UPDATE: See the end of this post for how Gap styles these shorts!

A post from a mom friend caught my eye this morning in my Facebook feed. “After reading the reviews of these sequined short shorts being sold by GAP for young girls, I can see I'm not alone in my initial reaction to them,” she wrote. “The lady with the Jersey Shore comment is spot on.”

Intriguing, non? GAP Kids is usually my go-to place when getting basics for my daughter; I find them to be affordable, super cute, and never trashy. It would be hard to dress your daughter as a mini stripper at GAP Kids, which, alas, cannot be said for many other options (high and low-end alike). My curiosity piqued, I clicked on the link.

And lo! There they were! Tiny little sequined “party shorts!”

And true enough, the first review under the listing was titled “Booty Shorts.” A reviewer called “Jean Lover 1290961” wrote a scathing, “Who is the Gap designing for these days. Cast of Jersey Shore???? Totally inappropriate for young girls. Shame on you!”

“momtogirls” agrees in a review titled “Good God!” She wrote, “Please tell me this is a joke. Sequined booty-shorts for a little girl?! Have you people lost your mind?”

The third reviewer, “stylish mother” takes a different view: “I love these!!!! They are super cute and look great with tights and a sweater. My daughter is 9 and they look adorable on her :)”

Hmmm!

What say you?

I am normally one to decry even slightly sexualized clothes for little girls. And these shorts are awfully ... short and .. sequiny. It is not impossible to imagine them atop a pair of go-go boots and a much older pair of legs.

On the other hand, I agree that they are, indeed, super cute. I think this is a case where it really depends on your kid, how they fit on her, and what you dress her in along with the shorts. Paired with opaque black tights, a blouse or sweater, and flat black boots, I do think they’d probably make a really fun holiday outfit.

What do you think? Is GAP remiss in marketing these “booty” shorts to young girls?

UPDATE: My friend, mentioned above, pointed me to this link where you can see how GAP styles these shorts. With bare legs. Wow. They do look really short here, no?

My daughter just popped over my shoulder and said, "Oooh! Cute outfit!"

And I'm thinking to myself -- you'd wear that out of the house over my dead body, missy.

Unless, of course, we add a pair of thick black tights?

April Daniels Hussar is BettyConfidential's Executive Editor, and resident over-protective momzilla.