By NELDA MASCHMEYER
Finding modest attire for BYU dances can be somewhat of a challenge, said Karen Huntsman, the buyer of all dresses for the BYU Bookstore and supervisor for women’s clothing.
Huntsman said she goes to shows in Vegas and Dallas in order to find the right clothing. She said it is hard to find some at first because the fashion at the moment is sleeveless and low-cut; but the show managers know who she is and respect her standards by helping her locate the right dresses.
She said she looks for dresses at least 23″ from the waist or longer. There are a lot of column dresses she finds as well as fuller skirts with satin or taffeta which are really popular now.
“I think dress influences your mood. You end up feeling better about the person you are. Modest dressing really makes a difference,” Hunstman said.
Jeannie Papic, coordinator of the Student Honor Association said the rule of thumb is if one can wear garments underneath a dress. She said a lot of times there are small yet important rules which can get people kicked out of dances.
“I’d say the biggest problem right now, and this isn’t just in dances, is the slit. Girls will have a long skirt but then the slit goes halfway up their thigh,” Papic said.
Papic said for men it’s easier because their dress doesn’t vary that much. The only problem they have sometimes with men is that of shaving, hair length, mustaches going further than the corner of the mouth and sideburns that are too long. She said hair should not be unnatural with blue, green, red or other such wild colors. Women should not have more than two earrings and all types of body piercings are forbidden. This is an Honor Code violation.
She said some women wear sleeveless dresses with chiffon on the sleeves but she said any kind of see-through material on the arms is unacceptable. Sleeves must be lined.
“A lot of times boys will ask girls off-campus who don’t know about the dress code and then we have to kick them out. The guy needs to tell her ahead of time so that it’s not uncomfortable later at the dance,” Papic said.
She said some women will cover up with men’s jackets but she doesn’t think that is a lot of fun.
Arlene Bancrost, employee of the ZCMI Junior Dress department said most of the dresses are sleveless, however, they have jackets to make them more modest.
“It’s not that hard to find modest dresses here, but we do have more dresses in all that are not modest rather than more that are,” Bancrost said.
Chad Hatfield, 21, a Business Management major from Yakima, Wash., said no one really want to go with a woman dressed immodestly because it sets the wrong mood for the evening. He said men will respect a modest woman a lot more.
“And guys can’t forget the good old rule — If you wear suspenders, wear a shirt underneath,” Hatfield said.
Peter Kerksick, 21, a Civil Engineering major from Midvale, said he thinks the Honor Code should be personal to everyone. He said people should not be so militant about the dress code.
“It irks me when guys stand up on their soapbox and condemn girls dressing immodestly. They should be paying attention to themselves more and not so much on others. I bet you will find the same amount of girls dressing immodestly as the amount of guys with too long sideburns,” Kerksick said.
Papic said the Student Honor Association frequently gets calls when BYU students feel other students are not representing the church by dressing modestly.
“I want to make sure people know these standards are not just BYU’s, but the church’s in general. In the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet, all are commanded to dress modestly and live by the same standards.”
The dress code is on the BYU web page under Student Life.
