Day 5 (of 2025/26) annual look at dress codes #principaldresscode
I’m known for wearing ties. Always have. Started with occasionally breaking them out in university after a professor wistfully commented about ‘back in the day’… and even now I will occasionally see some people unpack their bias with comments about “educators in ties and collared shirts”. Though the colonial noose is not for everyone and, as my staff has noticed, especially as I have adopted personalized bow ties – started as a #bowtietuesday trend but has expanded significantly… every tie has a connection to the day it is picked.
I also like how I can pivot the conversation to other dress code issues. Still a little mad that my daughter got called out for wearing her basketball jersey in the hallway (shoulders!!) while the boys walked on by similarly attired.
Shirt shoulders/ straps went from “two fingers wide” to “whatever Wal-Mart is carrying” – especially as we de-stigmatized dress codes and made them more universal…
Well, many have.
Here are the ongoing ones I roll my eyes at a bit… and have dressed up with today:
Some go big: https://www.wbay.com/2024/07/26/no-hoodies-no-crocs-this-high-school-is-banning-some-most-worn-items-by-teens/
But lots of bans…
- Black clothes. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce38w9e41vwo
- subset of sweat pants https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/no-sweats-allowed-at-moncton-school-1.831616\
- Sub-subset of pajama bottoms
- Sometimes gets blended with cargo pants…
- And JEANS – oh my, the banning of jeans… worth a google search
- Subset of hoodies https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/school-hoodies-ban-students-intimidating-identity-uniform-policy-a9240341.html
- subset of sweat pants https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/no-sweats-allowed-at-moncton-school-1.831616\
- Casual wear https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/
- Shorts/Skirts
- Length
- Athletic vs ‘dress’ (cargo?? Bike? Basketball?)
- Hat (in the news thanks to mlb: https://youtube.com/shorts/BlTJD3ortYo?si=5I90rfa3g8_H2TH0)
- Sunglasses (even slightly ‘smart’)
- and especially meta… https://www.channelstv.com/2026/09/10/oslo-bans-smart-glasses-in-schools/
- Watches in general https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/10/ban-watches-school-exams-cheating-inquiry
- Earbuds (helps moderate my tinnitus, but it makes abled-people uncomfortable…) https://kdhnews.com/news/education/killeen-isd-school-board-discusses-proposed-changes-to-the-student-dress-code/article_28d841d9-df82-4069-a64b-6ef9334aeb35.html
- Crocs https://apple.news/A7W_ceZXORXSeW8dI-51FUg but really mostly started with shoes without back straps, but gets expanded quickly …
- Clothes that are too tight (Hillsborough just reversed their sexist rule)
- Clothes that are too loose
- Clothes with inappropriate slogans or advertisements (alcohol most common for when I’ve asked for shirts to be flipped inside out…
- Socks…. Yep – no ankle socks…https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1676186/pupil-school-wrong-black-socks-uniform-deepings-stamford-lincolnshire-parents-headteacher
- One Montreal school (redacted) banned torn socks/nylons/tights
- Some schools ban socks that don’t match
- I’ve been okay with underwear rules – essentially dresscode by which outer wear must cover underwear… sorry Superman https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/london-ontario-dress-code-wilfrid-jury-thames-valley-district-school-board-1.4687763
- Backpacks… clear ones have become ruled okay… https://dcps.duvalschools.org/o/wms/page/uniforms-dress-code/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
….
Other culturally, racist and often sexist dress code rules around
Rules around hair
– locs
– braids
– twists
– afros
– shaved designs (guilty of having that done in my G12 year)
– ‘unnatural’ colours
– facial hair
Head coverings (headbands, bandannas, bonnets, scarves, ‘accessories’… hair curlers…
Ski masks (I’ve lived in cold climates… full face toques are seasonally vital)
Masks (even if/when sick – despite the help they provided during covid)
Makeup
Piercings
Nail polish (and lots of hate over makeup in general)
Jewelry
Cologne/Perfume (okay – Axe overdoses may make me okay with this one too)
“Clothes that can attract undue attention” or “disrupt school environments” –
As this recent news article points out “troubling pattern where taller and more physically developed girls were frequently targeted by dress code enforcement, while boys seemed immune to such scrutiny for similar attire’… https://www.chron.com/news/article/kingwood-isd-dress-code-creekwood-22405047.php?utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=yahoo_syndication
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Considerations:
Unofficial Sports Jersey Fridays:
Nerdy t-shirt Fridays: another educators trend that I really like – and links nicely into my push towards comic con…
Plaid Thursday’s: honouring the memory of a friend who preferred plaid to suits… not every Thursday (yet) but an emerging trend…
#bowtietuesday
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Re ties. I did downsize, but am thinking of going in themes:
Disney 12
WB 7
Misc animations. 5
Books. 4
Formal 15
Animals 10
Retro. 13
Pro sports. 6
Special day: 3
Holidays 7
Uniquely cool. 3
Xmas 25
And yes, as a teacher has noted… pretty much every (I won’t commit to 100%) of my tie choices has a ‘reason’ for the day it is put on…
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Bonus consideration:
I don’t have an e-bike or e-scooter, but the laws are definitely coming down on needing to reach a particular age… https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSqMgW38P/ and we say we want kids to get to schools more independently…
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Easter Egg in this blog: I taught at St. Thomas More Collegiate from 1999–2001, so when I stumbled across its current dress code while researching this post, I had a bit of a time-travel moment. Some things have changed considerably since I was there. Some things apparently still have very strong feelings about pockets.
Technolandy 
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