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By Oreoluwa Tokan-Lawal

The dress code at a school can be a frequent topic of discussion amongst teachers, students, and parents. At Collegiate, the dress code is designed to hold up Collegiate’s commitment to excellence and love of learning, spawning controversies in the process. 

According to the 2023-2024 Collegiate Family Handbook, sent to parents before the start of every school year, the dress code is “designed to maintain appropriate decorum and an optimal learning environment for teachers and students.” The dress code varies across the school divisions, with the Upper School uniform being the strictest, although Head of Upper School Patrick Loach wishes it would be “a little more buttoned-up.” The dress code guidelines include collared shirts, khakis, blouses, leggings (black only), and dresses. This represents the “compromises with the student body,” according to Loach. The 2023-24 dress code came into fruition after discussions among the faculty, the Judicial Council, and the SCA. 

Before COVID-19, the dress code was generally stricter, including required tucked-in collared-shirts, belts, and generally smarter clothes, as mentioned in the 2019-20 Collegiate Family Handbook. When in-person school resumed in 2020-2021, students were able to wear athletic clothes, as we did not have access to locker rooms due to COVID-19 restrictions. The dress code has begun to revert back to more rigid standards this year.

A Senior in regular school dress code. Photo credit: Oreoluwa Tokan-Lawal.

In my opinion, the dress code is perfectly fine. It’s not too smart, but it’s not too casual. Opinions on the dress code tend to differ based off people’s personal feelings, but many of students share similar thoughts. Justin Williams (‘25) thinks that the dress code “isn’t too bad,” with the collared shirt and khakis, but still hopes for “athletic shorts” to return. Kyla Williams (‘26) prefers the previous dress code, where she “could wear colored leggings” but sees how the change makes Collegiate into “a more professional environment.” 

Bradley VanRoekel (‘24) believes that the dress code is “good and makes our school look more professional,” as well as helps “how people view us from the outside.” Clavio Ascari (‘25) thinks that the dress code “makes us all look very proper,” but also that “it is slightly uncomfortable.” Grayson McNeely (‘25) likes “the formal look we have now” of the collared shirts and thinks, if anything, the dress code “should be more strict.” SCA co-chair Stella Williams (‘24) likes the school dress code as it is, saying it is a “good mix of casual and nice clothes” and believes the leggings are “a good compromise.” Bolling Lewis (‘24) is “fine with the dress code on the boys’ part,” as it is “clear what is and not allowed” to be worn and “we don’t have to have our shirts tucked in, like in Middle School.”

Featured image credit: desygner.com