Sexy French underwear for kids sparks fashion debate

Merci, France.

It's a comfort to know that we can count on you to distract us from serious economic problems like rising unemployment and the worsening debt crisis across Europe. 

Toss in an American sense of prudishness, a few photos of scantily-clad kids and voila: we've got a simmering story line for web-fueled scandal. 

That's the script for today's emerging outrage, anyway.

It comes courtesy of Fashionista, which features a French company called Jour Apres Lunes, a maker of "loungerie" (loungewear + lingerie = loungerie) for kids.

Here's how Fashionista explains it:

It basically looks like lingerie – with maybe a tad more coverage – and would be totally okay for adults to wear but Jours Après Lunes is producing this stuff for girls ages 4-12 (the “loungerie” for the 3 month – 36 month age range is actually age-appropriate and cute, thankfully), so that mother and daughter can match. According to the site, the designer has a long background in designing lingerie (for grown ups) and she’s designed a “femme” collection for the over-tween set.

What’s disturbing about Jours Après Lunes is not just the fact that it’s lingerie for people who probably shouldn’t be old enough to even know what lingerie is, but the photographs on their website. The little “filles” are styled like grown women with Amy Winehouse hair, sunglasses and pearls and there are a few instances of Thylane Blondeau-esque seductive gazing and reclining poses.

Thylane Blondeau, by the way, is a 10-year-old model who appeared recently in French Vogue, which naturally, sparked more outrage.

So is loungerie a viable business opportunity? Or does it go too far? And does it matter, either way? 

Decide for yourself. Here are three screen grabs from the Fashionista story.

You can see the rest of the images here at Fashionista.

Hat tip: Vivian Giang at Business Insider.