Dress Codes

School dress codes have their origins in English private schools but only recently became common in American public schools. Primarily due to favorable economic conditions in the 1950s and 1960s leading [Page 259]to an increase in disposable income, clothing designers and marketers began to target a generation of fashion-conscious students. Combined with the social upheaval of the 1960s, student grooming and dress began to challenge traditional educational expectations. Student dress became a means of individual and political expression. Consequently, educational policymakers devised dress policies, or dress codes, to inculcate their values upon an increasingly diverse student population. This entry looks at Court rulings that have been applied to student dress codes, looks briefly at their effectiveness, and provides guidelines for educators.