Uniform Mom: Pass the Fingertip Test

During the development of a schools uniform dress code, there is typically some back and forth that leads to an common understanding of the policy between the school board and the larger community of parents and students. Once the policy is adopted, enforcement can be a constant battle for school administrators everywhere. Recent articles included in the "in the news" series show many examples of battles between administrators and students, and in some cases, a larger group in the community.

A policy with clearly stated expectations and guidelines makes it easier for parents to understand so they can guide the student's choices when shopping. Consistent enforcement by different teachers make clear examples of what's acceptable and what's not acceptable.

The length of a girls hemline for shorts, scooters, and dresses is a huge area for consternation. Many schools have tried to set a simple easy to understand rule of thumb which is commonly referred to as "the fingertip test". A young lady passes the fingertip test when the length of the skirt is below the fingertips of the student while standing with her arms extended straight down. The same test works for jumpers, scooters and shorts. Maybe its a backlash to the mid-thigh trend we've been seeing for the past few seasons, but this fall, I noticed a trend of several retailers offering new longer lengths. Lands End's fall school uniform catalog features girls skirts in 3 lengths: above the knee, top of the knee and below the knee. The French Toast fall catalog page on girls skirts feature both "the long and short of it" featuring two knee length skirts and one long skirt. This can make shopping easier if your school has adopted the fingertip test as a rule of thumb to guide enforcement.

Below are some examples of new longer skirts: