Dress Codes at DC area private schools

[Anonymous]

Other than schools that have a uniform, how are dress codes handled at your school?

When I was a kid (not in this area), we had rules like no torn clothes, no offensive graphics, no spaghetti straps, no midriff and maybe in middle school the thumb rule for shorts but no one was really measuring. No one was getting in trouble for a shirt that showed an inch of stomach when you raise your arms or three inches of your back when you sat down. Is this common at other private schools? How often are girls at your school getting in trouble for dress code violations? And what are the violations?

We're new to SSSAS lower school and hearing a lot from other parents with older kids about the dress code craziness (another thread).

[Anonymous]

Schools tend to enforce the rules. Some will send you home. Others will make parents bring clothes. It is typical that they enforce the rules. If they don’t, then why have them. And with kids, if you give an inch they take a mile. So midriff tops aren’t ok because if they girls bend over or jump or raise their hands, 5 inches of skin is showing. In my local episcopal school back in the day we could not wear shorts or any kind of denim. No tank tops and only shirts with a detailed color. No logos. No athletic or athlesure. If you broke the code, you sat in the office until your parents brought new clothes or the end of the day.

[Anonymous]

DC is at SSSAS US. It goes in cycles. For whatever reason, the admin has decided this is the hill they want to die on right now. The lengths they are going to are silly and the kids are annoyed by it, but life goes on. It’ll die down eventually.

[Anonymous]

The dress code seems enforced at my kid’s high school, and detentions are given when a student is “dress coded.” I’ve only ever heard of it for wearing sneakers on a dress up day or athletic wear; not sure if they make a kid cover up if they wear something like a crop top or tank top.

From what I can tell, schools don’t enforce skirt length.

[Anonymous]

DC now at a school with a dress code vs uniform and thankfully its pretty straightforward. They essentially have created a uniform for themselves (had an actual uniform in MS and LS) so it’s been a non issue. The kids coming from public school definitely got warned a lot during the first month and now that we are in month two the school is giving out actual punishments. I’m not entirely sure what that means but DC has mentioned so and so getting in trouble for XYZ.

[Anonymous]

My secular school's dress code for boys was and is: dress shirt and tie and chinos (no denim, no tradesman work clothes) and sneakers. In practice, chinos were always navy or khaki, and shirts were OCBDs, but that was not a school rule.

For girls it was the equivalent, except no tie. Skirts for girls had to be long. Girls could wear skirts or long pants (no capri). Boys were not allowed skirts.

For both boys and girls, no logos or branding of any sort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My secular school's dress code for boys was and is: dress shirt and tie and chinos (no denim, no tradesman work clothes) and sneakers. In practice, chinos were always navy or khaki, and shirts were OCBDs, but that was not a school rule.

For girls it was the equivalent, except no tie. Skirts for girls had to be long. Girls could wear skirts or long pants (no capri). Boys were not allowed skirts.

For both boys and girls, no logos or branding of any sort.

Well this is obviously extremely conservative by2025 standards!

[Anonymous]

Ours has no dress code at all and it's delightful. No one inspecting bodies. Frankly, they all wind up in in sweatpants and hoodies anyhow.

I prefer no dress code or a full uniform instead of teachers judging everyone's outfit every day to see if it meets the code.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ours has no dress code at all and it's delightful. No one inspecting bodies. Frankly, they all wind up in in sweatpants and hoodies anyhow.

I prefer no dress code or a full uniform instead of teachers judging everyone's outfit every day to see if it meets the code.

This. What is this so hard for St Stephen’s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ours has no dress code at all and it's delightful. No one inspecting bodies. Frankly, they all wind up in in sweatpants and hoodies anyhow.

I prefer no dress code or a full uniform instead of teachers judging everyone's outfit every day to see if it meets the code.

This. What is this so hard for St Stephen’s?

I think schools set themselves up for disaster with dress "codes". If you want to control what the kids wear, pick a uniform. If not, just let them wear what they want. Dress codes become a whole level of fighting and drama that takes energy and time away from everyone. It has never made sense to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ours has no dress code at all and it's delightful. No one inspecting bodies. Frankly, they all wind up in in sweatpants and hoodies anyhow.

I prefer no dress code or a full uniform instead of teachers judging everyone's outfit every day to see if it meets the code.

Agreed. Dress codes by their nature are sexist and body shaming (see, eg, the pp who doesn't want to see "chubby" girls' bodies). As long as there's no hate speech, it's all good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ours has no dress code at all and it's delightful. No one inspecting bodies. Frankly, they all wind up in in sweatpants and hoodies anyhow.

I prefer no dress code or a full uniform instead of teachers judging everyone's outfit every day to see if it meets the code.

Agreed. Dress codes by their nature are sexist and body shaming (see, eg, the pp who doesn't want to see "chubby" girls' bodies). As long as there's no hate speech, it's all good.

chubby is now "hate speech"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ours has no dress code at all and it's delightful. No one inspecting bodies. Frankly, they all wind up in in sweatpants and hoodies anyhow.

I prefer no dress code or a full uniform instead of teachers judging everyone's outfit every day to see if it meets the code.

Agreed. Dress codes by their nature are sexist and body shaming (see, eg, the pp who doesn't want to see "chubby" girls' bodies). As long as there's no hate speech, it's all good.

chubby is now "hate speech"?

When you use "chubby" to mean unattractive, then yes it is. Which is what PPP had written.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ours has no dress code at all and it's delightful. No one inspecting bodies. Frankly, they all wind up in in sweatpants and hoodies anyhow.

I prefer no dress code or a full uniform instead of teachers judging everyone's outfit every day to see if it meets the code.

Agreed. Dress codes by their nature are sexist and body shaming (see, eg, the pp who doesn't want to see "chubby" girls' bodies). As long as there's no hate speech, it's all good.

chubby is now "hate speech"?

I believe PP means hate speech on the clothing.

However, I think the now-deleted post on chubby girls in skirts was also pretty close to that line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ours has no dress code at all and it's delightful. No one inspecting bodies. Frankly, they all wind up in in sweatpants and hoodies anyhow.

I prefer no dress code or a full uniform instead of teachers judging everyone's outfit every day to see if it meets the code.

Agreed. Dress codes by their nature are sexist and body shaming (see, eg, the pp who doesn't want to see "chubby" girls' bodies). As long as there's no hate speech, it's all good.

chubby is now "hate speech"?

That's not at all what I meant. The only dress code my school has (or that I think is necessary) is no hate speech on clothing. Any other dress code inevitably includes body shaming, including of girls who are heavier than others (as the now erased commentary about chubby girls demonstrates).