Since the founding of The Gill School and St. Bernard’s School, core dress expectations have been remarkably stable: a dress shirt, dress pants or skirt, and good shoes. This standard remains in place today. However, fashions change, hemlines rise and fall, and definitions shift over time, so this information provides tips for remaining true to that core expectation.
Definitions: A dress shirt most often has a collar. Shirts without collars (and dresses) may have a neckline as wide as a hand’s width distance from the neck. Dress shirts cover the torso and most of the shoulder. T-shirts are not dress shirts. Dress pants are made of a wide variety of materials other than denim. Skirts and dresses must reach at least to the fingertips when arms are extended. Jeans, leggings, pajamas, and sweatpants are not dress pants. Good shoes come in a variety of styles and colors. At GSB, all of them are neat and clean. Slippers are not shoes.
Fall and Spring: In the fall and spring, before October 15 and after April 15, the Dress Code accommodates warmer weather. In addition to dress shirts, students may choose to wear sandals or flip-flops and dress shorts that reach at least to the fingertips when arms are extended. Athletic shorts are not dress shorts.
Layers: During colder weather, students may wear outer layers, including sweaters, fleeces, sweatshirts, blazers, and jackets. Sweatshirts may be solid colors or tout Gill St. Bernard’s School and/or colleges and universities. In the event that outer layers completely cover a dress shirt, students may wear a t-shirt as a base layer as long as they keep their outer layers on. If a student wears a layer that reaches at least to the fingertips when arms are extended, tights and leggings may be worn underneath if the student keeps the other layer on.
Indoors: In general, caps, hats, hoods, and sunglasses are not worn indoors.
Standards: All clothing worn at Gill St. Bernard’s maintains community expectations and the Core Values of respect, compassion, and excellence.