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N.J. school board: Fearing wardrobe malfunction, distraction, strapless dress ban stays

The New Jersey school district decided that a controversial strapless dress ban imposed by a junior high principal will stay in place. The middle school principal said strapless dresses were too distracting for boys, but the school board worried about wardrobe malfunctions.

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Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Student Claudine Nijenhuis, 14, speaks about the strapless dress ban in front of schoolmates at an earlier Readington Township Board of Education meeting in Readington Township, N.J., April 23.
  • By Staff Associated Press

| Readington, N.J.

A school board in New Jersey has decided to ban girls from wearing strapless dresses to an eighth-grade dance off school grounds to spare them from wardrobe malfunctions.

The board, in a 6-2 vote Wednesday night, agreed to allow single-strap and clear spaghetti strap dresses instead.

The Courier News of Bridgewater reports board members were concerned a strapless gown mishap could get posted online and embarrass a student.

Some parents last month criticized Readington Middle School Principal Sharon Moffat for prohibiting the dresses at a June dance because she said they would distract boys. Some parents said such a statement was sexist while others said they had already purchased their daughters' dresses.

A committee will review the dress code and make recommendations in September.

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