Dress Up Days

Are Dress-Up Days a Thing of the Past?

Dress-up days. We do them every year. And every year, participation dwindles. So, do people want them? 

During the Winter Carnival, school spirit is always the goal. But do dress-up days accomplish that? I believe so—but under certain conditions. I feel there needs to be a purpose. Class colors, for example, unite the class and build up spirit before the pep rally. Spirit is ultimately the main goal of dressing up. 

Students prioritize ease. If a dress-up day is a tad difficult or requires planning, students aren’t motivated to do it. Some themes can be intricate or hard to understand. No one wants to plan these out so they choose not to participate. The problem is, there are only so many easy themes and people don’t want to reuse themes. Planning them is hard enough, but planning to get participation is a challenge. There is likely one reason for that: embarrassment. 

Embarrassment. We all get it. In this age of social media, people get embarrassed about participating in school things. Pictures get posted and people end up embarrassed. So they don’t participate. This is likely more pertinent to the underclassmen. It can end up being equally embarrassing if they don’t participate. People don’t want to be the odd one out, so they play it safe and stay out. 

A lack of participation in dress-up days is increasing every year. While they will still be around for the next few years, no one knows how long they will stay. Will a new wave of participation in school events come around? No one knows.