Far from banning fashion, schools ask for less hip

ROME - In an era of low-rise jeans, one Italian high school has launched an uprising.

A school in central Italy asked students to stop wearing low-slung pants that expose navels, underwear and sometimes much more. In a nation that prizes kids and fashion, the suggestion unleashed a debate among parents, teachers and students, and at least one other school followed suit.

Throughout Italy, the question is whether Vitruvio Pollione Scientific High School in Avezzano overstepped the boundaries of student freedom of expression - or whether school wardrobes in Italy have grown a tad too free and expressive.

A letter read out loud to Avezzano students this month singled out "low-rise pants, which expose parts of the body that would be better off covered up, for good manners, in the school setting."

Deputy principal Nazzareno Desiderio elaborated in a phone interview, "It's a piece of advice, for their educational reflection."

The school's principal came up with the idea during a class trip, when he saw one boy's baggy pants slide to his feet.

The letter has sparked a sea of Internet postings and letters to newspapers. A parents' group called Moige applauded the appeal for good taste, while the consumer group Codacons advised principals to stop worrying about fashion and fix up dilapidated school buildings instead.

Though attention has focused on Avezzano, other school officials have made similar requests - including one principal in the Alpine town of Ortisei who reportedly was worried that exposed bellies would make students vulnerable to stomachaches.

Despite the hullabaloo, the measure in Avezzano was not a strict, American-style dress code, just a suggestion. Dress codes and school uniforms are all but unheard of in Italian public schools.

"We didn't want a spirit of prohibitionism," Desiderio said. Besides, "you can't put a ban on fashion, you'd have to be joking."

Italians, known for being at ease with their bodies and always on the forefront of sexy fashion trends, seem to have embraced low-rise pants more than many other Europeans. Two of the hottest brands of jeans - Diesel and Miss Sixty - are Italian-run and offer countless low-slung styles. High schoolers are big fans.

At a prestigious Rome school whose alumni include atomic pioneer Enrico Fermi and Pope Pius XII, teenagers stream out of the heavy wooden doors at lunchtime exposing their midriffs and the waistbands of their underwear.

Inspired by the decision in Avezzano, the principal of Rome's Visconti High School has suggested that students show less skin and proposed a debate on the matter. In an interview, he lamented the lack of mystery of the modern young woman's wardrobe.

"Today, boys are less tickled by such visions (of skin), because there's no more big effect in seeing a girl's legs or shoulders, lower back and navel," principal Antonino Grasso said.

Most kids have simply ignored such concerns. Ludovica Gaudio, 14, wore ultra-low pants, orange cotton underwear and a bare midriff to class. It was chilly, so she accessorized with a matching orange scarf.

Another 14-year-old suggested she would probably respect the school's request, simply for practical reasons.

"I don't really feel at ease" in low-slung pants, said Sarah Lattanzi, who covered up with a hooded sweat shirt. "In winter, when it comes down to it, it's freezing."

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