dress codes

[kellyann]

does your school have a dress code? do you think there should be a dress code? tell your oppinion!!

 

[Roselander]

We’re lucky: my kids go to Catholic high school where they have to wear uniforms. My husband teaches in a public high school, and there is a dress code there, but I don’t know how strict it is.
I definitely think there should be dress codes in schools–even in the workplace. When I go shopping with my teen-age daughter, I am appalled at the immodest clothes they’re featuring for girls.

 

[JMJ_Pinoy]

I’m in college now, so I don’t have to worry about dress code. But I had to wear uniform from second or third grade until I graduated high school. My elementary, middle, and high schools all required students to wear uniforms. And they were all public schools! But I guess that I didn’t really mind wearing uniforms, even in high school, since I had gotten used to wearing them for so long.

 

[MelanieAnne]

School uniforms are a blessing, no matter what sort of school ~ public or private ~ they are used in. Uniforms put the focus on learning and not on all the myriad of things that regular clothes inject into the environment. They are a good thing.

Melanie

 

[BlestOne]

School uniforms are a blessing, no matter what sort of school ~ public or private ~ they are used in. Uniforms put the focus on learning and not on all the myriad of things that regular clothes inject into the environment. They are a good thing.

Melanie

AMEN!!!

When my oldest went to kindergarten, the only rule about clothing was no Homer Simpson tee’s because they didn’t like the attitude. Them my kids went to public schools for a few years. There were so many problems even at grade school level. Girls wearing makeup in 3rd grade, belly shirts, tight tight clothes (not from out growing the clothes, bought new that way). After some trouble with the schools, I sent my kids to Catholic grade school with uniforms. They were so strict about the brand and exact style of the uniform that they sent home an “authorized dealer” list! I was surprised to find that my kids liked uniforms especially my middle independent individualistic child. Getting ready for school took all of 5 minutes to dress, 5 minutes to eat and 2-3 mins on teeth and hair. Ahhhh…those were the days! Now I have a son in college, a son in public HS and a daughter in Catholic HS. Oldest son is enjoying wearing what he wants to school (he went to Catholic HS) and tends to dress like he is a GQ model. Next son wears tee’s or hoodies and jeans everyday and has always liked the “grunge” look. He isn’t impressed or really even influenced by what other kids wear, but tells me most of the girls dress like ho’s. DD on the other hand, has restricted dress. They don’t have “uniforms” but the have to wear khaki pants or skirts and their choice of white oxford(required on mass day with school tie), white or green polos with school logo ironed on and a green fleece school pull over if it is chilly. What I like most though is… brown or black LEATHER shoes and belts required. This is girls and boys… looks so much more put together! Unfortunately, some of the girls really try to find the lowest hip hugging tight khaki’s they can find and the tightest tops they can. But I must say at least most of them don’t look like little tramps the way the public school girls do.

I think all schools should have uniforms or restricted dress. It is less distraction from school work. And getting dressed in the morning is a snap! It doesn’t have to be ugly uniforms. One public school I saw had the kids wear school colors Blue pants and gold polo’s with school logo. kids still got to pick their style of pants as long as they were navy blue. Different clubs had authorized polo’s too which really just had a slightly different logo or they could choose white polo’s, and they looked nice. It also encouraged kids to join different clubs or teams to get out of wearing the typical polo.

 

[chevalier]

There was no dress code for me, although too explicit stuff was frowned upon and students might have been asked to change. As a rule, there was no freaking out about singular or obviously not premeditated instances… they were pretty reasonable about it. However, extreme deviations from what’s socially acceptable would have been addressed.

I believe dress code should be there, if not necessarily uniforms. If uniforms, then they should in no way be demeaning. For example, they should be respectable uniformes made out of quality fabrics and with an elegant cut. No potato sack garbs, recycled synthetic fabrics, infantile designs (compulsory shorts, 100 years overdue hats and that kind of ****) or anything in any way demeaning.

As for dress-code, well. My ideas are:

1. No bare bellies.
2. Cleavage limit.
3. No underwear exposure whatsoever. Accidental spaghetti straps in the summer are obviously not the same as thong lines displayed on purpose, but underwear contains “under”.
4. Transparency limit. It’s not like I actually care, and I don’t call anyone on a quest for perfect opacity, but underwear shouldn’t be visible through a blouse. I don’t mean bra lines, but when you can make out the knit pattern, it’s most probably not good.
5. No tight stuff, especially not those stocking-like tight trousers. Thighs are not an overgarment.
6. No ostensible flaunting of designer marks. Kids can be cruel about that.

 

[lak611]

1. No underwear exposure whatsoever. Accidental spaghetti straps in the summer are obviously not the same as thong lines displayed on purpose, but underwear contains “under”.

This should apply to the boys, too. No trousers sagging so far down that their undershorts are showing.

 

[lizaanne]

School uniforms are a blessing, no matter what sort of school ~ public or private ~ they are used in. Uniforms put the focus on learning and not on all the myriad of things that regular clothes inject into the environment. They are a good thing.

Melanie

You get an amen from me too on this! I think that with the over emphasis on designer this and that, and the competition it provokes, it’s just too disruptive to the learning environment.

I’m all for girl only and boy only schools too for the much the same distraction reasons.

~Liza

 

[Teakafrog]

You get an amen from me too on this! I think that with the over emphasis on designer this and that, and the competition it provokes, it’s just too disruptive to the learning environment.

Me too! My son is in parochial school this year and it is wonderful! We bought 5 identical outfits, one for each day of the week, and we were done! (Well, we did buy a few long-sleeve shirts for winter too). Much less expensive, no fights over what to wear in the mornings, and I know the girls in his class will be dressed appropriately too. When he was in public school, oy vey! The boys looked like gangsters and the girls like, well, like they were already engaged in the world’s oldest profession. Sigh. No problems like that anymore with uniforms!

 

[PaulaB52]

My kids are in Catholic school, so they have uniforms. White shirt with school emblam, blue pants, dark colored atheletic shoes. Little girls wear the jumper with white shirt under, when the girls get to 4th grade, they wear the plaid skirts & white shirts. Girls can’t wear make up or color their hair (goes for boys too).

I really like them wearing uniforms. It helps to figure out what to wear, what to buy, etc. The only thing I don’t like is the white shirt. They get so dingy and stained up by the end of the year.

 

[KCT]

16 yr old dd is in a homeschool co-op. They tried to have a loose dress code - shirts w/ collars, no sweat pants etc.

Kids were wearing shirts w/o collars, low cut jeans etc, so for this school year, blue polo shirts were required, along with the no sweat pants rule. Shirt had to cover the top of your pants so no undercloths would show

As you can imagine, kids are pushing the envelope! Next year it will be blue polos and khaki pants. I have no problem with it. The kids don’t like it, but if they had worn what they were supposed to, there wouldn’t be an issue.

When I taught in a private school 20+ years ago, the kids could wear regular clothes on school picture day. They spent the entire day discussing how much their jeans and sneakers cost! No kidding.

Thumbs up for uniforms here! —KCT

 

[chevalier]

This should apply to the boys, too. No trousers sagging so far down that their undershorts are showing.

Definitely.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to be a Nazi cracking down on every isntance of accidental exposure, but accidents should be avoided and intentional exposure is out of line.

 

[lizaanne]

The only thing I don’t like is the white shirt. They get so dingy and stained up by the end of the year.

I sing the praises of good ol’ Clorox bleach! My ex used to wear white polo and t-shirts with the company logo on them every day, and I had the same problem. Bleach is a blessing for those!! And for stains, Spray and Wash Stain Stick (not the liquid), let it sit for a day then wash.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

~Liza

 

[vluvski]

My little brother’s public school requires collared shirts and forbids jeans and shorts.
The kids look great, and none of the little girls look like prepubescent sex dolls. I also think the way you dress can effect your attitude. I remember being made over by one of my iffy neighbors and suddenly feeling rebellious and sassy.

 

[Morning_Star15]

This should apply to the boys, too. No trousers sagging so far down that their undershorts are showing.

This reminds me of my high school days - I went to a Catholic high school where we wore uniforms, and part of the uniform policy was that pants had to be worn at the waist. Of course some guys would walk around with their pants halfway down their thighs and teachers and administrators would always be telling them to pull them up. I had a situation like this in my Grade 9 English class, where a guy would wear his pants too low with his boxers showing through, and the teacher would make him pull them up all the time. Well, one day this guy got into an argument with a girl in the class while we were doing group work, and when the guy stood up to go somewhere, the girl pulled his pants down and exposed his boxers to the whole class!

The teacher saw this and told him, “You should have worn your pants properly, and she wouldn’t have been able to pull them down like that.”

The moral of the story: wearing pants at the waist is a very good idea for male students!

 

[Island_Oak]

I MISS SCHOOL UNIFORMS!!!

Our kids, now in public school,have a “dress code” but as far as the boy it allows thing far sloppier shall we say than I’d prefer. As far as keeping fashions in check, girls are required to have hemlines that fall below their fingertips, no spaghetti-strap tops, no bare midrift, no exposed undergarments or cleavage. From what I’ve seen in practice, though, one can comply with the letter of the code and still be in very form fitting attire.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

My granddaughters recently accompanied me to a fabric store. All the lady asked me was, “What are you making?”, a common question when purchasing fabric. Unbidden, the girls told her (one for each line- they talk that way) that we were making outfits for a play, but that they wore uniforms to school, that the uniforms showed what school they attended, that they liked their uniforms, that they weren’t dirty in the moring the way they were now, and that EVERYBODY wore a uniform at their school. The big one also told the poor woman that uniforms were good, because then everybody looked the same, nobody else was better than any body else, and they all had more time to learn.

 

[Mommyof02green]

Our kids go to public schools. This is the dress code straight from the student/parent handbook.
Student/Parent Handbook from my children's school:

Students are expected to wear appropriate clothing to school. Student dress is expected to be in accordance with the principles of good taste, discretion, proper etiquette and appropriate decorum. Corrective action regarding dress will be taken whenever student attire or grooming presents a threat to school and/or classroom decorum, creates a distraction to other students or teachers, interferes with the learning atmosphere or jeopardizes the health and/or safety of other students or staff. The principal of the primary level may use his or her discretion in enforcing the following rules:

1. Hats, caps, and other head coverings are not to be worn in school
2. Coats and jackets (outer wear) are not to be worn during school.
3. Clothing with profanity, obscenity, and or displays of words, pictures, or symbols associated with alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gangs or sex will NOT be allowed.
4. Shoes must be worn at all times except as authorized by a staff member.
5. The entire middle of the body MUST be covered, sides as well as front and back. All shorts/pants/skirts MUST be worn with the waistband at the waist.
6. All clothing MUST be at least at mid-thigh in length.
7. Sleeveless shirts NOT less then 2 inches wide at the shoulder. Tube tops, Lycra shorts, and the like may NOT be worn. Loosely woven shirts can ONLY be worn over another shirt.
8. Students who artificially color their hair or wear their hair in such a way as to distract from the education of others or disrupts the school or educational activities of the school will be sent home to have the coloring removed. Additional consequences may be issued at the administrator’s discretion.

Not only does the school have these rules but they are ENFORCED!!! Thank God!! And if I ever went to the school and saw a child dress was not inline with the current dress code I would asking some questions. In my neck of the woods and the beginning of the year every parent gets an hand book and has to sign a paper saying they read and understood it. Therefore, I don’t having a problem says the handbook said this is the rules: Why was this child allowed to wear this today?

 

[lak611]

I sing the praises of good ol’ Clorox bleach! My ex used to wear white polo and t-shirts with the company logo on them every day, and I had the same problem. Bleach is a blessing for those!! And for stains, Spray and Wash Stain Stick (not the liquid), let it sit for a day then wash.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

~Liza

Bluing is also good for white clothes.

 

[Fidelia]

I haven’t read the whole thread, but I went to public school all my life. No uniforms, not even much of a dress code. There were some rules, something about spaghetti straps… I don’t remember. They weren’t enforced. Girls walked around in disgusting outfits. I am now in favor of schools having dress codes. And they should be enforced. Especially with how much pressure is put on how you look by peers and how much peers judge you by your clothes. Who needs that?