Appropriate Clothes for the High School Girl

In Short

Published in 1920 by the College of Industrial Arts in Denton, Texas, this educational bulletin functions as a practical philosophy of dress for young women. Author Virginia M. Alexander argues that the schoolroom is a workshop, not a fashion show, and outlines visual guidelines for daily wear, street suits, and graduation gowns. Rejecting expensive, restrictive trends like French heels and fragile georgette blouses, the text champions modest, durable materials that promote health, freedom of movement, and economic equality among students across diverse backgrounds.

The Story

The argument opens by addressing a sudden shift in high school culture. As young women enter high school, many feel an immediate impulse to prove their newly acquired adulthood by adopting adult high fashion. They abandon simple gingham dresses and practical low-heeled shoes, turning instead to elaborate silk blouses, complicated hairstyles, and high heels. The text counters this impulse by framing the schoolroom as a busy workplace dedicated to building a life, where intricate party dresses conflict with the functional background of blackboards and classroom walls.

Progressing to concrete wardrobe solutions, the text highlights utilitarian garments designed for durability and ease of care. It advocates for Peter Thompson or Hofflin suits, washable gingham, and serge jumper dresses paired with versatile underblouses. The design principles expand to address individual anatomy, demonstrating how facial shapes, necklines, and body proportions require tailored choices rather than passive adherence to commercial trends. The discussion cautions specifically against large plaids for stout figures, noting the visual difficulty of matching bold patterns across complex seams.

Moving beyond the classroom, the guidance extends to public spaces and major life milestones. Street wear demands neutral colors, simple tailored lines, and quiet harmony, reserving bright sport colors for recreational settings. The emotional climax of the narrative focuses on high school graduation, framed as a moment of democratic unity rather than financial competition. The text warns against the burden that expensive chiffons, lace, and long kid gloves place on families of moderate means. It praises student bodies that institute strict price limits on graduation outfits, proposing sheer, crisp organdy as the ideal material for self-trimmed, affordable gowns.

Finally, the text grounds its aesthetic claims in physical health, posture, and underlying structural garments. Underwear is defined as the essential foundation of a dress, requiring simple needlework and white fabrics to avoid garish displays through transparent outer layers. Rejecting rigid, unyielding corsets, the book promotes flexible girdles and proper physical posture to maintain natural grace. It concludes with an urgent plea for practical footwear, citing health warnings from organizations like the Y.W.C.A. regarding flattened arches and back pain caused by French heels. True style, the text finishes, emerges from health, poise, confidence, and a thoughtful alignment between a girl’s clothing and her everyday purpose.

How It Unfolds

The classroom workshop High school girls often mistake entry into secondary school for an invitation to wear elaborate, fragile party clothes. The text establishes that the classroom demands practical attire suited for hard work rather than public display.

Principles of daily dress Substantial fabrics like gingham, serge, and washable jumper dresses offer durability, comfort, and longevity. These standard designs allow full physical movement while remaining stylish across multiple school years.

Harmonizing line and figure Individual facial shapes and body proportions dictate appropriate necklines, hair arrangements, and pattern choices. Girls are encouraged to adapt current trends to suit their unique physical features rather than blindly following fashion fads.

Democracy at graduation Graduation represents a milestone of modesty and shared achievement rather than an occasion for expensive competition. Simple organdy gowns and student-enforced price limits ensure that all young women participate on equal terms.

Foundations and physical poise Undergarments, posture, and sensible footwear form the true basis of personal presentation. Soft girdles and low-heeled shoes protect physical health, enabling students to walk with confidence, natural grace, and endurance.

The People

The High School Girl Entering a new stage of life, she wants to demonstrate her independence and maturity to the world. She is initially tempted to adopt adult luxury, fragile fabrics, and complex hairstyles to fit in. By embracing efficiency and good taste, she transforms into a practical student who values capability over mere display.

The Overdressed Girl Seeking social status that she has not yet realized, she uses the schoolroom and public streets as places to show off elaborate, inappropriate finery. Her reliance on dangling tassels, bright ribbons, and transparent garments masks an insecurity about her place in the social order.

The Stout Figure Faced with mass-market patterns that exaggerate width, she needs designs that emphasize length and vertical unity. She must navigate choices carefully, avoiding cut-up tunics, high-contrast shoes, and bold plaids that draw attention outward.

The Democratic Graduate Recognizing the economic strain that lavish ceremonies place on families of moderate means, she chooses simple, low-cost materials like organdy for her commencement gown. She leads her peers in setting price limits, ensuring that no classmate is embarrassed by an inability to afford luxury accessories.

In Its Own Voice

"The school room is not a style show, nor a social function, but it is a busy workshop where material is to be assembled from which to build a life."

The author establishes the core purpose of education, arguing that fragile, decorative clothing conflicts directly with daily academic labor.

"A 'loud' color attracts attention as successfully as a loud noise."

In discussing public street wear, the text emphasizes modesty and harmony over aggressive attempts to draw public notice.

"Vanity, gratified by a foot that seemingly is a bit smaller, should not compensate for the loss of good health, good sense, natural grace and efficiency."

Addressing the physical damage caused by French heels, the author prioritizes bodily health and movement over fleeting cosmetic standards.

What It's Really About

Beneath its practical pattern advice and textile recommendations, the bulletin argues for dress as an expression of personal integrity and democratic citizenship. It treats fashion choices not as trivial surface decisions, but as clear indicators of judgment, self-respect, and consideration for others. The text frames extravagance as an obstacle to female advancement, contending that young women should be recognized for what they can accomplish rather than what they wear. By offering affordable mail-order patterns and clear sewing instructions, the publication seeks to equalize social differences in the classroom. It asserts that true elegance relies on artistic unity, physical health, and restraint, offering a vision of American womanhood defined by practical efficiency, bodily freedom, and shared economic sympathy.

Why Read It Today

This short text offers a vivid, highly specific window into early twentieth-century material culture, home economics, and the social expectations placed on young American women after the First World War. Readers interested in fashion history, vintage sewing, or historical sociology will appreciate its granular details, which range from the proper care of wristbands and underblouses to the exact retail costs of organdy dress patterns in 1920.

The reading experience is swift, direct, and surprisingly intimate. Virginia M. Alexander writes with clear professional authority, using straightforward language that balances aesthetic instruction with health advocacy. The primary barrier for modern readers is the dated nature of specific garment terminology—such as Peter Thompson suits, flaxon, and tricatine—alongside period assumptions regarding body types and social modesty. Yet despite these historical distance markers, the book's core defense of functional attire, physical comfort, and economic fairness in education remains sharp and relevant. It leaves the reader with a clear appreciation for an era when clothing design was understood as a direct tool for practical empowerment.