Teen barred from senior homecoming dance for wearing a jumpsuit instead of a dress
Jumpsuits, according to some fashion aficionados, are perfect for any occasion — even formal events. But the organizers of a Florida homecoming dance, who turned a jumpsuit-wearing student away at the door, seem to disagree.
On Friday, Darcy Krueger, 17, showed up at the Tampa Bay Homeschool Homecoming Dance wearing a black jumpsuit, but was turned away because of a dress code. According to her mother, Melissa Krueger, her daughter was "denied entrance because her dress attire has a crotch in it."
Darcy, who has been entirely homeschooled except for one semester of middle school, has attended many events thrown by the organization behind the homecoming dance, TampaBay Homeschool Prom, her mother tells Yahoo Lifestyle. But this time, she was sent away for failing to wear a dress.
"I was very surprised," Darcy told ABC Action News. "I called my mom and I was telling my friends about it because I couldn't really believe it."
Melissa tells Yahoo Lifestyle that it was the private event organizer who sent her daughter away, also refusing to discuss the matter. The event’s Facebook page appears to have been removed.
“As a mom, I was shocked. I thought there had to be a misunderstanding,” Melissa said. “What century are we in!? I was very upset... there was no one else to talk to.”
So, she turned to social media to air her grievances, posting about the incident on Facebook and garnering more than 200 comments, supporting the teen with statements such as, “insane and cold-hearted” and “completely ridiculous.”
"Tell me this isn't semi formal attire. The lady who wouldn't let her in had pants on and refused to look at my screen shot of the dress code," Melissa wrote. "The dress code didn't mention pant suit dress attire for ladies."
A screenshot of the dress code, provided to Yahoo Lifestyle, by Melissa, requires young men to wear dress pants, button-down shirts, and a tie. For the young women, or “ladies,” it’s a bit more strict. "Semi-Formal Dresses for young ladies. Please plan your attire within a conservative manner. We do allow strapless and knee length short dresses, as well as 2 piece dresses with less than 2" gap at midsection. We highly discourage dresses that are too revealing and that are simply too short. Dresses that expose a plunging neckline or backlines are NOT appropriate. You will not be allowed in if your dress is questionable. DO NOT wear: jeans, t-shirts, baseball caps, and any clothing [with] offensive language or material."
The organizer of the dance, who did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment, provided the following statement to ABC Action News:
"We have 2 private events every year for our students. These events have a dress code. This particular event 390 students bought tickets. Only 1 student had to be turned away and it was due to dress code. We offered her an opportunity to come back if she could change into the dress code. We would have loved to had 100% attendance. However, her ticket was refunded after the event and we confirmed that she did not return."
To Melissa, while the refund is appreciated, this incident is about more than the money.
“As of now, Darcy does not plan on attending future events. If she is given a sincere apology and the rules are changed to clearly state that girls can wear dressy jumpsuits and pant attire, then she might consider it,” Melissa says, adding that this is Darcy’s senior year and likely will choose not to attend her senior prom if the dress code is not updated.
“Thankfully, my daughter has good self-worth and she saw this clearly for what it was,” Melissa says. “A very bad judgment call by a woman who showed almost no empathy, and a dress code that needs to be updated into the 21st century.”
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