Clothing Fads Inspire Relaxed Dress Rules

In olden days a glimpse of stockjng was looked on as something shocking. But today, there are other areas to worry about. The clothing revolution has joined forces with other uprisings to produce a new freedom in dress standards. "Indecent" skirt lengths have all but disappeared. Working girls needn't save their far-out froeks for after the office. And many employers have adopted the "shorter the better" attitude. Such staid institutions as the banks n o w allow miniskirted tellers. The University doesn't care if women students or teachers wear pants in the classroom. What then are the standards of decorum for employees in business and academie settings? Are there any rules at all anymore for a "proper appearance"? In fact, dress codes have changed radicÉuTyover the last several years. The rules are less rigid, to be sure. But, some do still exist. L i k e the hard-to-define rules regarding literary and movie content, regulations regarding dress are based on what jurists and personnel directors cali the "community standards" of good taste and decorum. What would raise eyebrows in a small town may be acceptable in a college town. What's in bad taste here might be all right for New York. Similarly, what's acceptable for a classroom is differnt for business offices. What's all right for business offices is too conservative for other settings. The Ann Arbo-r Public Schools passed a resolution several years ago, for example, which banned strict lations regarding appearance. I There are no specific rules on dress and grooming for the schools except in matters directly affecting the health or safety of students and school personnel. Students, therefore, are free to wear anything they please - as long as it's "decent" and doesn't upset the classroom routine. Girls are iree to wear slacks and mini-skirts. Boys can grow their hair long. Sandals are accepted as f o o t wear. A spokesman for the public schools s a i d that the "no policy" policy has worked out well for the school system. Students learn just as well and are not seriously affected by casual dress. P o s s i b 1 e garments "off limits" in the schools- peeka-boo blouses and bare feet. The former would upset classroom routine. The latter would cause health problems, he said. The University also has no formal regulations regarding dress. Students and_faculty bers can wear lust a b o u f anything they please. James Thiry, of the University office of non-academie personnel, explained, however, that what few regulations exist are determined solely by the U-M's various departments. Their rules are determined by what personnel directors cali the "image and role" of the department and the requirements of a person's work and contact with the public. An example of this policy is University Hospital- the largestsingleemployerof University personnel. Some employés of the hospital naturally have fewer regulations on appearance than others, Richard Daggett of hospital personnel said. Those employed in clerical or office positions have less pressures put on them to conform to a certain image or role, i Mini skirts and beads 'are perfectly acceptable, Daggett said. Few complaints are made, he said, regarding the dress of this personnel. Other job classifications however, require somewhat stricter rules. Male employés of the Children's Psychiatrie Ward, for example, are asked to wear their hair short and neat. Daggett said this was important for the young male patients to identify with the "male image." Several styles have not yet caught on enough either in the area or nation to warrant' acceptance in an office or hospital setting- the pants suit or the peek-a-boo blouse. Since the pants suit is experiencing a . decline in popularity anyway, the pressure has not been exerted to change the rule. See-through blouses are still offensive to most people as is the no-bra look, Daggett said. But department heads are sometimes hard pressed to enforce the no-bra rule. "Where it's obvious, we can suggest something," Daggett said, "Where, of course, it isn't, there's nothing we can do." see also the picture on next page