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MIButterfly

(556 posts)

36. I went to high school in Nashville in the early 70s.

Sun May 4, 2025, 11:29 PM

May 4

Girls could only wear "coordinated pants suits" and skirts could not be shorter than 2" above the knee. They would actually make you kneel on the floor and they would measure the bottom of your skirt to the floor with a yardstick. I always wore cute coordinated outfits but I had a friend who wore tie-dyed bell bottoms and fringe vests and the like and we would trade outfits and guess would be be sitting in the principal's office nearly every day? One day I was sent to the home ec teacher to ask her if what was I was wearing was a coordinated pants suit and she said "No, but it's cute!"

I also liked to wear headbands, but they were frowned upon. The principal actually told me that headbands made me look like a "non-conformist" (which was music to my teen-aged ears!) and that it would go on my permanent record which would follow me my entire life. When I told my mother and the evil step-father about having to take my headband off, they were really to go to the ACLU!

I never did figure out where my permanent record was or who had it; I always wanted to know what was in it.

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raging moderate JMCKUSICK Rastapopoulos

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Can you remember a rule from grade school/High School that made no sense to you now? Mine--girls were forbidden to wear [View all] debm55 May 4 OP

Yeah, same here- no pants allowed biophile May 4 #1

thank you biophile. I hated walking to school in the winter without slacks and sitting on the bus in mini skirts. debm55 May 4 #14

Same here. My sister was 5 years behind me in school and was able to wear pants yellowdogintexas May 4 #34

I graduated in 1965..never allowed to wear blue jeans, slacks or whatever we called them back then. Deuxcents May 4 #2

Same here. My last year of High school, we were allowed to wear jeans. debm55 May 4 #15

It was the same when I went to school, deb. Diamond_Dog May 4 #3

Gee, that is very strange. Thank you Diamond_Dog.. debm55 May 4 #17

I remember in the mid 60s... buzzycrumbhunger May 4 #4

I was just going to put the length of boys hair. and skirts being measured above the girls knee. Thank you debm55 May 4 #18

Jr high, girls couldn't wear miniskirts, so three girls wore long granny skirts in protest and were expelled. dem4decades May 4 #5

Makes no sense. I would were granny skirts in the winter. But we were never expelled for it. debm55 May 4 #19

Maybe on Topic BOSSHOG May 4 #6

BOSSHOG, I went to Catholic school too ---grades 1-8, I remember the altar boys and the choir. My biggest problem was debm55 May 4 #20

And ya couldn't chew gum at recess BOSSHOG May 4 #22

No candy either. At 12 the noon bells rang and we all had to stop and with folded hands face the Church and pray the debm55 May 4 #24

I Was An Altar Boy, Too ProfessorGAC May 5 #62

Decades ago BOSSHOG May 5 #65

Yes.. Unbelievably even in winter snowstorms... hlthe2b May 4 #7

HAHAHAHAHAHAh. Yes, the measuring of the skirts. And the pants under the dress or skirt. debm55 May 4 #25

In my school, between skirts only time and pants okay time ms liberty May 4 #8

Yes. Pants under a skirt. Thank you very much ms. liberty. I do remember. debm55 May 4 #26

shirts tucked in, measuring hemlines, no sandals stopdiggin May 4 #9

1993 - I took a job at a big IT firm in Texas Skittles May 4 #10

I agree with you Skittles. I was a slacks person. If you wore a dress or skirt, a slip was required and panty hose. debm55 May 4 #30

I worked in a room that looked like NASA with an observation deck Skittles May 4 #35

Were you at TI in Richardson? efhmc May 5 #43

I started with a private firm in 2003 that would not allow women wearing bare legs or open toed shoes. Nanuke May 4 #11

A school I taught in had the rule of no bare legs, no sandals for the students and teachers. debm55 May 4 #27

I'm trying to think of one that did make sense to me. chowmama May 4 #12

Thank you very much chowmama. I loved the part of your post about the books. debm55 May 4 #31

Somebody had donated a set of old Grimms' type stories chowmama May 5 #68

Skirts couldn't be shorter than two inches above the knee. Squaredeal May 4 #13

HAHAHAHHAHHAH That is so funny. Thank you Squaredeal debm55 May 4 #33

I remember a really creepy teacher who would sit on her desk and cross her legs so she could be ogled at by the boys. efhmc May 5 #44

That is gross. debm55 May 5 #46

My sister, an honor student, was sent home from school for wearing colottes in the mid sixties. mobeau69 May 4 #16

I remember those,,,, KarenS May 4 #29

My sister got sent home for wearing culottes in Jr. high Diamond_Dog May 5 #39

That whole morning routine of facing the flag ... surrealAmerican May 4 #21

Wow you are so right surrealAmerican. Day after Day we made the pledge. As a student in a Catholic Grade School. We made debm55 May 4 #23

I remember on special occasions Diamond_Dog May 5 #40

I never said the pledge. As a Jehovah's Witness I ignored it. hunter May 5 #42

Pledge and anthem chowmama May 5 #67

Graduated in '65. The flat top was in fashion.The biggest scandal was the majorettes/twirlers came up with new outfits. surfered May 4 #28

The length of boy's hair LogDog75 May 4 #32

I went to high school in Nashville in the early 70s. MIButterfly May 4 #36

Headbands? Made you a non conformist and went on your "permanent record"? Diamond_Dog May 5 #41

We had moved from a suburb of Detroit to Nashville in my junior year of high school MIButterfly May 5 #45

Thank you for sharing MIButterfly. That was an awful thing for them to do. debm55 May 5 #48

Actually, they kind of did have a point. It was a T-shirt, after all! MIButterfly May 5 #52

I agree. Thank you very much Diamond_Dog for sharing. debm55 May 5 #50

We had to do swim class naked CanonRay May 5 #37

Thank you CanonRay. that is in such poor taste. debm55 May 5 #49

Didn't all us old people have the same rule? JMCKUSICK May 5 #38

HAHAHAHAH. so true. Thank you John. debm55 May 5 #47

I hated the no slacks rule. Ritabert May 5 #51

Leggings! I think they matched the coat and yorkster May 5 #55

Exactly! Ritabert May 5 #60

Be home before dark. no_hypocrisy May 5 #53

In the 1960s, at Ole Miss, AnnaLee May 5 #54

Thank you very much AnnaLee for sharing your post with us. debm55 May 5 #56

We couldn't wear shorts. Emile May 5 #57

My senior year of high school I cut many if not most of my classes. thucythucy May 5 #58

Shorts had to be no more than 6" above the knee dlilafae May 5 #59

Girls could not wear anything other than dresses or skirts, at least long enough to touch floor when kneeling zeusdogmom May 5 #61

First I want to say that I'm forever grateful that I grew up in a time Niagara May 5 #63

Miss Scott... LuckyCharms May 7 #70

Catholic school, taught by nuns some_of_us_are_sane May 5 #64

Girls were finally allowed to wear pants in 5th grade. I hated wearing dresses. Clouds Passing May 5 #66

In case The Bomb went off... Mad_Dem_X May 6 #69