Here comes the dress code in schools, no skimpy clothes. What can and cannot be worn

Skirts that are too short, bare abdomens, hats and hoods in the classroom, excessively long nails, even improbable wedges, flip-flops or ripped jeans: with the start of the new school year, as always, headmasters try to put a limit on 'improper' outfits by issuing circulars and, this year, even distributing actual brochures explaining what is not allowed. In order to make it clear to her pupils what can be worn to school and what must be avoided, the headmistress of a high school in Taormina, in the province of Messina, has had a leaflet printed and distributed detailing all the types of clothing allowed and those with which the pupil will be sent home. "I would speak of decent dress rather than dress code. The school is a sacred place, which must have its own liturgy, which must be respected. No one would go to a funeral or a wedding dressed inappropriately; in the same way, it is not clear why you should come to school dressed as a lifeguard or a beach miss,' comments Mario Rusconi, president of the ANP headmasters' association in Rome.
DirigentiScuola, with vice-president Roberto Mugnai, urges to avoid circulars and provisions dropped from above and to share regulations with all school components. Opposing the dress code circulars is Codacons, for whom there is a risk of 'complicating life, bureaucratising education and, paradoxically, creating uncertainty and confusion, ending up severely limiting students' freedom'.

According to a recent Skuola.net survey of a sample of almost 3,000 students, about 3 out of 10 students need to be careful about how they dress in the morning so as not to incur a lecture or penalty. And a further 55% are urged to present themselves in class in a manner 'appropriate' to the context. Only 1 in 5 has carte blanche on clothing. In the crosshairs, girls in particular often end up. The most frequent prohibitions reported by the interviewees include, for example, wearing tops and tank tops that are too "minimal" or shirts that leave shoulders and bellies uncovered; but also having generous necklines or skirts and trousers that are too short or torn jeans. The list of instructions also includes those forbidding wearing a hat or sweatshirt hood during lessons. Then there are institutes that use generic formulas, all to be interpreted, banning outfits considered - so it is written - 'rude' or capable of 'distracting' other students.

But the school 'dress code' has a wide perimeter and also includes accessories and appearance in general. There are many schools that forbid girls to wear false nails - often justifying the ban with their potential "dangerousness" - as well as flashy make-up, excessively coloured hair, showy accessories, an excessive number of piercings; some even "advise" to keep one's hair up if it is very long. On the boys' side, on the other hand, the main focus is on beards, which should be neither long nor unkempt, nor with strange designs. About 1 in 5.i have one or more of these indications in their school regulations.