'Pretty disgusted!' Shopper fumes over Cotton On's new range of girls swimwear

Not everyone saw the problem with the designs. Would you put your little girl in them? 

Summer is around the corner, which means clothing for the warmer weather is starting to creep into stores faster than you can complain about Christmas decorations in retailers as early as September.  

And while some parents are excited over the idea of getting their Christmas shopping done early, others have a real problem with what is on offer when it comes to girl's clothing. Specifically, swimwear. 

After visiting popular kids' clothing store Cotton On recently, an anonymous parent took to a private Facebook group to vent about how revealing their latest girls' swimwear range was. 

"Pretty disgusted and disappointed at what I would consider sexually explicit swimsuit designs for little girls," the parent fumed in the Hills District Mums group. 

"The top on the blue one was no wider than my index finger."

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

A shopper was left 'disgusted' over Cotton On's new range of girls swimwear. Image: Facebook / Hills District Mums

Girls swimwear causes a stir

The parent shared an image featuring three different designs that caused her great concern (including the Megan and Lexa bikinis for $24.99), hoping that others would share her views. 

But not everyone had a problem with them. 

"It's a swimming costume. Clearly a small one for a small kid. The costumes are not sexually explicit until an adult makes it so," one fellow shopper defended the designs. "If it was a g-string with see-through material then for sure that's sexually explicit." 

Source: Facebook / Hills District Mums

Another parent insisted that this sort of swimwear "isn't new" and parents need to stop making an issue out of bikinis being inappropriate for little girls. 

"It's been around for decades. I don't think it constitutes an attempt to sexualise children," the insisted. "Children of this age are too young to even know what sex is about so they aren't behaving in a sexually explicit way just by wearing these." 

RELATED: Mums confused over Big W’s change to kids’ clothes

Meanwhile, others agreed that they have had enough of girls' clothing getting skimpier and skimpier each year. 

"I agree that I don't like bikinis on little girls. Don't think it's appropriate and have never put my girl in one," another parent commented. 

Another insisted it's clothing ranges like this which cause a range of body image issues in our young children. 

"And this is why society is so obsessed with self image, inner pressure and anxiety," they wrote. "What sort of message is this sending to girls to have these types of swimmers / clothes / designs for girls, especially from a young age?"

One of the designs the shoppers were referring to. Image: Cotton On

Parents react

Speaking to a range of mums at Kidspot, the general consensus was "each to their own."

"There's so much online outrage about this, so it seems so. But part of me also loves the messaging that girls don't have to cover up like Princess Charlotte all the time. I wish I'd been encouraged to feel confident in my body by just wearing what I want to," one mum told us.  

"It's not even that they are getting more 'revealing', it's more that they feel more 'mature' for younger ages. I remember recently attending a party with my 7yo and one of the girls was wearing knee-high cowboy boots, hot pants and a skimpy crop top. I'm no prude but put all together I did think 'woah... that seems like a lot for a 7yo!'" another mum shared. 

"If your kid feels comfortable wearing it, if you feel comfortable with them wearing it, go for it. I see all points here," another added. 

Introducing our new podcast: Mum Club! Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

RELATED: Helping kids develop a healthy body image

Is girls' clothing getting more revealing? 

Clothing deemed 'inappropriate' by some parents isn't something new for retailers. 

In January this year, the same retailer was called out for its new activewear range that had parents raging.  

An Instagram post by the store, promoting the “seamfree rib activewear” caused a stir, with some parents suggesting the styles are inappropriate for toddlers and pre-teens. 

The popular children’s label posted three photos of young girls wearing the matching sets in green, purple and pink which are available in sizes one to 16.

Within hours the comment section was filled with complaints from concerned parents.

Some questioned "why crop?" while others insisted the range should've included more age-appropriate clothing - especially for young girls. 

Kidspot contacted Cotton On for comment. 

Originally published as 'Pretty disgusted!' Shopper fumes over Cotton On's new range of girls swimwear