls are seen sporting clothing geared toward adults, mother of two Kimora Lee Simmons says her daughters will not be among that crowd. Admitting that her two daughters — Ming Lee and Aoki Lee – have been "exposed…to a very high voltage life," the fashion designer feels that it is her responsibility to "taper back in other ways." For Kimora, that means no revealing clothes for her girls, including short shirts that expose her daughters’ bellies.  The reality show star — who "will not let my daughters show their midriff" — had enough trouble letting 8 ½-year-old Ming wear a halter-style dress, saying, "That’s a lot for me."

Ming and Aoki, 6 this month, not only have their mother to rely on, the two girls can also depend on Kimora’s boyfriend, actor Djimon Hounsou, who is "very protective of them." Calling him "very supportive," Kimora shares that the power couple "help each other in everything" from their demanding jobs to the well-being of the girls.

Ming and Aoki’s father is Kimora’s ex-husband, Russell Simmons, 50.

Source: People; Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage.

Is there any specific type of clothing you will not let your children wear?

Comments

Wow! I have new-found respect for Kimora. The media is saturated with a lack of modesty and quite frankly it’s a bore. There is nothing wrong with the human body, but there is also nothing wrong with leaving a little something to the imagination. Bravo Kimora!

- cuppycake on August 4th, 2008

i think that’s great! little girls are being over-sexualized today, IMO. when my sister was in 3rd grade (she’s much younger than me), her friends were wearing strapless shirts, mini leather skirts, and thigh-high boots to school! i just don’t remember my classmates wearing anything like that when I was that age. my mom had a rule when my sister and i were growing up that whatever shirt or dress we wore, we had to be able to wear a regular bra with it. so, tank tops with straps thick enough to cover a bra strap were ok, but no halters or strapless shirts. shorts had to be mid-thigh or longer. no tiny bikinis either.

sure, that was a little more strict than some of my friends’ parents’ rules, but i didn’t think it was too bad. how you dress, at least as you get older, sends off certain impressions about you (accurate or not). might as well start dressing patterns early in life.

- MB on August 4th, 2008

Thank you Kimora for standing up and protecting your girls!! Too often do we let other people parent our children because we want to be friends. I applaud her for being the protector…total props to Kimora for standing up to the premature sexualization of our children. I will also say, it is a joy to know that she now has a children’s clothing line so maybe a few more moms will get the hint!

- Jess on August 4th, 2008

Good for you Kimora! As “extra” as she comes across, behind the glitz seems to be a really cool chick, and great mom.

- m-dot on August 4th, 2008

I think that it is wonderful that a person who designs fashions for adults will not allow her daughters to dress like one. The rule in my house is simple, if my daughter does not look 10 then she can not wear the outfit. It was disappointing when she was younger that the Mary Kate and Ashley went very trendy and not so little girl anymore!

- Kristen Thomas on August 4th, 2008

We don’t do bikini’s, short shorts, bare bellies, etc. And dresses in general have leggings or at least shorts underneath. The plan is to give our daughter a strong sense of modesty. Her body is for HER and for her future husband, not strangers on the street and certainly not for competition or trends sake with peers. The body is a temple, not a billboard.

- Jen_in_MN on August 4th, 2008

I think kids should go back to wearing playclothes and only having one or two good outfits for special occasions like church or birthday parties. These days it seems to be the other way round, that their closets are stuffed with party clothes and you have a hard time finding anything old or plain for them to go and play and get grotty in.

- Lilybett on August 4th, 2008

Nice to hear this, but I have a question:

Wasn’t Kimora rumored to be pregnant with Djimon’s baby a while back? The pictures that were posted on this site months ago looked like she had a baby bump going on… I’m guessing it was just a rumor and a few extra pounds she put on??

- anon on August 4th, 2008

I believe in dressing children like children. I don’t let my girls wear anything “too grown up” for them. They’re only kids for a short time — I never liked the miniature teen-ager look for kids.

- Michelle on August 4th, 2008

i totally agree with her i have two girls that are 7 and 5 and i do not allow them to wear bikinis, short shirts, shorts or skirts that are too short, halter tops or anything too tight. they are kids and when they are grown enough to buy their own clothes then they can dress like adults. i hate when i go to a beach and i see a little girl with a bikini on. it just disgusts me because i think that is an outfit for an adult. i dont see anything cute about a little girl dressing like she is grown. thats why there are so many little girls having sex and getting pregnant. because first they want to dress grown than they want to act grown. let our children be children

- yolie on August 4th, 2008

As a mom of a 9 year old girl I really appreciate her standing her ground on clothing for kids. They are not little adults. My daughter thankfully is a tomboy and playclothes are her clothing of choice. As a mom of two boys also I don’t really like the tshirts that say negative things about boys. I know they’re supposed to be funny and cute, but that’s just my opinion.

Now if we could have clothes at the mall designed by people who would like children to dress like children I would appreciate it even more. Oh well, there’s always lands end & ll bean.

- Lorelei on August 4th, 2008

I know there are only 11 posts, but everyone here and everyone I know feels exactly the same way — little girls should dress like kids! Honestly, the clothes you see out there for little girls actually look like — and I do not mean to be inflammatory at all — but like they are meant for adult women who are trying to be seductive. So, if so many of us feel this way, why is it so hard to find little girls’ clothes that are not trashy? Even at high-end stores the clothes are what I consider to be inappropriate. They must sell or why would there be so many of them out there? But who is buying them? No one I know. . .

- Janis on August 4th, 2008

Yay for Kimora. She used to annoy me to no end, but after this I have a new found respect for her. I am not a mom (yet), but I have no problem voicing the opinion that children should be dressed like children, and not like adults (this goes for teens too, at least in the 13-16 range). No 10 year old should be allowed out of the house with the words “flirt” or “sexy” on her shirt. The worst part, in my eyes, is the parents’ excuse – “it’s just for fun” and “no one takes it seriously”. Yeah, right.

- Anais on August 4th, 2008

Well I guess I am the only one who lets my 4 year old wear a polkadot bikini. That’s what I wore when I was a little girl. I never looked at it as too “adult” like. It’s just a fun bathing suit. I think the most important gift I can give my daughter is to continue to be respectful of others and to continue to respect myself. Not only remind her how beautiful she is but how smart she is too. I do think we live in a very procative world but come on… a bikini? The memories I have running on the beach with my sister and girlfriends and our bikinis. Life was good. Innocent. Sweet.

- GGirl on August 5th, 2008

I agree with previous comments – it’s nice to see parents take a stand in this area, whether they are celebrities or not. But it IS nice to hear a celeb being vocal about. Kids should dress like kids, period. I’m glad to see lots of others with the same viewpoint.

- Alaia on August 5th, 2008

I won’t let my daughter wear a bikini. A tankini is fine because you really don’t see anything. She isn’t allowed short shorts or anything alone those lines either. She will NEVER wear any words across her butt either.

- Me on August 5th, 2008

I have noticed that the girls are generally dressed appropriately for their age.

- Ahthene on August 5th, 2008

Why are parents letting their daughters wear thigh high boots to school? (or anywhere for that matter)…. I actually have a pair of thigh high boots that my ex bought for me to wear in the BEDROOM. I’ve never worn them outside….

Not sure what the bikini thing is about though. I let my daughter wear bikini’s. Maybe it’s because I lived in Florida when I was 12-20 years old. It’s just the norm there. I think it’s different when you’re at the beach or pool. I never even gave it a second thought when I bought them either. I just went, “Oh cute”. It’s a polka dot pink bikini witha ruffled skirt bottom. I never thought other people would find it inappropriate.

- Anonymous on August 6th, 2008

You know, I loved how she was with her girls on her show, and this just adds to it.

She and her ex husband are doing great raising the girls with good values and common sense, and also making sure that they are dressed appropriately so they can do everything kids do.

I also do not allow my daughter’s midriff to show (except for accidental glimpses if I’m picking her up and her shirt rides up, of course), as I just don’t think it’s necessary.

Spaghetti strap tops and halters that provide ample coverage of the upper bits and can stay up like they should are hard for me to allow, but I do because they are covering her properly and don’t look like grownup stuff.

I think there is plenty of time to show the midriff when girls are grown up.

- Kat on August 6th, 2008

Yolie,

It disgusts you to see a little girl in a bikini??? Isn’t that a little harsh? She’s just a little girl.

- B on August 6th, 2008