Catholic School Uniforms Questions

[catholicmamajoy]

Since it is a Catholic school, we would have quite a few parents that would object to the girls only being allowed to wear pants and not skirts. (and it’s Texas, we only have warm weather) Our school has the option for girls to wear khakis or skorts on non-Mass days but few do. You would still have the skirt problem for Mass days. It’s full dress uniform for all - ties for the boys, skirts for the girls.

Okay, I give up.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

I think I know the school you are referring to! LOL If I have it right, even with the hair problems, the boys seem to do a better job with just a “dress code” than the girls do with a full uniform requirement.

At my kids school, they have a video newscast every day. A few years ago, the news crew went out and filmed students (no faces) as a reminder that they don’t always look to others as they think they do. It helped for a while.

You probably do, Agnes is pretty notoriously liberal in many ways!



Nuns aren’t like they used to be. Sr. Jane would never be mistaken for the nuns I grew up with, that’s for sure.

 

[1inICXC]

“Catholic schoolgirl” look is now a fetish, I think that says a lot.

Exactly!

But to be fair, what the heck is in the minds of these people. It’s the 21st century and they think girls will wear their nasty, wool, pleated skirts down to their knees?!?!

At my high school we were allowed to wear pants- the school made us wear ugly pants with pleats, most of us went and got our own flaired pants- so I opted for that all year long. Then they decided that the kilt is mandatory at all times except for the winter months. Of course there was no way anyone would catch me dead wearing that ugly kilt down to my knees- you know how many hot guys were at the bus and subway stations?! Lol

So we all rolled away. At most, teachers would enforce the length in class- very rarely, but as soon as the teachers were out of sight, back up they went.

Those kilts do femininity no justice. I’m all for uniforms but do not expect girls to accept such hideous outdated fashion. Why not a more stylish knee-length skirt?

 

[MissRose73]

Kids are in school to learn not put on a fashion show for their peers. I had to learn that growing up even though I wasn’t allowed to have every item that was a fad and/in style.

 

[SusanneT]

In Canada many schools are now enforcing that girls also wear pants as their uniform and they have abandoned the skirt.

It’s a good step in the right direction. It sends out a bad message about Catholic girls when they wear their skirts so short.

A lot of schools in the UK have at least threatened to do the same. I agree with the modesty point, but (without wanting to start a whole new arguement) I do think it’s a pitty to take away the distinction of wearing skirts to creat an angrogenous mass of school kids.

Wouldn’t it be better to inforce the rules and teach girls a bit more self respect ?

 

[ThyKingdomCome]

My children don’t attend school (homeschooled). But more than once, I have contemplated buying them uniforms for events like field trips and homeschool Masses followed by park days - where usual Mass clothes wouldn’t be appropriate. I’ve looked through many websites, and I came to the conclusion that there are very few uniform jumpers or skirts that meet the criteria that I have always set for my daughters.

My criteria is that skirts should fall BELOW the knee, and if possible, mid-calf or lower. While a business skirt that falls to just above the knee can be modest because it is snug enough not to flap around and because women in business skirts tend to restrict their movements significantly, this is generally not true of skirts and jumpers worn by school girls. They are roomy, they flare out, and the girls are not as careful about how they sit/stand/bend/move as adult women in business skirts.

So while it is true that the subversive behavior of the children (or parents) makes the skirts a bigger problem, it is my opinion that the vast majority of school uniforms are sewn at too short of a length. Not only do even the ones that follow the rules show more leg than I want my girls to be showing, but they set themselves up to be easy to adjust to seriously immodest lengths. A mid-calf length skirt simply can’t be pulled up to super-mini-skirt lengths, or at least not without a whole lot of trouble.

In the end, I have the ability to call all the shots, so I buy long khaki skirts, and uniform pants for my girls, and this is what we wear for our “uniforms.” If my daughters were in the local Catholic school, I’d would have to either have to relax my standards or dress them in pants only. This would really perturb me, and I wouldn’t appreciate it for my son’s sake either.

 

[MissRose73]

A lot of schools in the UK have at least threatened to do the same. I agree with the modesty point, but (without wanting to start a whole new arguement) I do think it’s a pitty to take away the distinction of wearing skirts to creat an angrogenous mass of school kids.

Wouldn’t it be better to inforce the rules and teach girls a bit more self respect ?

I’ve even noticed that in the UK too no matter what type of school they attend. Yes, a good idea to enforce the rules for both genders, and teach both of them about self respect AND modesty.

 

[clarjor13]

If the length of a catholic school girls skirt is such an issue, why not just make every catholic school girl where pants like the boys?

That solves that.

 

[Serap]

If the length of a catholic school girls skirt is such an issue, why not just make every catholic school girl where pants like the boys?

That solves that.

In my City they are doing just that in some shcools.

 

[Corki]

If the length of a catholic school girls skirt is such an issue, why not just make every catholic school girl where pants like the boys?

That solves that.

First of all, I think a lot of people would think that girls in pants is not very feminine.

Second, there’s the issue, as noted above, of Mass. These are Catholic schools so (hopefully) there is Mass at least once a week. Dress uniform would almost always mean skirts for the girls.

And third, putting the girls in pants just dodges the issue, not solve it. The goal is to teach the girls the value of dressing modestly. Eliminating skirts doesn’t teach them anything.

 

[Serap]

First of all, I think a lot of people would think that girls in pants is not very feminine.

Second, there’s the issue, as noted above, of Mass. These are Catholic schools so (hopefully) there is Mass at least once a week. Dress uniform would almost always mean skirts for the girls.

And third, putting the girls in pants just dodges the issue, not solve it. The goal is to teach the girls the value of dressing modestly. Eliminating skirts doesn’t teach them anything.

Teenage girls wearing pants as opposed to a micro mini is my prefered choice.

 

[Corki]

Teenage girls wearing pants as opposed to a micro mini is my prefered choice.

But a micro-mini isn’t part of the uniform. Putting teenage girls in pants so you don’t have to deal with girls violating the uniform code is just a dodge. It’s taking the easy way out instead of trying to teach the girls about modesty.

 

[Serap]

But a micro-mini isn’t part of the uniform. Putting teenage girls in pants so you don’t have to deal with girls violating the uniform code is just a dodge. It’s taking the easy way out instead of trying to teach the girls about modesty.

it’s working very well in my city. My priest friend is also relieved that they come to church in pants b/c it makes him feel uncomfortable.

 

[SusanneT]

First of all, I think a lot of people would think that girls in pants is not very feminine.

Second, there’s the issue, as noted above, of Mass. These are Catholic schools so (hopefully) there is Mass at least once a week. Dress uniform would almost always mean skirts for the girls.

And third, putting the girls in pants just dodges the issue, not solve it. The goal is to teach the girls the value of dressing modestly. Eliminating skirts doesn’t teach them anything.

I agree shouldn’t we be teaching girls to be proud of being feminine, and to have the self confidence and self respect to dress modestly ?

Make no mistake girls will find a way to make pants / trousers imodest anyway.

Also whatever they choose to wear out of school or later in life they should at least know how to ‘wear’ a skirt.

 

[CatholicMomInGa]

I went to a special Mass where the public was invited to attend along with the parish’s school children. They all came in uniform with their teachers to the Mass to celebrate the feast day of their parish and school’s patron saint.

What really surprised me is that the skirts worn with their button down dress shirts worn by so many of the junior high and high school aged young women (age 12 and older) some seemed to be more of a mini skirt compared to the knee length skirts worn by the elementary aged school girls. Some of them did wear dark tights to disguise the shortness of the skirts, others wore knee socks instead of the tights. Some of them were EMHCs, and one read the first reading so you could not miss what they were wearing.

The boys all wore either light blue or white button down dress shirts and tan khaki pants, and all wore ties. Age did not matter as all of them were wearing the same.

Is that normal for those girls attending Catholic schools to have their skirts / dresses seem to be short when many have shared opinions here and other places online (and other places) that dresses/skirts should reach to at least the knees to be considered modest?

I went to Catholic school where we wore uniforms very similar to what you described. Elementary girls wore jumpers and shorts or skorts while middle school girls wore skirts with either polos or button down blouses, depending on grade. School tried their best to make sure that the skirts were of a modest length (no more than two inches), but of course when you’re in middle school it’s all about rebellion, Catholic schools not excluded, so all the girls rolled them up to mini skirt length when no one was looking. Of course, admin tried to threaten them with detentions, but the majority of them didn’t care. It’s a combination of middle school rebellion, how much their parents let them get away with, especially in regards to following fashion vs. following school rules. At least that’s how it was at my school, though I doubt much has changed in the past 10-15 years. Unless you count the length of the mini skirt:shrug:

 

[MissRose73]

When my mother and her sister attended Catholic school in the 1950’s, I am sure their uniforms were modest and I am sure they probably had to deal with making sure they were dressed correctly/modestly by the Dominican nuns who taught them. From what my mother has said about the nuns, they did not tolerate any infractions of rules with dress, deportment, etc.

Too bad the nuns from that era can’t be there now to enforce the modesty regarding the girls’ uniforms. I’ve heard too many sermons and stuff in a variety of places who would have issues with the lengths of the skirts worn to Mass.

 

[L_piperatus]

When my mother and her sister attended Catholic school in the 1950’s, I am sure their uniforms were modest and I am sure they probably had to deal with making sure they were dressed correctly/modestly by the Dominican nuns who taught them. From what my mother has said about the nuns, they did not tolerate any infractions of rules with dress, deportment, etc.

Too bad the nuns from that era can’t be there now to enforce the modesty regarding the girls’ uniforms. I’ve heard too many sermons and stuff in a variety of places who would have issues with the lengths of the skirts worn to Mass.

While the secular world is going to hell in a handbasket (at least looking at how immodestly do people dress where I live), we must start changing the world by enforcing modesty in our Catholic schools, Catholic churches, Catholic clinics and hospitals, universities, and at all the other Catholic employers and institutions. We can’t be the light of the world, and the salt of the earth, as long as we don’t put our own house in order.

Brigham Young University in Provo (Utah) has a dress code, and it’s strictly enforced. We should learn from the Mormons, and from our own Catholic tradition. If dress codes could be strictly enforced in the Catholic schools of the 1950s, they can be enforced in 2011 as well. We only need to step up to the plate. We all need to speak up against immodesty, starting with our Catholic churches and continuing with the schools and other institutions.

 

[Gearoidin]

I agree shouldn’t we be teaching girls to be proud of being feminine, and to have the self confidence and self respect to dress modestly ?

Make no mistake girls will find a way to make pants / trousers imodest anyway.

Also whatever they choose to wear out of school or later in life they should at least know how to ‘wear’ a skirt.

We had fully pleated skirts which constantly flipped up when it was windy, and were difficult to ride a bicycle in. My old school started allowing girls to wear pants about 15 years ago and so far, they have not found a way to make them less modest. They are loose fitting dress pants. Students are not allowed to alter them to make the legs tight. They are certainly not a masculine style of pants and the girls can look feminine in them. Of course, girls can choose to wear a skirt instead but the school now insists that the girls wear pants if they ride a bicycle to school.

 

[Gearoidin]

First of all, I think a lot of people would think that girls in pants is not very feminine.

Second, there’s the issue, as noted above, of Mass. These are Catholic schools so (hopefully) there is Mass at least once a week. Dress uniform would almost always mean skirts for the girls.

And third, putting the girls in pants just dodges the issue, not solve it. The goal is to teach the girls the value of dressing modestly. Eliminating skirts doesn’t teach them anything.

Pants can look feminine and be modest. It all depends on the cut. My old school allows the girls to choose between a skirt or pants which is now quite normal in many companies. Skirt length must touch the top of their knees but unfortunately it is still a fully pleated skirt that is difficult to control when it is windy. Their dress uniform allows for both. I know some of the teachers, parents and students are arguing for a more business style skirt but keeping it knee length. Learning to wear such a skirt while getting in and out of cars, sitting on a stage etc might be more useful for the girls than what they can learn from their present style of skirt.
BTW, I don’t think if is common for students to attend Mass weekly in Ireland with their schools. We didn’t in the late 1970s to 1980s and my mother didn’t during the late 1940 and 1950s.
Gearoidin

 

[MissRose73]

Pants can look feminine and be modest. It all depends on the cut. My old school allows the girls to choose between a skirt or pants which is now quite normal in many companies. Skirt length must touch the top of their knees but unfortunately it is still a fully pleated skirt that is difficult to control when it is windy. Their dress uniform allows for both. I know some of the teachers, parents and students are arguing for a more business style skirt but keeping it knee length. Learning to wear such a skirt while getting in and out of cars, sitting on a stage etc might be more useful for the girls than what they can learn from their present style of skirt.
BTW, I don’t think if is common for students to attend Mass weekly in Ireland with their schools. We didn’t in the late 1970s to 1980s and my mother didn’t during the late 1940 and 1950s.
Gearoidin

My mother remembers going to Mass a few times a month at least with her school mates in the 1950’s in the USA. I am sure the nuns made sure the students were dressed correctly head to toe in addition to being well behaved at school & at Mass.

I would say if a skirt or a dress for a girls uniform is preferred, make sure its long enough & a style that makes it hard to shorten it. Too bad the school can’t do a basic uniform checks when students arrive to school, and if the skirt/dress doesn’t at least reach the knee, the student will have to serve a detention for a dress code infraction unless they can prove that they did not short their skirt/dress. I am not asking for the length of skirt/dress be what St. Padre Pio insisted on for women who came to confess to him: 8 inches below the knees but knee length is acceptable enough for Catholic Schools and for attending Mass in school uniform. I would hope that manufacturers of uniforms understand that kids are not tiny like the past, and have spurts of growth with height and/or weight increases.