TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT APLOMB’s main focus is to get opinions from high school students about their dress codes, school fashion, and how it effects their lives. I interviewed and collected photos of four ninth grade students from Pittsburgh’s Creative And Performing Arts (CAPA) school on their views on the school’s dress code.
APLOMB: Who do you think is more effected by the dress code? CARMEL: Definitely girls. They have stricter codes! APLOMB: Have you ever been dress coded before? If so, how did it feel? CARMEL: Yes! I felt embarrased and humiliated. APLOMB: On a scale of 1-10 (10 being extreme, 1 being hardly anything) how strict do you feel the dress code is? Are you held back by it? CARMEL: At CAPA I’d say about a 3 or 4. They typically don’t dress code often unless their clothes contain offensive terms.
APLOMB: Who do you think is more effected by the dress code? CRYSTAL: I think girls are way (more) effected by the dress code. It’s more specified to make sure girls look “lady like” and up to beauty standards that adults have APLOMB: Have you ever been dress coded before? If so, how did it feel? CRYSTAL: I have been dress coded before and it feels embarrasing. Even if teachers try to be discreet, it really makes you feel uncomfortable. I mean I didn’t chose this body and it just happens that I have really big boobs. I can’t hide them so to bring attention to them is pointless. APLOMB: How do you feel when someone goes against the dress code? CRYSTAL: It usually doesn’t effect me much. I just want people to be comfortable and whatever makes them comfortable is cool for me. The only thing I don’t like is having shirts that show hate for something. People should be allowed to wear what they would like unless it offends a person on a deeper level.
APLOMB: On a scale from 1-10 (10 being extreme, 1 being hardly caring) how much do you think the teachers/staff care about the dress code? GRAYCE: Middle school (is a) 7, High school (is a) 3.5 APLOMB: If you could create your own dress code, what would be banned? What would you allow? GRAYCE: I would ban only see through clothes or clothes that purposely show off certain supposedly private areas. But otherwise spandex shorts and spaghetti straps are not bad, dude. APLOMB: On a scale of 1-10 (10 being yes completly, 1 being you couldn’t care less) how much do you care about the dress code? GRAYCE: 1. I barely pay any attention and it doesn’t bether me much because I don’t dress crazy
APLOMB: Should your dress code be more strict, relaxed, or stay the same? Why? ROBIN: The dress code should definitely be more relaxed. It unfairly targets girls and some of the rules are just plain stupid. APLOMB: Have you ever been dress coded before? If so, how did it feel? ROBIN: I’ve never been dress coded before at CAPA APLOMB: How do you feel when someone goes against the dress code? ROBIN: It literally doens’t effect me at all when people go againt the dress code. They should be able to wear what they want.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anika Weber is a teen writer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has a huge interest in fashion, poetry, and birding. She is in the literary arts program at Pittsburgh CAPA. She was about to sneeze when this picture was taken
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special Thanks To: Gregg and Tracey Weber Grayce Ransome Carmel Ricketts Crystal Anderson Robin Clement and Alison Harvill It’s been a blast working with you guys!