How to Dress For a School with a Formal Dress Code

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1-02-2017, 00:00
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So, you go to a school with a formal, 'office' dress code, but still want to be comfortable and individual? It's a tricky thing to accomplish, but get it right and both your teachers and your friends will love your clothes! An office dress code usually means no jeans/sportswear/hoodies/revealing items. Basically you have to dress as if you were going to work. This makes the life of a teenage girl very difficult, as everyday style - and almost every item in your wardrobe - go out of the window. Do not fear - with this guide you can learn to dress casually without breaking the dress code. The basic idea is to start smart, but gradually incorporate your more individual, borderline items as you get more comfortable with what's acceptable and what isn't.

Steps

  1. When you start school, or at the start of a new semester/term, follow these steps to ensure you have all the right clothes and can make enough outfits.
  2. The most important thing to do is keep your head up. Don't let all these formal wears alter your perception of style - if you're a goth, you can be a smart goth! You can also be a smart tomboy, and a smart fashionista. Get your head on straight. Just because you have to brush up a little for school doesn't mean you have to lose your individual style.
  3. Throw open your wardrobe doors and look at your clothes with an open mind. If it helps, pull them all off the hangers and lay them out on the bed or floor. Separate them into two piles: school suitable, and not school suitable. Then put them back in the wardrobe in this way - suitable on the left, non-suitable on the right. This creates a clear division between your school and home clothes and also lets you see how many suitable clothes you have - so you know what else you need to get!
  4. Get a parent to look at your decisions. It helps to get an adult's perspective on your 'suitable' clothes as it'll be adults at school telling you off! They may disagree with some of the things you have chosen as school wear. Don't argue with them and start shouting, just take on board what they have to say.
  5. Look at the 'Things you'll need' list at the bottom of this page. Copy down the things you don't have. Look in catalogues, websites and stores to find the items you need and work out a total cost. If it's too high, then work out a budget, and find clothes that will fit in it! An alternative is to discuss a budget with parents - maybe you could go halfway. They probably won't mind because these clothes are allowing you to be smart at school. They're EDUCATIONAL!
  6. Once you have acquired your clothes and have a plentiful smart wardrobe, you can identify missing pieces by thinking up outfits. If there's an item that you need to complete several different outfits, (eg blue shoes or a pink cardigan), then make sure you get it!
  7. Make sure that all your smart clothes make multiple outfits with your other smart clothes. The more outfits you can make form one piece, the more variation you can have. It's no good buying a certain smart skirt if it only goes with one of your pairs of shoes, or only matches non-suitable tops. You need to have enough outfits to look different everyday, and only have to repeat outfits once every few weeks. Otherwise people recognise your outfits and think you're boring.
  8. Now look at the dress code. Identify things it doesn't specify. It may say specifically no flip-flops or no jeans - BUT that doesn't mean you can't wear strappy sandals (flat ones for school, don't be a tart!); or coloured denim. White and black jeans are easy to disguise as non-denim, as long as they don't have holes in and you wear them with smart boots or shoes, however you do need to be careful about this as some schools ban denim completely, so check if this is the case before you wear them. Similarly, no hoodies means no hoodies - but hooded tops and jackets are allowed and create the same look. Vest tops banned? You can still wear them!! Just make sure to always keep your cardigan or jacket on over the top!
  9. As school progresses, try adding your favourite items from the home clothes section of your wardrobe to your smart outfits. For example, a good smart outfit would be flat ballet pumps, a mid-length skirt, a blouse and a jacket. Once the teachers are satisfied you're a smart dresser, replace the blouse with a t-shirt with a cool design on, like a comic book character or slogan. Or, swap the pumps for ox-style converses. Wear a funky belt. In this way, you build up the confidence of your tutors by dressing by the rules, then introduce your own thing gradually to make sure you retain your individual style. Chances are, they won't look twice! You'll get away with it!

Tips

  • Don't just go into school on the first day wearing jeans or something else forbidden. Be restrictive at first. You should follow the code to the letter for the first week at least, then feel free to experiment once you have gained the trust of the teachers.
  • GOTHS: black blouses are still blouses! New rock boots can go under smart black trousers. There won't be a rule about safety pins, bat-print or lace. Lace skirts are okay, as long as you wear them with a more conservative top half. Mix and match your most gothic items with school suitable clothes rather than going full-on goth - I know it seems harsh but you'll still look like an individual, without breaking the rules.
  • Just because it says 'for the office' doesn't mean you have to dress exactly as you would for an office job. All you have to do is follow the code. If your outfits aren't the kind of thing you'd wear to work, but they still comply with the rules, then you're okay! They can't tell you off.
  • Converses instead of smart black shoes. Try coloured leather instead of black leather.
  • FASHION FOLLOWERS: As styles change you want to keep up, which is hard when you're on a budget. School makes it even harder, as you have the dress code and the fact you're wearing things regularly. The thing to do is identify key trends, prints, styles and colors at the start of each season and make a list. Check which are suitable for your school. Buy them. But don't hanker after pieces that you couldn't wear to school anyway - next season they won't even matter.
  • Harem pants, flares or linen pants instead of suit pants.
  • To create a casual look and avoid becoming a formal, suit-wearing parent lookalike, try these substitutes for formal attire:
  • Keep pushing the boundaries! As long as you don't wear blue denim or a hoodie or Ugg boots, feel free to experiment with your style using belts, hairstyles, prints, bright colors, dark colours, new shoe styles etc.....have fun! Accessorizing is the real key to successful dressing in schools. Everybody wearing smart clothes begins to look the same, so having funky, unusual, individual accessories makes you stand out in the sea of suits.
  • Cardigans or swing jackets instead of suit jackets.
  • TOMBOYS AND SURFERS: cargo pants do go with suit jackets, as long as the colors co-ordinate. Jogging pants are too scruffy, same as hoodies, but you can get loose-fitting suit pants. Try floral print skirts to get that laid-back look. There are no rules against t-shirts, or wooden bead jewellery. Military jackets are a great casual, androgynous style and they can be smartened up with a smart skirt and heels or pants and ballet pumps.
  • If you're not allowed miniskirts, wear them with pantyhose. If that's still not allowed, wear them over pants or leggings.

Warnings

  • By setting the 'office' standard schools ensure that people are dressed reasonably smartly so the school looks professional and high quality. Don't rebel and wear hoodies and jeans all the time if it's against the rules. You'll just get punished and lose all the trust your teachers have in you. They'll be less likely to help out if you need their advice, or something more serious like a job reference.
  • Don't overdress. Don't wear too much designer stuff, and don't wear matching suits i.e. a two-piece formal jacket and skirt outfit. I guarantee, nobody else will be so formal. You'll stick out like a sore thumb. (However, if that's what you want, and if you're going for the whole lawyer/politician look and want to wear a suit, don't let me stop you!) Also no extra high heels; the look overdressed AND tarty. Not good.
  • Plan your outfits for the week. Not even the night before. A week in advance. This allows you to know which items you need more than once, so you know whether you can wash them or not.
  • It's also pointless rebelling by petitioning for jeans or something. They're not going to let you! Accept it and move on. If the staff were open to the idea, don't you think your older peers would have succeeded earlier? You have to realise why the school is imposing the code on you: they want to uphold their reputation and stand out from the other schools in the area. Smart dressing looks good.
  • Don't splash out on home clothes. If you're going to spend a lot of money on something, make sure it fits the dress code and goes with lots of your clothes, so you don't have to buy anything especially to go with it. Make sure it'll be usable regularly - that means it has to be a key piece, not just another cute skirt that is the same color as one you already have.
  • Religious beliefs can have an effect on your clothes, of course. Talk to your teachers about a waiver if your religious clothes contradict the dress code - DO NOT make up religious beliefs to try to get a waiver!! That is just low!

Things You'll Need

  • Here we go! A comprehensive list of the minimum you should have in your wardrobe to successfully dress to impress at school:
  • One pair of black trousers, any style
  • One pair of blue trousers, any style
  • One pair of another colour trousers, any style (make sure the color goes with your wardrobe!)
  • Two or three sweaters in colors that go with lots (as in not orange or lime green)
  • Two or three blouses, one white, others in pastel shades (or black, or bright colors if you want)
  • Many t-shirts (about eight should do) both plain and with designs - no crude slogans please!
  • Two skirts of different colors above the knee (not too high!!)
  • Two skirts of different colors below the knee (but above the ankle - don't go overboard)
  • Two dresses
  • Smart black shoes, low heel
  • Other smart shoes in other colors, low heels or flats
  • One pair of quintessential heels (not too high)
  • Other shoes eg summer sandals (with support at the heel!! No flip flops!) or converses.
  • Calf-length boots
  • Three jackets in different colors
  • One long black winter coat for colder days
  • Much underwear and many socks and pantyhose!
  • Make sure you have some neutral underwear to go under white clothes. White underwear shows through. It must be neutral.
  • A few jackets that you can wear as a top layer (but be sure it matches your wardrobe).
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