By Jonathan Hernandez ‘24
St. Mark’s has adopted a new dress code for class time for this academic year. In light of the pandemic, and the hybrid learning environment that has been created, St. Mark’s has altered its clothing expectations for “health, comfort, and practicality” during COVID-19 as stated in the Dress Code Expectations. In previous years, St. Mark’s has required students to dress in “business casual.” However, this year, the new relaxed dress code has been introduced, which still follows the idea of students’ dress being “appropriate for the work and respectful of the community.” Thus, underwear is still not outerwear and distracting attire is still not permitted. If you were planning on wearing pajama pants to class, the dress code is NOT that relaxed.
History of St. Mark’s Dress Code
“From its earliest days, there was a strict dress code for students (all boys for its first 110 years or so)” says Nick Noble, School Historian. A jacket and tie were required in all classes and at meals during the week, but they were not required for lunches and dinners on game days. Jackets and ties were also required for the chapel which took place every day of the week except on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Moreover, suits were required for certain major school events and Sunday chapel which was mandatory for all students if they were not attending services at their own religious institution. This dress code was in place for the first hundred years of St. Mark’s history. Additionally, there were requirements for hair, too. If a teacher told you to “get a haircut,” you did.
During the 1960s, St. Mark’s relaxed the dress code and expanded the definition of a jacket to include different colors. “Formal School Dress” (Our Chapel Dress) still required suits, but this wasn’t always enforced, if the entire ensemble was dark and conservative. The hair length regulation was also relaxed and became more specific. Some of the rules included that “eyes must be visible”; “hair cannot completely cover the ears,”; and “hair cannot be longer than the collar of your shirt/jacket.” There were fewer chapel services as well.
In the 1970s, hair length adhering to the dress code for boys became difficult to enforce. There was a cultural shift in men’s hair in part due to the rebelliousness of the 1960s that challenged traditional short-hair for men. Longer hair was in for boys. St. Mark’s responded by adding greater specificity to the dress code requiring “eyes must be visible”, “hair cannot completely cover the ears” and “hair cannot be longer than the collar of your shirt/jacket” to address potential violations regarding hair length.
With the emergence of coeducation in the 1970s, St. Mark’s added a dress code for girls. The first girls that attended St. Mark’s in 1972 were from the Southborough School who had a formal dress code that included a uniform green shirt and green blazer with gold and yellow insignia. This formal dress code only lasted one or two years. As a more liberal and progressive school than St. Mark’s at the time, the Southborough school had a more relaxed regular dress code for girls that included button shirts, skirts, khaki pants or dresses. St. Mark’s became fully co-education in the fall of 1977. Ms. Putnam, who’s been at St. Mark’s for 42 years, recalls from her high school years the tension between what girls thought was appropriate attire (really short mini-skirts) and what the administration deemed acceptable. This is not unique to St. Mark’s by any means, but a reflection of social and cultural norms.
In the early 1980s, the dress code was relaxed even more by headmaster Mark Barlow, according to Mr. Noble. “Neat, presentable, and appropriate” became the guidelines for the dress code as jackets and ties were no longer required during the school day while “Chapel Dress” was still required for major school events and evening services. “Any changes over the last 25 years have been adjustments to that change” reported Mr. Noble.
Dress Code for 2020-2021 School Year
Before this academic year, St. Mark’s announced its plan for a relaxed dress code during COVID-19. Dr. Warren, Head of School, reported that they “began thinking about dress code during the summer, as we planned for 2020-21.” Dr. Warren further said that “if students learning remotely are dressed in a casual way, then students who are learning at St. Mark’s should also be able to dress in a casual way.” But, again, no pajama pants nor bunny slippers in class. Casual wear does have its limits. As someone who just spent 13 years in Arizona where t-shirts and shorts are worn throughout the entire school year, I can assure you that casual attire has different meanings in different parts of the country. Some New England casual attire would be considered formal attire in the Southwest.
One of the biggest changes for the relaxed dress code is that Chapel Dress has been temporarily suspended. Additionally, St. Mark’s is allowing students to wear sweatshirts other than St. Mark’s Sweatshirts.
Reactions to the Relaxed Dress Code from the St. Mark’s Community
I asked our St. Mark’s community about the relaxed dress code. Most responses were positive. “I think it will make life easier for students and families and is a fair solution given that remote students can wear whatever they like” said Ms. Pavletic, Director of Health Services. Ms. Roussinos, modern language faculty and Thayer house head, stated “I think the school will be positively affected by the change in dress code. It will allow students to be less stressed about how they might abide by dress code rules, and more focused on other health and wellness issues.” Ms. Roussinos also added, “I am super excited about the relaxed dress code! It means I don’t have to pretend to patrol students who are out of dress code (Sorry, Vac!!) and focus on more essential tasks at hand.”
Eighty-five percent of students who responded to my survey were very excited about the changes in the dress code. “I believe that the relaxed dress code will relax students in the hectic state of this school year. I think that with all that is going on it will be one less thing to worry about,” said V former Sydni Williams. Like many others, Ms. Williams was most excited about wearing non-St. Mark’s sweatshirts. Delaney Grace, VI former, is also enthused about the change: “I think that we have more freedom to dress how we want all while being presentable and ready to learn! Blue jeans, leggings, non SM sweatshirts can all be worn as long as we look ready to learn. Thank you, Mr. Vachris.” Harlan Jackson, IV form, believes that the relaxed dress code “will lead to a more lively atmosphere.” Of those students that responded positively about the relaxed dress code, 38% of them expressed that they were most excited about being able to wear non-St. Mark’s sweatshirts. Some students believed that the relaxed dress code would eliminate needless pressure and an opportunity to express themselves more allowing for greater diversity in campus dress.
Of the forty individuals who responded to the survey, however, 15% of students were not enthused about this change to the dress code. Pearse MacDonald, a IV form, believes that “things will be more lazy,” while another student expressed that a more relaxed environment “might negatively affect motivation.” Ezio Salem, III form, believes, “It will look less formal” and this could negatively impact St. Mark’s. Other comments included, “I want to continue to look more presentable for school so I hope most people won’t just wear more casual clothes all the time.” So, please, please reserve your bunny slippers and pajama pants for your dorm room or at home.
It is clear that there are many individuals, both students and staff who are enthusiastic about the relaxed dress code. “What we wear changes and responds to trends in culture, fashion and marketing,” according to Ms. Putnam. Dress codes attempt to help us express ourselves without breaking decorum or making others feel uncomfortable. “Being proud of who you are and wearing clothing that you can be comfortable wearing, that describes you, is one of the ways that we speak nonverbally,” stated Ms. Putnam. She further added, “We all live together in a community and that generally means some compromise.” COVID-19 has upended our lives in so many ways and many at St. Mark’s are grateful for the relaxed dress.