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Teeny Prom Dress Earns Girl Accessories: Handcuffs. Fair?

Mon, 05/12/2008 - 9:00am by CitizenSugar
82,680 Views - 148 comments

Prom night in Houston brought out the corsages — and the controversy. One high school senior came decked out in a dress that school officials thought was less than suitable. Yellow criss-crosses of fabric made up the top portion of her custom-made frock. She said, "I actually like the dress. Everybody else likes my dress." The dress code did not approve.

She was stopped at the door by a school official. The hopeful prom-goer said, "she shook her head, she was like you are not getting into this prom. We were arguing back and forth because I wanted to know why I can't get into my prom.” The dance of wills escalated from there. Even after offering cover up, she was still denied entrance.

The school principal said, “It was revealing in such nature it was not appropriate for the prom." The student became furious and demanded entrance or a refund — the next thing she knew, the cops had been called and the tiny dancer was chauffeured away in a squad car. She says, "They didn't give me any options, but to go to jail or go home."

Even the morning after, she still loves her prom dress. Was the school out of line? Should she have been allowed to cover up and dance? Was the dress and resulting argument too hot for high school?

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148 Comments Add a Comment

  • raciccarone's picture
    raciccarone
    2

    If you have a prom, which is essentially a social function, the school abrogates the right to a dress codes. Let the lawsuits begin.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • Jillness's picture
    Jillness
    3

    If the prom is sponsored by the school, I understand them having dress codes. That dress is in no way tasteful.

    I think there has to be more to the story. I am interested in how it escalated from being denied in to being in handcuffs. Did she get violent? Did she try to run past security to get in? Or did the cops over react? Were police called, or were they there already?

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • lizrocks's picture
    lizrocks
    4

    It's not like she didn't know. Before the prom school officials are .very. clear that your prom dress should stay in dress code and that no refunds would be given. That dress definitely wasn't.

    Handcuffs are serious overkill unless she was acting a fool and wouldn't leave after told to do so.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • syako's picture
    syako
    5

    I agree, dress codes are not kept secret from students. In fact, our local newspaper had a whole week long feature on how to dress from prom within school dress codes. It's a part of the deal.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • mondaymoos's picture
    mondaymoos
    6

    While I agree the dress isn't appropriate, if she offered to cover up the top of her dress, what's the big deal? That's how it works IN school if you're wearing something inappropriate. They used to send me to the nurse's office to get a PE shirt to wear all day. Why would it be different for the prom? Especially if she had a sweater (or something) in the car.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • annebreal's picture
    annebreal
    7

    We don't know the full story. Was the dress code for prom explicit, written, and was a copy mailed home to parents? What really went down when she "asked" for a refund? Also, when she was led off in handcuffs, what happened next? To me this is just a puff piece to be filler in the local news, but it's kinda funny/interesting enough to put in blogs (just saw this on Dlisted).

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • raciccarone's picture
    raciccarone
    9

    I still don't see a problem with the dress. Sorry. Okay, it's not a Vera Wang original, but it's still an evening dress. Besides, since when is a school in any position to judge taste?

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • syako's picture
    syako
    10

    monday - personally, I think if you don't follow the rules, you don't get in. The dress was inappropriate. That's it. Unless she offered to go home and put on another dress I don't think that a "cover up" would work. (But that's just my opinion!)

    Wanna hear something funny? At both of my proms I wore backless dresses (which were totally tasteful and classy) the next year, backless dresses were banned! Ha, I like to think my dresses had something to do with that ban

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • syako's picture
    syako
    12

    custom made? wrap two ribbons around your boob and back. wrap fabric around waist and butt. finished!

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • mondaymoos's picture
    mondaymoos
    13

    *laughs* So obviously the school didn't agree that your dresses were "tasteful and classy". But in this students case, it's just inappropriate. I see.

    Regardless, dress codes ARE different for prom than they are for every-day dress code. Strapless/spaghetti straps/mid drift baring outfits weren't allowed in school, but were deemed appropriate for prom. I guess it would depend on how clear the rules were. In the article, the student says her options were home or jail. I don't think changing her dress was offered to her as a choice.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • zeze's picture
    zeze
    14

    I'm guessing this is a public school, which should cater to everyone within reasonable limits. Proms include children as young as 13 - it's not hard to imagine that some parents would be upset with the prom turning into a vegas club with girls revealing too much, or take the grinding/dancing/sex with clothes that has been banned at these dances.

    It's simple, public school, follow the dress code, you don't like the dress code then challenge its reasonableness before the dance, otherwise put some clothes on or go home.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • hypnoticmix's picture
    hypnoticmix
    16

    How ridiculous! First of if the administrators on site had an issue with her dress and she offered to cover up to resolve the issue there should be no more issue. The Principle is responsible for escalating the matter to begin with.

    Instead of calling the cops the Principle should have put her/his money where their mouth is and write the girl a check for reimbursement.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • Nickey's picture
    Nickey
    17

    The handcuffs are way too extreme, but I think that if she was to cover up, she should have been allowed to go in. The arrest was ridic. What charges exactly do they file in a case like this? Indecent exposure according to school dress code? There has to be more to this.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • flyinggrip's picture
    flyinggrip
    18

    In a video on CNN they showed a copy of the dress code which clearly said that no more than one inch of midriff could be shown. She is clearly breaking the dress code and deserved to be sent home.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • kia's picture
    kia
    19

    They should have given her the option to cover up or go home. She is dumb for thinking this dress was appropriate... where were her parents or guardians to step in with better judgement? Hell no would I let a child go to prom dressed like a hooker on Sunset Boulevard.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • SweetPeasMom's picture
    SweetPeasMom
    20

    There was a video on Yahoo where she demonstrated how she offered to "cover up" and it still was not anywhere near covered up. She admitted to getting loud and arguing with the person who told her she needed to leave, and the cops were called and she was escorted away.

    Really, if given the options to either "go home" or "go to jail" why wouldn't you just go home? And why get mad when you don't, and you get put in handcuffs instead?!

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • cine_lover's picture
    cine_lover
    21

    She had a choice to go home, change and come back. She knew the dress code, and made the choice to ignore it. If she became loud and enraged, then it is better that the school call the cops and have them deal with it, then it escalate into something more and have her sue the school.

    Too bad. She did not get her own way, and had to miss her prom. Maybe she will learn to abide by rules.

    And what kind of parents let their children go out to a SCHOOL Prom dressed like this?

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • linb's picture
    linb
    22

    I of course was not there and do not know the girl, but if she is the type of person that would think that dress is OK to wear to a school prom, I wouldn't be surprised if she also acted in a way that warranted handcuffs. Common sense may not be her forte.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • MarinerMandy's picture
    MarinerMandy
    23

    Maybe an arrest is a little extreme, but if she wouldn't go home and change then she kind of brought it on herself. Does this girl have parents? Because I cannot figure out why anyone would let their teenage daughter leave the house dressed like that. I do think it is really sad that so many young women in this country feel the need to dress like cheap hookers.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • WhiplashGirlchild's picture
    WhiplashGirlchild
    24

    I think that handcuffs were maybe too much, but that dress is definitely inappropriate. She should've known better and her mother CERTAINLY shouldn't have let her out the door like that.

    I think we're not hearing the whole story, though.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • Bookish's picture
    Bookish
    25

    I just feel there must be more to this. Was she causing a disruption, or getting violent? (Pushing, screaming, shoving, that sort of thing.)

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • mcpro26's picture
    mcpro26
    26

    Ok I have a lot of problems with this story. Sweet pea I just saw the same video and I am laughing about what she called a "cover up" and then she said they were not allowing her in with the "coverup" because she did not have any undergarmets on...I really hope they were talking about a bra and not anything else (i.e. I hope she already had some on). I went to my senior prom in one dress that was dress code appropriate and then changed into one that showed my midriff during the after party. I also laughed at the video because the girls acts like she did nothing wrong but it is a school fuction and she probably has been told the dress code often enough. BTW did her parents allow her to walk out of the house wearing that? My parents would have shot me before leaving in that. I think the dress (not the girl) looks really ghetto and the handcuffs made the outfit!!!!

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • hypnoticmix's picture
    hypnoticmix
    27

    You know what surprises me is many of the comments here say they are surprised that she thought it was o.k. to dress this way.

    I'm sorry but when you have children that are literally programmed and nurtured by a multi media that sexualizes them from the minute they are exposed there should be no surprise what so ever. This is the society we live in and this is the product of this society. Now instead of treating the child as a criminal we should understand from the get go what's going on here. Making criminals out of the product of our own collective indiference to what's going on is not the answer.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • mcpro26's picture
    mcpro26
    28

    Another thing I just saw was the letter sent home with the students explaining what can and can't be worn and she broke almost every single rule they had on there. I now honestly think she was trying to get attention.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • lilkimbo's picture
    lilkimbo
    29

    I agree with pretty much everyone else. Rules are rules and they need to be followed. And I'm guessing there's more to this story as to why she got escorted away by the police.

    As far as getting her money back, I have to agree with the school that she shouldn't. She clearly knew the rules beforehand and chose not to abide by them. Since it was the night of prom, the school wouldn't be able to get the money back for her dinner, so she didn't have any right to get the money back from the school.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • SweetPeasMom's picture
    SweetPeasMom
    30

    I hate the "society" excuse. What about personal responsibility? And even if "the media" told her that was appropriate, the prom rules sent home told her it wasn't. Period. She was turned away from prom, as she should have been. Maybe handcuffs weren't necessary, but maybe she was causing a ruckus and it was necessary.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • cine_lover's picture
    cine_lover
    32

    Hypno, saying she is programed that way in my opinion is a lame excuse. She KNEW the rules. They were not a surprise to her, and she broke them. She was trying to test her limits and she lost.

    Now I think you have a valid reason to why she has a desire to dress such a way, but not the excuse as to why she did it, if that makes sense.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • calliope's picture
    calliope
    34

    At least five girls were sent home from my prom to change into appropriate dresses. They didn't make a big deal out of it because they knew they were trying to sneak into prom in something that broke the dress code.
    I'm sure this girl had to be arrested because she would not leave after being asked to. I'm sorry her prom was ruined, but she ruined it for herself.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • hypnoticmix's picture
    hypnoticmix
    36

    Personal responsibility is also nurtured SweetPeasMom it doesn't drop out of sky and hit you up side the head and that's my point. Society needs to nurture personal responsibility to counter a multi media that for all intents and purposes raises our children right along side the parents. Too often parents loose out to the influence and don't understand the problem until it reaches the point where their children are acting out in this manner. Don't get me wrong either I think you're right society is not an excuse, but for every cause there is an effect and there for it is a reason not an excuse.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • SweetPeasMom's picture
    SweetPeasMom
    37

    So because her parents failed to raise her properly and she got all of her great ideas from Fox and Cosmo and I love New York 2, it's society's fault? I still blame the parents.

    When my daughter acts up, I'm proactive about it and correct her behavior, I don't just go, "Ah, well, I guess the media says it's ok..."

    If the parents are doing their job, it does more than what TV and movies do to raise a kid.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • cabaker27's picture
    cabaker27
    38

    Cine you are SO right.

    Get me the ACLU!!!! Someone's rights are being infringed upon!! This is social injustice at its greatest!

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • hypnoticmix's picture
    hypnoticmix
    39

    All I'm saying is to understand the influence to act up and don't act surprised because they do. I'm not saying what she did was o.k. what I'm saying is understand what she is the product of deal with it accordingly but to say you're surprised is just plain silly to me. This isn't about making excuses for her. To me saying one is surprised by her behavior is an excuse.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • RosaDilia's picture
    RosaDilia
    40

    Where were her parents? How could her mother allow her to leave the house in that dress? Obviously this student wanted to be the talk of the prom....one way or the other.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • syako's picture
    syako
    41

    if you haven't seen the cnn video go watch it. Her cover up was to hike up the skirt and cover her stomach.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • Lainetm's picture
    Lainetm
    42

    I wish my kids' school would be this conscientious.
    As for where the girl's parents are, probably supporting her. Where do you think kids like this come from, anyway?

    It was her choice to go to jail or go home. I'm sure it came to that because she had a major b1tch fit. Looking at that picture, she obviously doesn't know how to accessorize, maybe she thought the cuffs would be a good "look". (They probably covered more skin than that top.)

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • j2e1n9's picture
    j2e1n9
    43

    I'm sure if they called the police and handcuffed her that she must have been causing a scene/acting belligerently pissed off. I would take that as a given.

    That sucks that she missed her prom, but kids know the dress-code rules and they know the consequences, and I'd be willing to bet that they mentioned that dress-code rules applied to the prom even if it wasnt held on school property.

    I'm sure she thinks its ridiculous that she could wear that exact same outfit out to an all ages club but not to her prom, but them's the breaks kiddo!

    Anyways, she should save the dress, and then if she can still fit into it in 10 years, wear it to her highschool reunion so she can finally get it out of her system Eye-wink

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment