You better dress to impress in Dadeville, Alabama–because their city council might be on the cusp of banning short skirts, sagging pants, and some shorts.
City Councilman Frank Goodman insisted that the proposed new law was to help young people, who are the most likely offenders of the stringent new dress code, rather than punish them.
“Who is going to respect you if you don’t respect yourself?” he asked, at last month’s city council meeting. “The reason I brought this up is I think people deserve respect when they are in public. I think slacking is disrespectful. I think it gives our younger generation the wrong impression of what is cool.”
Goodman initially just proposed the ban on sagging pants–but his colleagues quickly jumped in, deciding that government shouldn’t just tell men what to wear; they should tell everyone what to wear.
Stephanie Kelley, another member of the city council, quickly added that girls’ skirts and shorts be added to the city-wide dress code as well.”
“I think for the girls, with these shorts up so high looking like under garments and dresses so short, I don’t want us to be showing favoritism,” she explained.
It’s unclear how the law would hold up if challenged in court–the First Amendment guarantees Americans the freedom of self-expression, which would certainly include clothing that’s racy and suggestive, but not technically obscene.
But, regardless of what happens down the road, the rest of the city council also showed support for the proposal and seems to be behind it–meaning that it could very likely become city law.
The ordinance will tentatively be voted on at the next city council meeting in October.
