No sleeveless tops. No skirts above the knees. No holey jeans. Back in high school, dress codes took up a page in the student handbook. This is not the case in most colleges. However, collegiate dress codes are not a far-fetched idea and lately arguments have been made on social media regarding whether or not these rules promote professionalism.
Pensacola Christian College in Florida outlines appearance expectations on their website for both men and women. These codes apply to different settings such as formal, church and casual. Overall, they ask their students to refrain from wearing brand name clothing and the outward look must promote moral, Christian ideals. They specifically state, “All students are expected to dress modestly, in conservative fashions, and with a level of propriety that encourages purity.”
In the 1920s, Blackburn used to outline their dress code policy in the Blackburn College Bulletin (a publication that acted as a course catalog and the student handbook). However, these guidelines only applied to work settings. The 1926-27 issue stated, “No uniformity of dress is required. Ordinary work clothes suffice for the manual work.”
Currently, there isn’t a clearly outlined set of rules in the student handbook for dress but work departments still ask students to wear appropriate clothes for their jobs. For example, campus maintenance asks students to wear boots and pants that cover their legs. These are outlined as safety precautions since students may work with dangerous machinery or in environments where skin shouldn’t be exposed.
After holding both a job in my future career field and working on campus, I can testify that dress codes can be necessary. My on-campus job at The ‘Burnian asks its workers to look clean and professional for interviews. My off-campus job at the Macoupin County Enquirer~Democrat (MCED) requires that I look presentable for public meetings by dressing in non-revealing and non-distracting clothing. Since I was already familiar with the standards set by my tuition position, there wasn’t a major shift in my attire at the MCED.
Although dress codes can help prepare students for their future careers by encouraging professionalism, Pensacola’s expectations are limiting to the growth of students. In an article titled “The Social Psychology of Dress” written by Kim K.P. Johnson and Sharon Lennon, the authors discuss how attire affects our self-perceptions. “Two social psychologists, Bettina Hannover and Ulrich Kühnen (2002), studied whether what people wear influences how they think about themselves. They reasoned that clothing styles would influence self-descriptions because certain clothing styles might be related to specific trait categories,” the authors stated. Students choose to express themselves through their appearance, and if they can’t do so in any place on campus, then there is no way for them to learn to display their personality.
Regarding dress codes, we have to draw a line between what is and isn’t necessary to prepare students for a life after college. These policies are helpful for students within work environments on campus, but controlling a student’s wardrobe all the time hinders their ability to create their identity.