LAUGH
Teachers are adults, so why are our dress codes often more regulated than students? We are responsible for educating and supervising young humans. This should earn us the trust to dress ourselves appropriately. Here are some of the most ridiculous teacher dress codes shared with us in our #TeacherLife Group.
Mandatory mani-pedis
- “I had a principal who would require extra duties of teachers if she saw your toe nails in sandals without a fresh pedicure.”
- “Chipped nail polish isn’t allowed.”
Shoe rules
- “No tennis shoes without a doctor’s note.”
- “All shoes had to have a strap or closed back.”
- “No more than three toes can show at once.”
- “Teachers can’t wear shoes with rubber soles.”
No visible tattoos
- “I was handed socks to cover tattoos on my feet when fragments of my tattoo showed between my sandal straps.”
- “I’m a SPED teacher and received a written warning when an overstimulated child pulled my shirt down at the collar and showed my chest tattoo.”
- “I have a tattoo around my finger instead of a wedding band. It has to be covered with a band-aid.”
Weird teacher dress codes for clothing
- “No capris unless part of a matched set.”
- “Absolutely no denim, including jackets.”
- “No velour.”
- “Our dress code only allows ‘age-appropriate trends.'”
- “No pants with double-stitched seams.”
- “Dress up Fridays. Ladies are required to wear a skirt or a dress on Fridays. No pants. Men must wear ties.”
- “Panty hose under all pants, even jeans. This was in 2009.”
- “Shirts with ties and slacks are required for male teachers even when working in the classroom after school hours.”
- We aren’t allowed to wear capris. Our principal decided a teacher’s pants were too short one day and made her tape paper to the bottom of them.”
- “In the 90s we had to wear nylons and a dress or skirt every day from August until the time change. Then we could wear dress pants for the rest of the year.”
- “Bottoms must be darker than tops.”
- “We aren’t allowed to wear leggings under dresses because it’s ‘too revealing,’ but bare legs under dresses are okay.”
- “Our school still requires pantyhose in 2021.”
- “No evening gowns.”
- “Our dress code states bras are required.”
- “We are required to wear business professional attire at a preschool.”
- “No short sleeves.”
- “Female teachers at my high school aren’t allowed to wear skirts or dresses of any length because it isn’t appropriate for male students to see our legs.”
- “One year my principal sent out do’s and don’ts about the tightness of pants. This included pictures and everything.”
- “Ties are required for male teachers every day, even PE teachers.”
- “No more than 6 pockets in your pants.”
Teacher dress codes: Jeans
- “Teachers aren’t allowed to wear jeans on school property. Period.”
- “No jeans while virtual teaching.”
- “We can wear jeans every six school days. And admin keeps track of when we last wore it to make sure we don’t ‘cheat.’”
- “There’s a mandatory ‘donation’ required to the social fund each semester in order to wear jeans on Friday. Everyone has to pay, even if you don’t plan on wearing jeans.”
- “Blue jeans aren’t allowed, but other color denim is. Blue is color, too, right?”
Hair, makeup & accessories
- “Ponytails aren’t allowed.”
- “Curly hair should be flat-ironed.”
- “No visible roots.”
- “I work at a preschool and makeup is required so we look ‘professional.'”
- “Teachers must wear lipstick and touch it up frequently to look ‘fresh and alert.'”
- “No red lipstick.”
- “Staff cannot change hairstyle the entire school year.”
- “Only natural hair color.”
- “We’re only allowed lower earlobe piercings. No other piercings anywhere. And only females are allowed pierced ears.”
- “Male teachers aren’t allowed to wear jewelry.”
- “No bags or purses large enough to carry a child shall be permitted.”
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Join us in the #teacherlife community to continue the discussion!
