[dr_lew]

What is it about socks? I went to a boarding school where we had to wear a tie and blazer. I remember talking to a teacher and leaning forward slightly so he wouldn't notice I wasn't wearing socks. I don't know how far back this goes, but loafers with no socks were pretty popular in college in the sixties. I like to think I was in the vanguard on this one.

Anyway, in those days it was just us against them. We didn't have lawyers.

[SuziQ]

Our two older sons attended an all boys Catholic high school. They were required to wear a sport coat and tie and slacks. The slacks could not be denim, so most of the boys wore 'khaki' type pants. It was amusing to watch how the boys expressed their individuality within those rules. Probably the most hilarious was the young man who must have rifled through his grandfather's closet and came away with a bright green plaid sportcoat. The boys also wore the most garish ties you've ever seen. But the school was cool with it, as long as the basic requirements were met. This way, the administrators spent more time on educating the boys than bothering them about what they're wearing.

One friend told me not to spend too much money on a jacket because the boys usually crammed it into their lockers at the end of the day, just to pull it out the next morning. I took our son to a discount store, and we found three jackets that he didn't mind wearing. I bought him four pairs of pants that would match or go with all of the jackets, then let him pick out a couple of ties. When we got home, I showed him which outfits went together, and I never had to bother with it again.