Thursday, May 1, 2008

Proper School Attire (Owl Optional)


I was perusing through some of the literature from the parent meeting at the junior high school and came across the following items in the dress code section:

2. No bare midriffs or chest. Clothes shall conceal undergarments at all times. See-through or fish-net fabrics, tank tops, halter tops, spaghetti straps, off-the-shoulder or low cut tops and bare midriffs are prohibited. Boys and girls shirts must have sleeves.

3. No excessively baggy or sagging pants/shorts are allowed. Pants and shorts must be worn at the waist. Belt tips may not hang. Pants and shorts with tears and holes are not permitted. Sleepwear (pajamas, etc.) may not be worn.

At first I was like "Really? No tank tops or spaghetti straps?". Because most sun dresses are the spaghetti strap variety and this is southern California; it gets hot. And I was flabbergasted that prohibiting sleepwear even needed to be said. Who wore their jammies to school? It's like the warning on a bottle of Windex: Do not spray in eyes. Who's that confused? Just seems like an unnecessary instruction. But then I recalled taking some evening courses at the local junior college and there were girls who showed up in pajama bottoms and SLIPPERS. So I guess the rule is warranted.

I also recalled the time that Mr. Farklepants and I were waiting in line at the movies and a minivan opened its sliding door and several 13-14 year old girls spilled out. They were all wearing big baggy sweatshirts. The instance the vehicle was out of sight, ALL of the girls removed their sweatshirts to reveal, well, a whole lot more than a girl that age should. One girl who was not related to this particular group was walking around in a skirt so short that it came just to where her ass met her thighs and she literally had to hold it down while walking. This was just before we found out we were pregnant with Girl-Child. Because we said, and I quote, "Maybe it's a good thing we don't have a girl". And then BAM, he slipped me the Extra Strength Estrogen sperm. Not right there in line because it was awkward what with holding the popcorn and drinks in that flimsy cardboard box they give you; but later as in eventually.

Where was I going with this?

Oh yeah. Dress code. Gonna have to give it a big thumbs up!

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember early morning classes in college where girls would come in wearing their jammies... they usually smelled like a brewery too though.

dkuroiwa said...

I'm laughing here...and shaking my head. The whole "presto-chang-o" thing that girls do is an international phenom!!
I used to work in a private girls school and the rules about uniforms are quite strict. I happened to be in the post office, which was down the road from our school, one afternoon when a group of girls came in and went directly into the restroom. They didn't see me (they really weren't paying attention!!) and when they came out (in a fog of really cheap smelling perfume), had it not been for the uniform jackets, I would not have recognized them. Skirts pulled up to barely there, make-up (which is a BIG no-no for HS students) and they had done something to their hair that I can't even begin to imagine the process it took! Thank goodness there just happened to be another teacher there also who saw them and busted 'em good!!
I'm wondering though....where the hell would they have gone had they not been caught?!?!
I think I'll just go and give extra kisses to my sweet little boys right now!!

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

We are having an ongoing battle over a pair fo shorts with Social Butterfly--we say they're too short--she says "nonsense, when you're 5'6, 107 and your legs go up to your chin you should get to where whatever you want."

I'm tired and am leaving it to the school to bust her. Not my ususal m.o. but this falls under the "picking your battles category."

Madge said...

those darn flimsy popcorn boxes, they ruin all the fun.

calicobebop said...

Too funny. I've seen girls walking around in their Old Navy pj bottoms - and I know they're ON because I own them! Stacy and Clinton would faint.

Actually, it would be kind of interesting to see what Stacy and Clinton came up with in the way of school dress-codes wouldn't it?

OHmommy said...

Thumbs up for dress codes. We were thinking about private schools JUST for the uniforms. :)

Suburban Correspondent said...

Anna sprayed herself in the eyes with Windex when she was 2. But she couldn't read at the time.

Anonymous said...

Oh man. How sad is it that a school has to actually POST such rules? I mean, really.

scargosun said...

Wearing pjs out of the house and in public is a BIG pet peeve of mine. The dress code section of a school handbook is usually very funny because they keep having to add specific rules to keep up with the kids. I remember that the guys could not fold over and roll up their pants. I also remember that we used to roll up our skirts to make them shorter and we wore boxers underneath. They had to address the code so that you could not see the boxers under the skirts. Ah memories.

Laski said...

I kept a bunch of XXL old t-shirts in my desk drawer after my first year of teaching high school. Why? At first I thought it was horrible to infringe on individuality with a dress code. But, after my first year--Forget it! The super tight pants, super short shorts, low cut tops, super tight baby t-shirts--YIKES!

I must have handed out dozens of those t-shirts for the girls to cover themselves with . . . I think it was around then I started to think like a mom . . . .

Allison said...

You never fail to make me smile. I love reading your blog.

MommyTime said...

Yes, those girls in pj's and slippers come to my classes (I teach college) all the time. I adore Laskigal's solution of handing out giant t-shirts to cover too-small clothes! That's genius.

barbra said...

I used to teach 7th and 12th grade at a private school, and they would wear pajama pants and slippers under their uniform skirts all the time. We finally had to make a rule about it.

Also, we live across the street from the public high school and yesterday saw our neighbor's daughter walking to school in pajama pants.

The tank top rule seems odd - but fine. The world will not end if one can't wear a tank top to school! :-)

AutoSysGene said...

And then BAM, he slipped me the Extra Strength Estrogen sperm. Not right there in line because it was awkward what with holding the popcorn and drinks in that flimsy cardboard box they give you; but later as in eventually.

OMG, ROFLMAO!!!

Anonymous said...

I wish our schools would do uniforms. It would simplify life.

I think you could condense all of the dress code rules into one:

'You may not dress like you would accept $20 to do a blow job'

-Stu

Fannie said...

catholic.school.uniforms.ROCK!

Tempered Woman said...

hmm, to be completely honest if I couldn't wear my pj's to my morning classes in college I probably would never have made it through. But hell, I pretty much felt like they should just be impressed I made it in at all that early in the morning.

EatPlayLove said...

Hello, teenagers around here wear pj's all the time, grocery store, Target, Mall..I am like, honey where are your clothes?

It's a very bad trend.

Woman in a Window said...

As your blog was coming up on my screen and the picture of Harry Potter wasn't quite clear yet I thought, "Oh, cute, her son looks like Harry Potter." Sorry. I'm a little disappointed now, but I love the scarf!

Karen said...

I am ever so grateful to our school for the dress code. My daughter was just on the brink of modesty rebellion when we enrolled them in school. Their rules are that shorts and skirts must meet the end of the fingertips when arms are stretched straight down at your sides, and tank tops must be 2 finger widths at the shoulder. I no longer have to fight the battle, I just say it's school rules.

Anonymous said...

A's school has a wonky dress code and I'm totally behind it 100%. My favorite days as a teacher were when the jocks had to dress up for games. Boys don't screw around when they're wearing ties, so class was remarkably peaceful.

Anonymous said...

As the mom of one daughter and 2 boys I have to say ... the boys can't concentrate at that age if the girls show up to class in lingerie. And some try to!

Madame Queen said...

I remember in high school we had a rule that your skirt had to be at least as long as the the tips of your fingers if you were holding your arms down by your sides. If you were very tall and had short arms, it could be a very short skirt indeed. They finally changed the rule to no shorter than one inch above the knee, but I remember clearly the day that Miss Goody Two Shoes got sent home -- and no, I'm not talking about myself!!

Extra strength estrogen sperm -- girl, you are too funny!

Texasholly said...

Thank you for clarifying because I know how messy that popcorn and drinks can get.

So if the owl is optional, what about the scarf because that seems a big excessive for SoCal heat.

Minnesota Matron said...

Yes. I'm with you. I am flabbergasted by the ten-year olds with Princess on their bottoms, actually. And the pants hanging to the knees? Pull those up, boys! The schools we're considering for our junior high guy all of similar dress codes. Yes, it's a good thing, even in California. They can wear those spaghetti strap tops later.

katydidnot said...

ooooh. calico has it right, get stacy and clinton on it, and we'll all be saved from the thong sticking out of the tooooo low jeans phenom.

Jennifer S said...

I wish we had uniforms at our school. It would be much easier. Our dress code is pretty much the same.

Stu's idea makes a lot of sense.

Backpacking Dad said...

Now that I have a daughter I'm all kinds of in favour of dress-codes.

Full-plate armour or mummy wrap? Yes please.

Suburbia said...

I can't believe anyone goes out wearing their PJ's unless it's a bare knuckle ride to accident and emergency!

Wineplz said...

so THAT's how I get knocked up with a girl!

JCK said...

I'm thinking YES to the dress code. It's gotten way out of control. Too bad parents don't have their kids with a dress code, too.

Very funny on Mr. F slipping you the girl sperm. I was afraid of having a girl and...there you go.

Jody said...

Yup, thumbs up for the dress code.

I kinda like the owl...... ;*)

stephanie said...

Frankly, I welcome a dress code not only to save my eyes from yet another peek at boys' underwear & girls' whatnot, but also to make it less difficult for me to figure out what to wear each day, too.

I daresay I'd even take the owl.