Parents left furious after a school refused students entry to formal over dress length. Video / Supplied
A school formal has been described as a "complete sh**show" after students were rejected because of their outfits.
Carrie Vittitoe, of Louisville, Kentucky in the US, received a phone call from her teenage daughter on the night of her homecoming dance on Saturday saying teachers were measuring girls' dresses with rulers.
The woman's daughter, who attends Eastern High School in Kentucky, was one of tens of girls refused entry to their formal over the length of their dresses, despite having already paid.
Parents were furious after their daughters were refused entry into their school formal over the length of their dresses. Photo / Facebook
"Many were told they could not come in," Vittitoe said in a blog after writing about the incident.
"Many students were milling around the parking lot waiting on their parents to get them when the police told them they were trespassing and had to leave."
She had stood with the students on the sidewalk and waited for their parents to come, as "no high school staff waited with the kids".
The young girls were turned away when their dresses were deemed inappropriate — either for falling shorter than two inches above the knee, being too form fitting, or other "arbitrary" reasons.
The furious mother not only encouraged the girls who were banned from their formal to "politely" email the principal, but also everyone whose sons didn't go to the dance because their date was a no-show.
The mother of one of the student's wrote a letter to the school branding the enforcement of dress code as 'inconsistent' and the dance a 'complete sh**show'. Photo / Facebook
She also took the liberty to write a letter attentioning it to board members and the principal, branding the enforcement of dress code as "inconsistent" and the dance a "complete sh**show."
"EHS has been completely inconsistent regarding dress codes to dances. I have photos of dresses that were allowed into the homecoming dance in 2018," she said in the letter.
"These dresses were above two inches. They look, in terms of length, IDENTICAL to the dresses of girls that were not let into the dance this evening."
She claimed that one young woman was rejected because of cleavage.
"Her friend, who had similar cleavage, was allowed in," Vittitoe wrote.
"I'm not sure EHS staff understands that parents purchase the dresses that are available to purchase in stores. I don't know a single mother who wouldn't love to find the 'Hit at the Kneecap' dress shop, but this shop doesn't exist."
She also called for a "community discussion" with school staff and parents to resolve the issue.
TEEN'S LETTER TO SCHOOL AFTER FORMAL CHAOS
Vittitoe's 15-year-old daughter, who described the incident as "chaos" also wrote a letter, telling administration that the evening left her feeling "horrified, embarrassed and violated".
"This whole situation makes me sick to my stomach and even hours after, I still feel nauseous," she wrote.
The young girl said after making through the ID check, a staff member told her she wasn't going to "cut it".
They were rejected for their dresses falling shorter than two inches above the knee, being too form fitting, or other 'arbitrary' reasons. Photo / Facebook
"The administrator then told me to pull my dress down to the longest length I could, and measured it from there."
Though her dress was deemed "barely" appropriate, she and many of her friends were left in tears by the scrutiny and chose not to go into the dance despite some having already paid for their tickets.
Other parents branded the dress code a double standard and said that measuring girls' dresses was insulting, calling for change to the school's policies.
"My daughter was not allowed in last night because her dress was so called "too short " ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!!" a parent wrote on Facebook alongside a photo.
The woman claimed the boy in front on the right wore jeans and got in despite jeans being a 'no-no' on the dress code. Photo / Facebook
In a statement provided to Yahoo, principal Lana Kaelin said the dress code will be reviewed moving forward.
"Understandably, we had students and families who were upset or hurt by what took place, and for that, I apologise," she said in response to the criticism
"The dress code for our formal dances will be reviewed by student, parent and teacher representatives so that we can gather valuable feedback and suggestions that will help ensure the dress code is fair and equitable for all students."
