Pantsuits
Accepted dress has certainly changed in
the last twenty-five years. Being a teacher and a school
administrator I was expected to wear a tie. Men always wore
a suit and tie to church and on special occasions. Women
never wore shorts or pants in public and most wore hats and
gloves to church.
About 30 years ago there was a big public debate about
women wearing pantsuits in public. The general public
condemned the wearing of pantsuits by women; however, some
of the more progressive women began wearing them anyway.
Some even were bold enough to wear pantsuits to church.
There were stories in the newspapers about women wearing
pantsuits being denied entrance to public places like
restaurants. Many businesses had rules that women employees
were to wear dresses to work.
Being an elementary school principal where all of the
teachers were women, I thought that I should follow the
popular thinking and announced that teachers were to wear
dresses in the classroom. This was a more daring move than
I realized at the time. Having attended the Fayette County
Schools and being a very young principal, some of the
present teachers were my past teachers or at least had
taught in the school when I went through.
One of these teachers, Violet Jones, decided that she would
test my rule. She was one of the sweetest, most lovable
people you could ever know, a strict disciplinarian with a
mind of her own. Like Rosa Parks, she took her stand and
came to school wearing a pantsuit.
The word came quickly to me that Violet was wearing a
pantsuit!
I made a bee line to the lower hall where she was on duty.
Sure enough there she was in a very nice pantsuit with the
biggest smile on her face as if to say, “What now?”. Other
teachers were standing in their classroom doors watching to
see what would happen. I almost wished I’d never made the
rule but I had made it thinking the public wanted it that
way and felt a need to stand by it. I suspended her from
school until she changed her attire. She went home and
changed and was back at school in no time.
News quickly traveled around town to the superintendent,
the board of education and the public in general. Violet’s
husband was Sheriff Jones. one of the most influential
people in the county. Of course he didn’t interfere but his
popularity didn’t help my case.
I really don’t remember how this all ended, but it was not
too long before many teachers were wearing pantsuits to
school which was really more appropriate than a dress,
since they had duties like playground supervision.
Violet never let me forget the episode. I saw her many
years after we both had retired and she laughingly reminded
me of the event. She still looked good in a pantsuit.
After reading this story Joan Neal sent me the following
email:
Dean, the end of the story of the pantsuits and pants in
general:
Violet, Hazel and I went before the school board and
explained how short the dresses had gotten - mid thigh and
every time you bent down to retreive something, it was very
embrassing to some students. One of the board members had a
son in the 4th grade and he made the motion to allow
teachers and staff to wear pantsuits and no jeans. It
passed unanimously...the next day Violet and I both wore
pantsuits to school and the next day after that almost all
were wearing the pantsuits. Good story and true.