Sexy prom dresses might just be too hot for teacher this year. High schools across the nation are moving to ban provocative prom attire, with strict dress codesfor students wishing to attend the teenage rite of passage.
The Wall Street Journal reported that high schools across the country are tightening their dress codes as more and more teenage girls opt for sexy body-hugging, micro-mini, low-cut, barely-there prom dresses.
Hal David, principal at Cedartown High School in northwest Georgia, showed the Journal posters hung throughout the high school showing which sorts of sexy prom dresses are "unacceptable."
"It's a picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words kind of deal," said David. "We don't want somebody to spend a lot of money on a dress and then show up and there be an issue." By taking anticipatory action with blatantly detailed guidelines, schools do not have to turn away disheartened young girls at the door to the prom.
According to a survey by Visa, the Journal reported that last year the average family with a high school student spent $807 on prom. After all, Prom is one of the biggest nights of high school history. Everyone remember that giddy feeling of dressing up like a Hollywood starlet, taking photographs in a picturesque spot, riding in a fancy limo and partying the night away with your friends.
However, it is the "dressing up like aHollywood starlet" part that has forced school officials to crack the whip. Trend watchers reveal that the "sexy prom dresses" fad spawns straight from red carpets and popular television shows, like "Dancing with the Stars," where Hollywood starlets wear jaw-dropping frocks that oftentimes reveal more than a hint of skin.
Retailers notice the trend, too, and offer sexier dresses specifically geared towards prom-goers. At David's Bridal, the prom dresses in the "Sexy" category have made up approximately 35 percent of prom dress sales this year, Marissa Rubinetti, senior buyer for special-occasion dresses, told the Journal.
Click over to edressme.com or promgirl.com and you will see "Sexy" categories with glamorous prom dresses featuring cut-outs, open backs, snug fits, low-cut necklines, thigh-high slits and corset bodices.
"It seems kind of petty," Cindi Lee, an Algebra teacher at Southmore High School outside Oklahoma City, told the Journal, "but we really do want them to understand we are holding them to a high standard."
Chaperones will have their eyes peeled on prom night this year, keeping a lookout for young girls violating the dress codes. At one school in Georgia, there will be a ruler broken off at the three-inch mark to make sure a girl's prom dress is no shorter than three inches above the knee. Cleavage will be dealt with by a finger-to-collarbone test. A girls must place her index finger on one side of her collarbone and her thumb on the other. "If any skin shows beneath your hand...your dress is too low-cut," according to the dress code.