When students at Fairfax County’s Mount Vernon High School return to classes next week, they no longer will be allowed to wear “jeggings” as pants.
What exactly are jeggings? They are the fashion cousin of leggings, the skin-tight staples found in many high school hallways. Jeggings are leggings with a faux-denim appearance, providing the tailored jean look that is in vogue among teenagers. To dress in leggings or jeggings, Mount Vernon students must wear them underneath shorts, dresses or skirts that are at most three inches above the knee, according to school regulations.
Principal Nardos King has helped to implement a more stringent dress code. Recently, the school released videos online to help students get a handle on what’s cool to wear at school, at homecoming and on prom night.
Compared with the attire of teens at other high schools in the county, Mount Vernon students’ appearance is “noticeably different,” King said. She said the dress code helps students focus on what’s important in classrooms and keeps the teenagers from being distracted by what their peers are wearing.
King said that Mount Vernon’s dress code is perhaps the only one that explicitly defines the length of dresses, shorts and skirts. King said that the “three-inch rule” helps parents and teens pick out an appropriate wardrobe for the classroom.
It’s about time for schools to start enforcing dress codes. The amount of cleavage, butt, midriff, and Lord knows what other body parts is abundant in every secondary school in Prince William County. Jeggings are just another example of leaving nothing to one’s imagination. They are tights, in essence. They need to have outer clothing over them. Many people who wear jeggings shouldn’t. Rules are on the books but schools lack the cojones to enforce. Why?
Many parents come roaring in screeching and howling about how much they spend on their kid’s clothing, free speech and anything else that undermines the schools authority to enforce a dress code that removes distractions from the instructional day. The school board also is not particularly supportive of the cases that come before it. Usually some parent picks up the phone and calls central office or their school board member and suddenly the teacher or administrator that attempted to enforce the dress code in the first place is the bad guy.
I challenge Prince William County to start enforcing their own dress code. I don’t mean the ban some schools have on flip flops. Flip flops are the very least of their problems. So are spaghetti straps. Those items are low hanging fruit. Prince William County needs to do more to shut down the daily T & A show that happens every day in our county schools.
jeggings? Are they still being worn – reminds me of a Conan show – http://teamcoco.com/content/conan-shows-off-jeggings
So Trayvon Martin smoking weed is no big deal because that’s what 17 year olds do, but girls wearing tight pants must be stopped? What happened to ‘teens will be teens’?
Have you joined the War on Women? (That’s a joke BTW)
I’d have no problem going to school uniforms like they have in England, but this weird hodge-podge of standards makes no sense. No tight jeggings, but twerk away at the school dance. And don’t forget to show your school spirit by wearing a pair of sweats with the school’s name printed on your butt.
We either need to have real standards for teenagers or not.
Well Furby, let me ask this, do you have a kid in high school or middle school? If not, then I seriously doubt if you understand the problem.
Obviously, it isn’t all about tight pants. In some cases, its that some of them wear pants to start with.
Is this Elmore City Oklahoma circa 1984? What’s next? (obscure movie reference, I know…)
Read the post. Please apply the son and daughter remark to your remarks also, footloose.
Another person who has no idea what’s going on in secondary schools.
My point is that you can’t say “kids will be kids” on things like drugs and sex and then become puritanical over tight jeans. If we can’t tell kids to “Just say no” to drugs and sex, why can we for tight jeans?
If you want the schools to have real standards, great. I’m all for trying to bring the next generation up with better values. But I just find your sudden outrage over tight jeans funny, considering you are pretty lax on things most parents care a lot more about.
As for my own daughter. I wouldn’t be thrilled about her wearing tight jeans, but I’d be a lot more concerned about if she’s taking them off! She’ll grow out of the jeans, but sex and drugs can have a lifetime’s worth of consequences that teens aren’t ready for.
(Besides, I’d rather have her wear tight jeans than the bra-less look that was popular in my HS. Of course, I didn’t complain at the time.)
Sudden outrage? You are getting ready to see sudden outrage. Read the post. Go to a school and observe that T & A show and then tell me what impact that has on instruction and learning. Its not really about tight jeans. Jeggings aren’t tight jeans. If you had read the article you would see that the jeggings were just the tip of the iceberg.
Actually, maybe you want your daughter to go to school looking like a slut, then capturing the attention of everyone there. Silly me. Most of us don’t want that for our kids. We also don’t want that kind of focus on your kid and not on instruction. Are you one of those parents who allows your son to go to school with his ass out of his pants and the waist hanging just above his knees? That’s actually a safety issue. Thanks from the rest of us who are tired of fighting the fight on our own. He is probably also the one with the studded dog collar and the chains. Nice crack, son of furby. However, if you want to be the one with kids sexing it up and sexting it up all day, dear God , put them in private school. Meanwhile, make your daughter wear underpants to school before you enroll them in private school.
There are lots of kids to get dressed and leave for home without the watchful eye of their parents. Other kids’ parents don’t give a rats ass. It would be nice to know that schools set some sort of standard as far as dress code and enforced it.
I never said if I accepted marijuana use or not. I said it was commonplace with teens. So is illegal drinking. I hope you have found my remarks as offensive as I have found yours.
I don’t recall saying kids will be kids. I certainly hope substance rules are enforced by schools.
You took a quantum leap there Furby and showed me you have no idea what you are talking about.
You obviously didn’t get that the jeggings were just a launch pad onto the entire issue of unenforced dress codes. Your words also tell me you haven’t been near a secondary school in this area for quite a while.
Yes, sex and drugs can have a lifetime of consequences. I don’t argue that at all. However, that isn’t what the post was about. It was about enforcing dress codes.
If your daughter (or anyone else’s) were to wear some of the get-ups I have seen going into area secondary schools, taking off one’s pants would be a simple task, if they are wearing any in the first place. How about underpants? Should those be required?
Before you scoff at the jeggings, have you actually seen some of the jeggings girls wear? I don’t think you would be brushing it off. Sculptured vulva on some, tons of fun on others.
You may leave your apology at the door.
Funny, funny, funny.
I remember when my girls were in Jr. Hi in California.
One of the best attended PTA meetings was about, whether boys should be allowed
to not have there shirts tucked in. Shirttails were undesirable. The 60s!
That was also the firsr time girls were allowed to were pants to school.
Jeggings are no different than yoga pants. Just walk around DC at lunch time, every other female (from age 10 to 100) wear them all around town. I don’t see an issue with it, could be that I don’t have a daughter, I don’t know. To me it seems more like a generational thing to be honest.
Peterson, some are like them others are different than yoga pants. Do we want everyone parading down the street in yoga pants? Probably not.
Let’s go back to the original post. I think the jeggings are fairly offensive on some people. But, you can’t legislate or mandate good taste. The point is that a school in the area is cracking down (no pun intended) on dress codes. Now, you might not be bothered by some of the get ups kids wear to school but much of what they wear is obviously to attract attention. You can see where this is going.
I would like to see uniforms for a variety of reasons but they cannot be mandated in public schools. There goes that concept. A school like Pennington is different because it is a specialty school.
I just don’t think you have seen the good, the bad and the ugly at schools lately. I have been horrified over some of the outfits I have seen some of my own relatives wear to school. If those relatives were MY kids they wouldn’t have gone out of the house like that.
Drop the false outrage. You’ve made it clear that you are opposed to abstinence based sex-ed on the premise that “kids are going to have sex anyway” and you’ve made it equally clear that you can’t view kids smoking weed as a negative (re Trayvon Martin) I just found it funny that you can’t get worked up about those but tight jeans, get thee to a fainting couch!
Since you are unable to understand my point, I’ll try making it one more time: If you want to tighten moral standards for kids in schools, great. I’m all for that. I just find it odd that you plant your flag on tight clothes, but have no problem with the nurse handing out condoms or morning after pills.
Again to be clear: I don’t want kids dressing like thugs or in suggestive clothing. But IF I had to pick a battle, I’d fight sex, drugs and underage drinking over suggestive clothing. I’d much rather address all of them, and try to raise the next generation with better morals than the adults. As in, dress modestly AND avoid drugs, alcohol and sex until you are old enough to deal with the consequences.
PS – Thanks for calling my daughter a slut by the way! So I guess she’s now Sandra Fluke and you are Rush Limbaugh. I’m joking about that.
But this is no joke:
Screw you for calling my daughter a slut! And you have the nerve to ask for an apology? Go to hell!
I didn’t call your daughter a slut. Can’t you read? I don’t even know if you have a daughter. How about your son?
Obviously it was a hypothetical situation but I am glad to see you were offended. You offended me.
I am very opposed to abstinence based sex ed. That should come from the home, not the schools. I don’t want MY almighty tax dollars spend on mamby pamby programs that don’t reach 90% of the kids.
Don’t be a dumb ass. Lots of kids have STDs. I don’t think its ok. Its just a fact of life. Spare me your moral confusion. I never said it was ok for any kid to smoke weed. I am just not going to have the vapors if I find out someone does. (unless they live in my house) Reality check. Same with smoking cigarettes. Reality check.
You find it odd that I want the nurse to hand out condoms and morning after pills? Interesting delusion you have there.
I don’t believe I have ever addressed that subject either.
You obviously came here to pick a fight. You aren’t going to win when I am buying the ink. Say good bye, Furby. Your mother is calling you.
Oh, boy. Mrs. W was just describing to me her experience with some of the young male teachers at the high school. Some of the girls dressed so provocatively, in this case mostly topside exposure, that the young male teachers got the self-protective heebie-jeebies. They didn’t even dare to tell the girls to cover up in class for fear that it could be misconstrued against them. So, sometimes they would ask Mrs. W to come in and set the girls straight — as in, put on your sweater or jacket or whatever. Mrs. W opined that some of the girls were determined to advertise and others just to see how much they could get away with. And it seemed that, if you let one slip by, it started an immediate trend. Mrs W’s reaction: “Good for Mount Vernon High!”
Mrs. W is correct…some of that behavior does put the male teachers at risk and not just the young ones. I am not even sure its totally safe for women teachers to address the problem, especially without witnesses.
As someone with kids in the PWC Public Schools, I have to come to Moon’s defense here. I agree with what she wrote in the post, and have never seen her defending sex and drugs in the public schools. There may be differences of opinion regarding how sex education should be taught, but that’s another debate.
They sculpt Swedish automobiles?
Jeggings? Yoga pants?
So THAT is what all those hot ch…um..young ladies have been wearing at VCU.
Not that I actually noticed… I’ve kept my mind strictly on the books……
VCU is missing out on advertising. Apparently the student body…and what bod…um…. student body is about 60% female. I think that it is more. They could increase their male membership by 10% just by advertising in the local high schools.
Its a good thing I’m married and beyond all that stuff……..
wowza….
The school issue goes well beyond jeggings which were really intended to wear under other clothing. Middle schools seem to have the dress code problem under better control than do the high schools.
I think it is pure laziness on the part of school systems to allow some of the things that being condoned in schools. For instance, Prince William County clearly bans any clothing, accessory or materials (backpack, notebook, pens, etc) with drug or alcohol references on them. How often is that enforced? Its all part of the dress code or Code of Behavior.
VCU is another issue. Do colleges even have a dress code now? They used to but not much of one.
When I was working on my Masters degree, a research topic I chose was Abstinence Education over Real Sex Education, you know, where they talk about sexuality being normal and that early sex may not be best choice, but if you do choose to be sexually active, be smart.
Here is what is common for those kids that see sex and virginity as the holy grail, they do everything BUTT. The BUTT begin accentuated because apparently you can have anal sex and still, technically, be a virgin. Seriously, how stupid can a girl be, like SHE is going to get anything out of that.
So this emphasis on virginity can actually be harmful to young women. In fact, what the research finds is that comprehensive sex ed should talk about waiting while STILL imparting facts about sexuality, birth control, and STD’s. THAT is proven, given all the research, to be the most effective means to prevent unwanted pregnancies and promote healthy sexuality.
I contend that they way you dress impacts how you will be treated. One in the same Ferbie. Moon has never advocated sex and drugs for teenagers, but she has, along with myself, advocated for arming kids with the facts.
VCU is another issue. Do colleges even have a dress code now? They used to but not much of one.
Back in the liberal – cough, cough – Sixties women at Auburn had to wear a raincoat to go from their dorms to the tennis courts if they dared to wear shorts to play the game – all in the defense of modesty, of course. I guess they could have made the trip in skirts (and I don’t mean cute little tennis skirts) and then played the game. I bet that would have more quickly hurried the demise of that stupid rule.
I was told George Mason had a dress code in the mid-Sixties – suit and tie or dress. But the story goes that the rule didn’t specify which sex wore what, so one day many males showed up in dresses and females in suit and ties. I think that ended that rule.
Dress codes were strictly enforced back in the 60s. You know, those radical 60’s. Skirt lengths, no coulottes, kilts had to be a certain length even.
@Moon-howler
Yeah, but how much of that is teachers that are scared or otherwise not inclined to toss the precious, special little snowflakes out of class because of lawsuits/administration/paperwork or having to deal with sweet innocent junior’s obnoxious parents?
GTFO until you learn how not to dress like a stripper/thug and act right.
Not sure exactly what you are asking? I expect many people don’t report inappropriate dress because they get tired of not being backed up and all the things you just mentioned.
I tend to agree with you if you were being serious but its up to the schools to not only set the standard but also to enforce it. Schools are famous for having great rules that aren’t enforced.
I used that line with great success. Works on other stuff, too.
(Oink)
I am not touching that one with a ten foot pole. Or as the old expression goes…your _____.
@Moon-howler
Nope…. not that I can see….thank G… I mean….I haven’t been looking at the girls….what girls? There’s girls at VCU?
I can neither confirm or deny the presence of gorgeous women within my field of view during the day.
Unless you’ve had to buy uniforms for your kids you don’t realize how MUCH money you save not to mention aggravation. Plus those used uniform sales that are fundraisers can’t be beat! Of course my boys will probably never wear grey slacks again, I’ve avoided royal blue jackets/blazers since I was 18 – but that sums up the trauma of “not feeling like an individual”.
Stop all that stuff, Cargo. You are a sailor . Nobody believes those disclaimers!
@Wolverine
Heh.
Yeah, I’m absolutely serious. One thing I’ve noticed is that somehow over the years the teacher has less authority over the classroom or ability to act independently, at least it seems that way.
I remember being in school and there were some teachers (most, actually) that you just didn’t F with because they’d throw you out and call parents and that would be a butt beating, one way or the other. Now it seems like it’s all a joke. Either that or it’s all or nothing, like honors kids getting expelled for life for blowing a little weed in the parking lot.
The honors kids should be smart enough to take their weed off school property.
The reason things are breaking down? Probably because all the old bitches and bastards who you didn’t F with got tired of it all and retired. Just guessing….
I love that my kids wear uniforms!
So Cato,
You are exactly the reason young women should wait, you ruin the joy of sex, its all about you, typical immature male thought process.
Uniforms do not deprive the kids of their individuality. In fact, I see it just the opposite. Uniforms free the kids and their parents from expensive competitions to see who can best conform to fads and trends being promoted by advertisers and retailers. Succumbing to ubiquitous marketing is not expressing your individuality. It is being converted into a non-thinking consumerist automaton. Kids should be encouraged to express their individuality and creativity through their study, work, community involvement and in other ways in which they can exercise their own minds for themselves.
They can also express their individuality even more once school is out by wearing whatever they want, after they change and hang up their uniforms.
Tomorrow is promised to no one.
(That one worked quite a bit, as well)