Girls do listen to their mothers - and take some advice

Girls and women still listen to the mums, especially about clothing advice. Yes, what to wear! They still relied on their mothers regarding appearance, grooming, and clothing – more than they rely on advice from magazines.

French cosmetics company Lancome conducted a poll of women and who or how they accepted advice about their looks. It found that the most common advice to daughters, starting as young as 11 years of age, was shared and adopted – even showing that daughters had a similar style to their mother.

More than half of the women polled (the total number was not provided in The Times article on June 20, 2013) asked their mothers advice on a new outfit. About 30% said that if their mother didn’t like it they wouldn’t wear it. That of course implies that 70% still wear it, even if their mothers didn’t like it. However, the most rejected advice given to daughters by their mothers was the advice not to have a tattoo. So daughters didn’t listen to everything!

The top contenders in the list of advice (in order) that French mothers give their daughters include:

1. Remove make-up before you go sleep at night
2. Moisturise your neck when you moisturise your face
3. Wear properly fitted bras
4. Never pluck above your eyebrows
5. Always apply sunscreen
6. Never shave legs above the knee
7. Never get a tattoo
8. Don’t wash your hair every day
9. Sit up straight
10. Never wear a black bra under a white top
11. Always iron your clothes
12. Never show both cleavage and legs at the same time (show one or the other, but not both)
13. Always carry a spare pair of stockings
14. Always wear lipstick and mascara