Did your school have a dress code?

23 comments

1. I went to several different schools in several different states growing up, none had a dress code

2. Midwest here no dress code unless you went to a private school that required you to do so.

3. I went to public schools that did not have a dress code, private schools that had a uniform, and private schools that had a dress code like casual slacks but not jeans, collared shirts, no athletic shoes.

4. I think most (all?) schools have a dress code. Which is different from a school uniform. The former is just a list of prohibited clothing while the latter is a specific set of clothing that must be worn by students.

   My school had a dress code that prohibited things like offensive t-shirts, bare midriff, spaghetti straps, short skirts, etc.

   It was loosely and inconsistently enforced, but it was there.

   In 7th grade, a girl was sent home for dying her hair red (because gangs or whatever). Bandanas were also prohibited at that school.

5. Yep. No bare midriffs or shimmel shirts. No trench coats, no shorts that didn’t come to the knee.

6. My school did but they are basically “girls must wear clothing that covers x amount of skin”

7. Yeah it was pretty relaxed but things like short skirts and pajamas were not allowed

8. I went to public schools on Long Island in the 70s/early 80s. I don’t recall any dress codes except most teachers did not allow wearing hats in class.

   Funny thing … in 9th grade our principal commented on how pretty the feather roach clips hanging off my bag were. I am pretty sure she didn’t know what they were used for, lol

9. It’s generally very relaxed but there are limits. Individual schools may prohibit certain fashions they perceive as a problem. I remember spaghetti straps were not allowed in our local public school. Here’s an article about a variety of dress codes in Chicago Public Schools:

   https://www.chicagotribune.com/investigations/ct-dress-codes-chicago-public-schools-cps-20220525-us6ohh6kzfb73civjlf22ujpf4-htmlstory.html

10. The three b’s. No boobs, butts or bellies was the general rule.

11. So I’m the outlier that actually had uniforms in a public school. In fact the whole school district had uniforms. And one school I went to had a dress code that requires business casual attire for everyone including students before they got uniforms.

12. We had a dress code. Couldn’t wear jerseys with certain numbers on them (13, 18, gang associated numbers basically). Bottom of shorts had to touch the tips of your fingers. No tank tops and spaghetti straps. It goes further, but these are the basics really.

13. > When I say dress code, I mean a list of things that were unacceptable to wear.

    I’d be shocked if *any* public school was “wear whatever you want, no restrictions at all”.

14. My school only limited girls’ dress to shorts being in excess of fingertip-length. Generally speaking, no printed expletives on clothing

15. I find it hard to believe that any school would have no dress code. The people saying they didn’t have one, probably just didn’t know about it. If you showed up in a speedo or a bikini, they would have you change.

16. 1980s high school – no official dress code but we did have the preps, jocks and stoner styles.

17. For reference, I was in High School in the late 00s and early 10s. There was a dresscode but it was pretty lenient. For example you couldn’t wear anything deemed offensive, for example a graphic T with something raunchy written on it. I believe there were also standards for short shorts, but this wasn’t enforced much because a lot of the girls wore really skimpy shorts.

18. I know my school does but it is different than a uniform just basically no showing shoulders and kindve iffy on tight leggings. Doesn’t every school have one too?

19. Up until the 6th grade we didn’t have a dress code. Then the Columbine massacre happened. After that our school district implemented a strict dress code. They still have it to this day, 20 years later. Btw this is a public school

20. School I went to was no jeans, no t-shirts. Short sleeved polo shirts were pretty standard. But also no visible logos, “loud” patterns, etc.

21. Yes, we had a strict dress code. And the school enforced it. If your shorts or skirt were too short, you got sent home.

22. I think that there are a lot of very lenient dress codes in schools, where students don’t even realize there is a dress code. I was lucky to go to one of those schools. Ours was pretty simple, basically no nudity, obscenities, drugs or alcohol were allowed on your clothing.

    I went to highschool when baggy pants that showed boxers were in fashion, as well as showing off one’s thong. I am pretty sure students were told to pull up their pants in these cases, but don’t think anyone was ever sent home or to detention as long as they stopped displaying their underwear.

    I don’t think we had any rules about shorts/skirt lengths or strap width for tops. This was 2000-2004 for reference.

23. Yes, we had to have at least two finger with on shoulders, no tank tops. No crop tops, shorts had to be as long as our hands held at our sides. Guys weren’t allowed chain walkers as it could be a weapon, none of those white shirts called wife-beaters. None of your cloths could be see through. Guys where required to keep their pants pulled up. They couldn’t show there boxes.

    At one time it was suggested we just have uniforms, I know a public school three or four towns over had uniforms, an be the private school did as well.