Walking down the halls of New Berlin West, it’s not uncommon to do a double-take of someone’s outfit. Most days, it’s not the cutting edge fashion of clothes that make you go wide eyed, it’s the length. One wonders how someone can be comfortable enough to wear something so short in public that they have to always pull their skirt or dress down or make an awkward movement when rising up from their chair and/or smooth the fabric down behind them to make sure it hasn’t ridden up.

As warmer weather settles in, these close-cut dresses, shorts and skirts become more and more common. While this trend has been occurring for a long time, I have noticed it more this year than any other for this reason: when I go to the mall with friends, I find it far more difficult to find something that isn’t going to show my business when I walk or go to sit down. Not only is it incredibly uncomfortable to walk around in such a short dress or skirt but also, you have to be careful with every movement; you have to be cautious about bending over even a little. When sitting down, you’ve got to make sure your legs are closed and when you get up, you have to make sure the garment hasn’t ridden up too much. Of course, this is all common etiquette of being a lady when wearing a dress or skirt, but with a garment so short, it gets to a point where it’s honestly ridiculous how much you have to maneuver yourself to make sure no one sees anything. You can’t be fluid with your movements. You have to be very careful, and consequently, awkward looking.

The styles of these garments are typically very nice, coming in beautiful spring patterns and eye-catching summer fabrics, but the length is just not okay. On my latest trip to the mall, I found myself in JC Penny looking for a nice casual dress as my closet is lacking one. I picked out six dresses. Out of these, only one was length appropriate and made me feel comfortable walking in it. All the others were up to mid-thigh and just barely covering my butt. A friend was with me and she agreed that almost all the dresses were ridiculous in length. I went out to show my three other friends and they all said I looked fine and that there was nothing wrong with it. Not only did it disappoint me at the core, but it angered me more than anything. I regretted asking them, and I felt dumb for it considering one of them was already wearing a short skater dress.

It’s understandable for girls to want to show off their legs. It’s understandable for girls to want to feel good about themselves and feel confident about their bodies. It’s understandable to like the attention. It is, however, bizarre that some girls resort to ridiculously short clothing to be noticed or to be found attractive. Believe it or not, you can still look attractive in knee length skirts or even shorts that, heaven forbid, go past your butt cheeks! And by dressing modestly, instead of attracting the kind of guys who only want you for your body, you can attract someone who thinks you are honestly beautiful and is willing to get to know you. But, if attention is what you are going for, then you will be happy to know that guys definitely notice.

“They realize she’s probably going to be ‘easy’. You don’t dress that way without looking for a response,” as Sabrina Chanock of Potomac, a senior at Sidwell Friend’s School in Washington, D.C., says.

Of course, pop culture plays a big hand in how girls dress now. We see people like Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj who all dress in very tight or short clothing and the way people respond to it is by copying it without even questioning whether or not it’s appropriate for school.

“What we’re doing is teaching girls to view themselves as objects. What they buy and how they look determines their value,” says Dr. Diane Levith, author of So Sexy So Soon and an education professor at Wheelock College in Boston.

But, people have to keep in mind that those performers are in another world with a different dress code. They’re on stage performing and they have a completely different mindset when they’re in front of crowds. Schools are not the place for that kind of dress. Someone can be quite attractive not showing half their butt or wearing low cut tops: Modesty is not ugly.

As Marc Jacobs said so simply, “Young girls need to learn that sexiness isn’t about being naked.”