Is Your School's Dress Code Sexist?

Just after Labor Day, I noticed a spike in visits to a Uniform Mom post that featured longer skirts for girls that would pass the "fingertip test".  The fingertip test is a commonly used way to determine if the length of a skirt or shorts is too short.  If a girl extends her hands down to her sides and the skirt is past her fingertips, it passes.  If it is shorter than her fingertips, it is considered too short and therefore a uniform infraction at many schools.  Sometimes, administrators make efforts at the beginning of the school year to set the tone with consistent enforcement efforts. In some cases, the school conducts some sort of mass inspection that usually results in headlines in local newspapers and on local news channels. Girls that receive warnings that their skirts are too short may be offered a change of clothes from a inventory of donated second-hand uniforms.  Other times, they may be isolated until a parent can arrive with a change of clothes that complies with code.

I thought that increase in traffic was an indication that your daughters' might be getting caught up in enforcement efforts that left you searching to find retailers that carry skirts that are long enough to pass the fingertip test. I was relieved to learn that this wasn't the case. But....

Instead, I stumbled upon a conversation regarding "slut shaming" that referenced the post.  Stelman, a writer for Addicting Info, a popular liberal blog, wrote a post that summarized recent examples of uniform policies and enforcement efforts that he found to be sexist because they selectively applied to only girls.

This lead me to a video by Laci Green, a sex education activist with a popular channel, Sex + on YouTube.  In her video on Dess Code Sexism, Laci says that the use of school dress code guidelines are not the problem, but she presents top five reasons dress code double standards are sexist. She raises many interesting points that should cause school boards and school administrators to pause and reflect on their own policies and enforcement efforts.

So what do you think? Does your school have any policies that contain these dress code double standards? Have you seen sexism in enforcement efforts or in comments by teachers or administrators? Share your thoughts or observations in the comments below.

Helpful Technology for Parents

There are so many ways I use technology everyday to help with parenting and everyday household tasks.

• Use the reminders on my phone to jot down key to-dos with deadlines.
• I use maps to navigate to play dates and birthday parties.
• The phone camera - I used to carry a separate camera in my purse and take it with me everywhere so you can always capture that cute shot at the park or at the playground.  Then one day I realized that the camera on my phone was better quality then the camera in my purse. No reason to carry the camera anymore.
• Book and Game Apps - to entertain our daughter in waiting rooms.
• Calendar - All activities go on the calendar with invites to Dad so we both have it on our radar and can coordinate schedules.

The folks at Vanaia LLC offered to let me to take a look at their new productivity app, ScanWritr.  It is another tool that fits right in a Mom's toolkit.  The description of the new app is below:

ScanWritr is a fast-growing, easy-to-use professional document scanner and PDF converter. Simply scan that sheet of paper, watch as app’s Real-Time Edge Detection does its trick, fill out the blanks, sign it, convert to PDF and send it to the receiver via e-mail, fax, social media etc. – all within the comfort of your own mobile device!

 They created this video as a Tribute to the Modern Mom:

 

 

There are many useful reasons to get this app, but the first one to come to mind is to use it as a tool to deal with all of the cute stuff that comes home from school in the book bag. My daughter brings home a ton of art projects and homework assignment that are so sweet that you want to save them all. The problem is that if you did, you'd end each school year with a big box full of mementos. Don't know about you, but we don't have enough space to hold on to those items. This app gives you a way to scan and save the precious artwork in electronic format. You can then backup those documents with all of the photos and videos that we take and keep for sentimental reasons. 

You can check out the new ScanWritr app on iTunes, GooglePlay, Windows Phone, or on the Blackberry. There is a free and a pay version of the app. 
The tokens can be redeemed within the app – no purchase of any kind is required, since we also offer the free version of ScanWritr app. Vanaia LLC is giving away free promotional codes for the premium version of the app.  The details are below:
About the giveaway:

For Andorid, Windows Phone & Blackberry users: the code for a free fax token is: “SCANWRITRFREEFAXTOKEN”. There are 1000 codes in the total value of $990, which can be redeemed until 15th of July or until the 1000th was claimed.

For iOS users: there are 100 promo codes for ScanWritr Pro on iOS (premium version of the app, which otherwise costs $3.99)  A list of iOS giveaway codes can be found in this shared file. Each code can be redeemed only once.  Please note which code you redeem by placing a strikethrough that specific code, so others can move on to the next code in the list. Instructions on how to redeem iOS promo codes.

Video Pick: School Kids Around the World

This video pick from charmichanify shows clips of "Public school children across the globe in their uniforms and dress codes".

Video Pick: 5 Uniform Outfit Ideas for School

For my video pick, I'm sharing a video from thebeautyguru4u, a 16 year old beauty and fashion video blogger.  In this recent video she shares 5 school uniform ideas to help individualize your uniform look. These ideas work best for a girl at a school with a uniform dress code, aka the khakis and polos look.

Video Pick: Do School Uniforms Help Students Learn?

I enjoyed this video published by DNews in August of 2013.  This well done video references several studies frequently cited as schools and parents debate school uniforms and uniform dress codes.  The video description on YouTube provides links to many of the research studies on the topic of school uniforms.

Description for Do School Uniforms Help Students Learn?

"Parents, students, and school officials have been fighting for-and against- school uniforms for years now. So as the 2013 school year begins, Anthony seeks an answer once and for all: do school uniforms really help students learn?"

Video Pick :How to Rock a Uniform

Here is another recent video you can share with your tween or teenage daughter. It's from @Madisradd, or Madison.  According to her YouTube page, she is 17 years old and lives in Virginia.  Her channel features many crafty DYI projects. In this video, she shows ideas on how you can "Rock a Uniform".

 

Video Pick: A Global Perspective on School Uniforms

This video pick is from Euronews. It is a great piece highlighting use of school uniforms in different countries around the world.

Video Pick: How to Glam Up Your School Uniform

Here's another video pick.   This one's from beccaaslipglosslove where she shows us her ideas on how to glam up a school uniform.  The description of her video states the following:

"I know that not all schools that have a uniform will allow these changes but this is what I have found I can do at my school. If you know you can not do certain things with your uniform, don't do it. This is for people that have a uniform and can't find ideas. I hope it helps somebody. :)"

Video Pick: Transform Your School Uniform

This video is by Michelle Phan, the "Beauty Guru" with a huge following on You Tube. She says "School uniforms don't have to be such a drag anymore. This video will show you how to dress up your boring garbs. Have fun and express your style while still following school rules!"  Using her little sister as a model, she demonstrates  how you can dress up your school uniform with accessories.

Video Pick: The case for a School Uniform Dress Code

This quality video by French Toast School Wear makes the case for a school uniform dress code and addresses criticism of restricting individuality.

Related Posts: 

French Toast Dollars in Uniform Fundraiser Program 

School Uniforms at French Toast - Retail Round Up Series

School Uniforms at Marks and Spencer - Retail Round Up

Living in the US, I don't have many opportunities to shop at Marks and Spencer, a British department store. I did get a chance to visit the one in London once and the one in Bermuda once while traveling on vacations.   Imagine my surprise to find Marks and Spencer brand school uniforms while digging through a box of  clothing at the Uniform Locker exchange event at our local elementary school in Northern Virginia.

That day at the uniform exchange, I found and purchased a pair of navy slacks and a white long sleeve button down shirt for my daughter. They were a dollar each. Bargain!

School Uniforms are much more common in Britain than in the US. Marks and Spencer carries full offering of school uniform items for girls and boys.  Their website is well organized and easy to navigate.  The prices are listed in British pounds, so you'll need to be aware of the current conversion rate and any fees that your credit card might charge to get a somewhat accurate idea on prices as you browse their site.And at least for a limited time, they offer free shipping to the US and Canada with no minimum to order. 

They carry a wide selection of items for girls and boys that can only be rivaled by a handful of US uniform retailers. I thought I was getting the hang of shopping at stores that size items in centimeters, but M&S's sizing is different.  It is labeled in sizes from 3 years to 16 year. I'd recommend you check the handy sizing chart to compare how their sizing compares. Especially since the site was light on details of how international returns are handled.   They also offer slim fit, plus fit and longer lengths in some items.

Below is a one minute video where they highlight their 2012 school uniform innovations:

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Thanks for supporting Uniform Mom!

Normally for the Retail Round Up series posts, I list the items available in the current school uniform collection by gender and clothing type. M&S offers too many items to list.  Instead, I'll link you to the major groupings areas: 

• UK students can shop the Personalised School Uniform site with details for specific schools.
• The Boys Directory includes Polos and Shirts, Trousers, Sportswear, Bags and Shoes, Jumpers (In the UK, they call Boy's sweaters Jumpers.), Shorts, Blazers and underwear.
• The Girls Directory includes Blouses, Polos, Sports, Skirts, Cardigans and Jumpers, Trousers and Shorts, Pinafores (These are what we, in the US, call Jumpers.), Blazers and Coats, Shoes and Bags, socks and underwear.

While navy and khaki are the basic colors in US school uniforms, I noticed that most bottoms at M&S are offered in black and gray in their collections.  If you're looking for school uniform items that will comply with the school dress code that not everyone will be wearing, then you should browse their selection.  I noticed selections that I hadn't seen in other school uniform collections.  Unique Girls Selections included 3/4 sleeve blouses, ruched polos, 9 different styles of pinafores, 25 different styles of skirts including straight skirts, tube skirts, pencil skirts and culottes and Blazers!  Plaid was noticeably absent.

Video Pick: School Uniform Badged or Not?

As a fellow association executive (IE- my day job), I can't help but support a recent project of the Schoolwear Association in the UK.  They recently shared this video asking parents and children which uniform they preferred, those with the school's logo or those without.  

What's your preference?  Please chime in using the comments below.

According to the video description on You Tube,

"The Schoolwear Association, represent all those involved in the supply of school specific uniform including retailers, direct to school suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, suppliers, decorators, agents and schools." 

Video Pick: NSJ crew releases Khaki Pants, the song and the dance

Do you remember last summer's hit "Hot Cheetos and Takis" by the Y.N.RichKids.? No? Check it out on YouTube; it is at 6.5 million views and still climbing. Grantland recently did a great piece explaining the background of this group and the Beats and Rhymes program at what is obviously a very innovative after-school program at the Nellie Stone Johnson Beacons Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The NSJ Crew, made up of students from Nellie Stone Johnson Community School, just released an ode to the classic school uniform bottoms, Khaki pants. You gotta take a minute (okay - 5 and a half minutes) to watch this video.  Even if you're not a fan of hip hop music, you'll recognize that these kids have talent and the video is well produced and edited.  As a dancer, I love that the video features a khaki dance to accompany the song.

Love it!



Kudos to the NSJ Crew and the folks at Nellie Stone Johnson Beacons Center!  This song has potential to be the runaway YouTube hit of the summer. Khaki wearing kids all over are going to be singing along and by fall school kids everywhere will know the Khaki dance.  I predict that another group of creative young kids at a summer camp somewhere will create a flash mob style video response.  I look forward to watching those.

If you'd like to download the song, here is the link from the Beats and Rhymes website where you can find links to other songs, lyrics and videos.
 

Video Pick: School Uniforms Good or Bad?

I recently came across this video on YouTube. It asks the question are school uniforms good or bad while looking from various angles including interviews with students, teachers and administrators.  It is written and directed by Ophelia Murphy.

Lands' End Iron Knee Pants

This picture was taken to commemorate the first day my daughter tied her shoes "all by herself". However, it also shows the dreaded knee patches that had become a signature accessory in her wardrobe during her last year of preschool. She blew out the knees on every pair of pants she owned. I don't know how, but she also managed to tear off or tear through the patches I'd iron on. By the end of the Spring, I'd found some success by ironing a patch on each knee on the inside of the fabric, as well as the outside of her pants. So when I saw a recent promotion for Land's End Little Boys' Pleat Front Iron Knee Blended Chino Pants - Classic Navy, I could relate.

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Thanks for supporting Uniform Mom

This product was recently awarded the 2013 Good Housekeeping VIP (Very Innovative Products) Award. For boys, they offer these in a few styles that would like be acceptable for various uniform dress codes. The flat front chinos are available in little boy and big boy sizes for $30.

For Girls, they are only offered in basic uniform pants in several styles and for jeans in toddler sizes, little girls sizes and big girl sizes 7 and 8. They retail for $34. Do you have a pair of these for your son or daughter? If so, please tell us what you think. I also found boys pants that seem to get at the same knee blow out issue by French Toast called Double Knee Pants.