New dress code doesn’t have to cramp your style

Ariana Cyr, Staff Writer

Girls, trust me: I never like to hear the words “dress code.” I’m with you on the idea that we should be able to wear whatever we want, but sometimes the administration chooses to crack down and cross out yet another article of clothing. Well, let me be your voice of reason in tossing out those crop tops, or just reinventing them into something new.

I’m not going to lie when I say that I spent my summer in shorts and crop tops, and when I went back-to-school shopping I purchased a few. But don’t look at this change so negatively. Rather, choose to look at it with a hope of new outfit creations, new ways to wear that maxi skirt that’s too long.

Let’s take a stroll down maxi skirt lane. I am sure, many of you, just like me, suffer from a little illness known as short-itis. Being five feet even, I have learned that maxi skirts aren’t for me.  However, this new crop-top ban opens the maxi skirt doors. It’s fall anyways, why show your stomach and freeze. Pick out that tribal printed maxi skirt, black crop top, denim button down, and scarf and listen to this. Put on the crop top, tuck it into your skirt, wear the scarf as if it is an infinity scarf (I use safety pins to attach both ends of the scarf together), and add the final touch of a denim button down to keep you warm. BAM! A cute outfit without breaking dress code.

How about high waisted shorts or pants? Why don’t we head down that path? High-waisted shorts and pants are back in style, and I’m a huge fan. So let’s take that same top you had and a pair of your favorite high rise shorts. I would advise, with our lovely New England weather, you go out and buy a cheap pair of black tights and knee high socks- gray, white, navy, or my favorite, cream. Under your shorts, put on the tights and knee-highs. Add a scarf and a sweater to give it that extra fall spice. Put on a pair of oxfords, or ankle boots, scrunch the socks down, and you’ve got outfit number two. It won’t break dress code and force administration to call your parents to bring you another shirt. You could even substitute the shorts and tights with high-rise pants.

See? This ban really is not the end of the world. We can survive. You will survive. So don’t throw away the crop tops, and don’t risk it and show your stomach. Instead find creative alternatives to the crop top style.