Parenting

School Demands to See Girls' Dresses Before They Can Buy Prom Tickets​

ParentingPublished Mar 25, 2015
By Jenny Erikson
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And now for the latest example of a school taking a dress code too far -- a high school in Pennsylvania has demanded that girls show administrators photos of their prom dresses before they're allowed to buy tickets to the dance.

Yup, all attire for females must be pre-screened and pre-approved before teens can purchase tickets to the biggest dance of the year. Sucks if you're a last-minute shopper! OK, in all fairness, the young men must abide by a dress code as well, and stick to suits and tuxes, but they're probably not required to show pictures of their outfits before purchasing their tickets.

The New York Daily Record reported that Delone Catholic High School in McSherrystown announced their policy in March, about six weeks before the school's May 1 prom. They stated, "Dresses cannot be too short, too low-cut, expose too much skin around the midriff or be 'inappropriately revealing.'"

More from The Stir: Super Strict School Dress Code Seems to Have It Out for Girls

The problem seems to be that they consider dresses with flesh-colored fabric with an overlay to be too revealing. And anyone that has opened a magazine in the last few months or watched the Oscars knows that lace is in. Lace overlay over a neutral fabric. Sounds great, right? Heck, it's a lot more covered up than many looks of the past! 

But apparently it's not an approved look, which is leaving a lot of girls up a creek, since they have already purchased non-refundable dresses in the style. Margaret Eser, a mother of a student at Delone, said, "I think it's a little ridiculous ... If you already have a dress, what are you going to do then?”

Some of the parents banded together to start a petetion at Change.org, which states in part, "We have not been given a set of guidelines in a reasonable amount of time ... Our children will not undergo scrutiny of prom gowns based on outdated, unrealistic expectations and rules implemented at such short notice."

Delone says that they have "the responsibility to ensure that Catholic values and moral integrity permeate every facet of the school's life and activity." They also said that they sent out the dance dress code to "prevent student's embarrassment and disappointment of being denied entrance to prom due to dress code infractions."

I think this whole thing is beyond ridiculous. First -- it's a private school, which means parents are already going to be more involved in their kids' lives. Otherwise they wouldn't pay tuition. Shouldn't they trust the parents on this? Second -- they're going way too far in banning flesh-colored fabric. Fabric is not skin, people. Third -- do they not realize that kids can change in the bathroom, or even in the back of the limo as they head to an after party?

It just seems like a lame attempt to try and prove that they are maintaining some sort of control of these teens, rather than actually letting them be kids enjoying the latest covered-up fashions at prom.

Do you think flesh-colored fabric should be banned from school dances?

Image via ©Heide Benser/Corbis

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