School Dress Codes

[Stella]

R.I. school bans all fashions kids like
EAST GREENWICH, Conn., Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A Rhode Island high school enacted a dress code Wednesday, banning almost everything teenagers like wearing, the Providence (R.I) Journal reported.

The East Greenwich High School, south of Providence, now bans any kind of hat, visible underwear, bare midriffs, ripped jeans, spike-studded bracelets and collars, and to the dismay of many of the girls, spaghetti-strap tops, the newspaper said.

Meg Baird, 16, told the Journal she could understand the visible underwear ban, but said no spaghetti-straps was going too far.

"They have restricted way too much," she said. "Girls like to wear spaghetti-straps and that's what is in all the stores."

The new taboos join previous bans on see-through clothing, mini-skirts and shirts whose slogans promote drugs, alcohol, smoking, violence or sexual activity, the newspaper said.

Personally, I think that this is rediculous. And not from the side you might expect. When I was in high school (and it wasn't THAT long ago) we weren't allowed to wear any of these things either!! Who cares?! In addition, we were not allowed to wear tank tops, halter tops, or skirts/shorts more than 2" above the knee. And guess what, it was no big deal.

I don't think that there is any reason for kids to dress like mini-Britney's when in school. It is supposed to be a place for learning, not getting laid. Give me a break.[/quote]

[DCJenn]

Holy Crap- My mother would have sent me right back upstairs to dress again had I worn spaghetti straps to school.

All of San Antonio schools require uniforms and I think it's just fine. The high school uniforms are khaki pants or skirts (to the knee or longer) and polo type shirts- either purple or white (the school colors). Band also wears khakis and polos- MUCH smarter than those ridiculous hats with plumes when it's generally over 90 degrees for the first half of football season!

Jenn

[Gwendolyn]

Yeah uniforms! I completely agree that all of teh above banned items seem to me like common sense. I wiore a uniform all through highschool and actually loved it, but I went to one of those feminist all-girls schools

[Vishenka69]

I don't see what the big deal about the ban is either. Although my high school allowed anything short of a bathing suit, my junior high had limitations and I wore a uniform in elementary. NYC public schools don't have AC and in the summer it gets pretty bad, but I don't think RI schools have similar problems.

I don't know of any high school where i'm from that allows you to wear your own clothes to school. I think my mother would have gone demented washing everyday clothes all the time and having to finance them.

MY school was so strict about uniforms, because we had white shirts if we took off our jumper it had to go around you shoulders because you might getting the boys too excited, now thats the extreme and i do think pathetic rules like that were ridiculas, especially as that it was an all girls school with only 2 men on the teaching staff out of 55 teachers. we also had rules like our top button wasn't allowed to be undone and if it was you have to make sure your tie was covering it so no one saw, our skirts had to be belowknee lenght, you weren't allowed to wear any other jacket other than a school uniform blazer, and believe me its useless in the rain, and god help you if you were caught smoking or walking home through the boys school in your uniform (walking through the boys school and out the back gate took 15 mins off my walk home from school, I swear!!)

[KCwife]

deleted to protect my childs identity

[Sheherezade]

We've got the same type of dress code here. Recently, they've added the *suggestion* that parents not send their children in clogs or sandels that might lead to foot injuries in the playground. That seems reasonable.

I think kids have too much freedom these days in acceptable dress. Now that it's getting reeled back in, they are freaking out. Still, it's gone way to far. It's time for a little correction. (Before my daughter hits dating age! :> )

It's time for a little correction. (Before my daughter hits dating age! :> )

My thoughts exactly!

I think it would be fine if they wear the spaghetti strap tops (camisoles, right?) UNDER another shirt. But I'd be worried if the teenagers didn't complain and just went along with it. They're teenagers!

It's time for a little correction. (Before my daughter hits dating age! :> )

No kidding! It makes me feel old, but I cannot believe the things girls are wearing these days! I was at a summer fair w/a friend who had a 1.5 year old daughter and we were just sick by what these LITTLE girls had on. She said "If this keeps up, by the time my daughter is in high school, they'll probably just be wearing pasties and a g-string!"

One reason to be happy I only have boys (for the moment).

[PrincessFiona]

There was a day when I thought uniforms stifled a child's creative ability to choose their clothes. Now, I wish that we had a uniform policy. I drooled over the blue skirts/white tops etc at Kohl's this season....

Why?

It's begun about the Etna or Etny or whatever shoes that "everyone" has that Amanda now has to have or won't be cool or acceptable to be seen in middle school (5th grade). Her pants have to be from the "Children's Place" or she might as well show up neckade to school, cuz you know...like...anything else is just...like...too weird.

And my daughter isn't even in the "in" crowd. I shudder to think what those parents are shoveling out for clothes and shoes.

But here is part of a sobering little essay that I found tucked under my daugther's pillow yesterday morning:

"I'm going through so much and no one understands. Now I cry every second I'm alone. I can't go through what I went through last year, I just can't. I hate the girl world. I hate fashion and whenever you don't have what (they) have, you feel lost. The popular girls are so mean. I hate girl world. Why can't eveyrone just be nice and get along? What's happening to my life?"

So....I think there are definitely issues that are trickeling down in regards to fashion/cliquiness/popularity...and I do think it is all related. We have the cash to shovel out on $75 shoes, but I won't do it (and she hates me for it). I have tried to tell her that her worth as a person is not defined by the shoes she wears, etc...but she just can't understand that.

kris