Seattle ? Parents out shopping for summer clothes with their elementary-school-age daughters can expect short shorts, skimpy tank tops and platform sandals. And for back-to-school, brace for everything from punk princess studded cuff bracelets to cropped hoodies to fitted one-shoulder tops, courtesy of a “Flashdance” flashback.

Shannon Andrews, mother of Rachael, 8, and Jessica, 4, has just about given up shopping in local malls out of disgust and frustration with hanger after hanger of styles she deems too provocative and sophisticated for little girls.

“It’s runway fashions for the toddler set,” she said, pointing to a sleeveless blouse designed to tie up in a bow at the bottom to bare the tummy — in a size 4T. Or a pair of denim shorts with leather lacing instead of zipper — in size 12 months.

In a recent shopping trip for summer clothes, Andrews hit numerous stores and left with some socks and sweat pants — purchased from the boys’ department, the only place she could find sweats that didn’t sit low on the hips. Andrews didn’t see any shorts that she thought would pass the longer-than-the-fingertips dress code at Rachael’s school.

“There’s no reason for a little 6-year-old to have her rump hanging out of her shorts,” fumed Andrews, who started an e-mail campaign to friends and family urging them to call stores and fill out comment cards to request more sedate fashions. “Let’s take back our little girls. The only way to stop this is for us as parents to say we’re not going to let the media tell us how to dress our kids.”

Andrews knows she’s fighting popular culture: McDonald’s handed out Bratz dolls decked out in miniskirts and boots as Happy Meal toys this spring and teen magazine Twist urged its readers to “get a little sexy” by pairing a “flirty camisole” from the lingerie section with a “cute mini.”

“This generation is much more sophisticated than in decades past,” said Suzin Boddiford, fashion editor for Girl’s Life magazine, which is targeted at girls ages 10 to 15. “The young girls want to look like their favorite models, singers and movie stars and therefore are borrowing ideas from what they see on MTV videos and in movies and magazines.”

Jennifer Lopez’s clothing line for young girls, which features low-riding jeans with thick belts and denim tank tops, is “blowing off the shelves,” Boddiford said.

“Low-rise jeans and short-shorts have become a wardrobe basic, so baring a slice of skin is not as big a deal as it used to be,” Boddiford said.

“Tweens might adapt a fashion look from big sis, but will best pull it off with a dab of lip gloss and a little body glitter instead of a full face of makeup and spiky heels, so as not to cross the line,” added Boddiford, noting that Girl’s Life uses older teen models on its cover and in its fashion pages to pick up the “older sister” emulation.

“If our floor looked like juniors, the girls would love it,” said Emily Rosenbach, girls sportswear and collections buyer for The Bon Marche. But unlike teens, who wield their own spending cash, moms still hold the credit card and veto power with younger girls.