Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Brigham Young University dress and grooming standards

A recent post got me thinking—does anyone out there happen to know when Brigham Young University first had dress and grooming standards, and what they were? I know they were different at some point (and at one time may not have existed)—the “history of hair” pictures in the Wilkinson Center* attest to that. Nineteenth-century academies might well have had rules on clothing, and so there may have been such rules in the Brigham Young Academy era, but i have no idea if that was actually the case.

* I don’t know if these still exist, but if they don’t, they should be put back simply for their kitsch value. It’s a series of pictures of homecoming(?) queens dating back several decades, and it’s a fabulous chronology of hairstyles through the years. When i was there there was a two-pronged controversy over the pictures, with very different groups agitating mildly for their removal: those who felt they objectified women, and those who were horrified that the women in the 1960s pictures were generally in sleeveless gowns.

5 comments:

Amnastic said...

Well, here's links to a bit of history about the dress and grooming standards, as well as the honor code in general, from my favorite source of BYU knowledge.
then and nowtimeline

David B said...

@Amnastic: Thanks! (Fascinating—​and lots of BYU/​Mormon urban legends get punctured there, too.) Also, since you're in a position to know, is the history of hair still up, or has it been taken down during the past six years?

Amnastic said...

Yes, it is still up.

Heather the Mama Duk said...

So where's the hair pictures?

David B said...

At least when i was there, they were in a side hallway (leading back to conference rooms) of the Wilkinson Center.