No pajama pants allowed while learning from home, district says

No pajama pants allowed while learning from home, district says - Boston.com

Posted: 09 Aug 2020 09:34 AM PDT

Will Wright,

New York Times Service

August 9, 2020 | 12:34 PM

Students in the capital of Illinois are not allowed to wear hats, bandannas, sunglasses, pajama pants or slippers in school buildings. And that dress code now extends to their bedrooms and kitchen tables.

"We don't need students in pajamas and all those other things while on their Zoom conferences," Jason Wind, the district's director of student support, explained during an online board meeting of Springfield Public Schools this past week.

Along with the clothing requirements, the district's remote learning guidelines mandate that students be "sitting up out of bed, preferably at a desk or table."

A district spokeswoman, Bree Hankins, said in a statement that the remote learning guidelines were developed collaboratively with teachers, administrators and parents, and that the dress code reflected what the students would be wearing when in school.

The district, which has about 14,000 students, does not expect to be punitive during remote learning, Hankins said.

"Our hope is that students approach remote learning as they would in a classroom setting, to the extent possible given each student's individual circumstances," Hankins said. "However, we understand the interpretation of the dress code in a remote learning environment will differ from a normal school setting."

Other prohibited items, according to the district's handbook, include clothing that is extremely baggy or that displays offensive language or symbols, and shoes that have wheels on the bottom.

"Each school has a reasonable interpretation of the dress code depending upon the building's culture and climate," the handbook says.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the district will start the school year Aug. 31 with a hybrid program, with students attending in-person classes two days a week. During the three days they are at home, the rules will still apply, the district said.

Christy Schmidt, who has two children that attend school in Springfield, Illinois, said that she watched some of their Zoom calls last semester, and that there was no correlation between what students were wearing and whether they paid attention.

"How much hassle are you going to give the parent with four kids, working a full-time job trying to support their kids, and their kid attended the Zoom meeting, but he was in pajamas?" said Schmidt, who has led a support group for parents during the pandemic.

Get Boston.com's e-mail alerts:

Don't let pants' pleats stop you from attending wedding - NWAOnline

Posted: 09 Aug 2020 01:01 AM PDT

Q I have to go to a wedding and the only appropriate suit I have has pleated trousers. I neither can afford nor want to buy a suit just for this wedding. Any suggestions?

A Whatever you do, please don't allow this small problem to prevent you from attending and enjoying the wedding. These days we can all benefit from a happy distraction. I hope to be able to suggest a few possible solutions.

First, you are right that trousers with pleats have been out of fashion for several years and should be avoided when possible. But that does not mean your only option is to buy a new suit. You have two perfectly acceptable alternatives.

Before discussing the trousers, I do have to add a note of caution to any of this advice: Generally, a suit that has pleated trousers is several years old and the cut of the trousers is not the only element that might look dated or be out of style. The entire suit is likely to be cut somewhat fuller than today's more modern styles. Still, it is unlikely that the jacket and/or the pants would be so far from today's trimmer cut as to make you uncomfortable.

So, one option is to ignore the problem altogether and to wear the suit as is. Even though this is not ideal, it really is workable, because, as long as you do not unbutton or remove your suit jacket during the entire event, no one will be aware that your trousers have pleats.

Your second option is to take the trousers to a skilled tailor to remove the pleats and turn them into plain-front trousers. This is neither a simple nor an inexpensive alteration, but it is definitely doable; and it can be a wise investment. My regular readers know that I recommend always making necessary tailoring alterations. But I also regularly caution against making certain specific changes. The primary one to avoid is changing the shoulders on a jacket. This is too major an alteration and almost never a wise decision. Nevertheless, many other alterations are well within the ability of a qualified tailor, and one of them is removing the pleats from a pair of pants (as well as some of the extra fullness). This process can easily cost from $50 to $90, but if you already own a suit that you like, and if you do not have a lot of occasions to wear a new suit or the money to buy one, the expenditure makes a lot of sense. The trickiest part is finding a tailor who is up to the job. Ask around until you find one who is well recommended. This is not the place to cut back on quality.

Whichever way you go, your overall appearance for a special occasion can certainly benefit from paying attention to a few dress and grooming details. A well-ironed shirt and a compelling necktie would be positive additions. The better they look -- and the fact that they are near to your face where people's eyes focus -- will reduce any notice of your trousers. If you have a high quality shine on your shoes and a good haircut, this will also distract and improve your overall appearance.

Please send your men's dress and grooming questions to MALE CALL:

[email protected]