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Awesome Student Organization

By Austin Faber

Growing up in the 50s there was always a high standard of clothing standards wherever you went. At church, a female wore skirts and blouses or a sweater top and dresses. A male wore suits. Going out to dinner was a chance to get “gussied up” and you wore your “Sunday go to meeting” clothes or something even nicer, special. It might even be an occasion to buy something new.

Schools had strict dress codes. If your skirt looked too short, you were sent to the girl’s dean. You would then kneel on a chair and if your hemline did not reach the top of the chair, you were sent home. If you were a guy, no cuffs were allowed, tee shirts needed something over them and you had to wear a belt. Oh yes, the belt went around the waist, not below the butt.

Then came Sonny and Cher, Madonna, and Lady Gaga. In the 60’s, the emergence of bell-bottoms, bandanas and bare midriffs came into being, but never at school.

Restrictions became tougher and young men were kicked out of school for wearing dark brown pants that had a dark paisley print on them. It became a rebellious time. Twiggy was in and skirts became shorter and shorter. The school system did not want to change their standards and in an attempt to make equal ground, the girls rolled their skirts up at the waist and rolled them down when the Dean or a tight nosed teacher was around. It was “make love, not war, Woodstock and the English Invasion.” The schools started easing up on dress codes, as parents were now fighting for their children’s right of freedom of choice and self expression.

In a last ditch attempt, the churches loosened their standards on dressing, to bring the “flock” back home and allowed teens to come to church in anything they wanted to wear. It was then the schools lost total control on dressing standards.

While all these dress issues were going on in schools and church, changes were minimal in the workplace. The dress code standard had always been demanding, but simple –Suits for women and suits for men (including a tie). Although jean Fridays or casual Fridays are now in place in many businesses,

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in general there is still a decorum, which represents respect, for one’s self and place of employment.

Some of the dressing standards today can be written off as a “fad’, like all the Madonna and Lady Gaga wannabes and can be tolerated for short periods of time.

You have probably figured out I am not your average 19 through early 20 year old student. I love clothes and fashion trends. I’m not calling for a return of the dress code of when I was in school, but is there a middle ground?

There is a point in time, when students need to go to work and current or lack of school dress codes do not address the issue of dress standards in the workplace. The $150 a pair, torn across the leg, from groin to foot jeans are appropriate for clubbing, but not school and definitely not on most jobs.

I am just saying, really, how short should shorts be on a school campus? Should you even be allowed to wear them? Does your cleavage have to show down to your navel? Why are exposed midriffs tolerated, especially in the case of enthusiastic overeaters?

Hey men, do you really think you are attractive wearing, too low, too baggy pants, with 5 inches of underwear showing? Oh please! Only a year ago, a young man was thrown off an airplane because of baggy pants and underwear showing. There are dress standards in the real world.

There needs to be a dress code across the public school systems. It has to be clear cut, easily defined. History has to be recalled and standards in the school system, need to identify this major issue as a missing link in preparing young adults for the working world.

I’m sharing with you as a manager and owner of my own business, for thirty-five years. I’m telling you, what you wear and how you wear it matters! It is a tough world out there and your lack of dress etiquette will cost you the job. So pull up your pants and let your hems down. The real world is waiting for you.