Dress Coded

Dress Coded follows Molly Frost, the protagonist and narrator of the novel, as she starts a podcast to talk about the dress code at Fisher Middle School. The inciting incident is her classmate Olivia’s experience being dress coded, but it is only the trigger—as the dress code has been an issue for a while. Thus, the dress code protest kicks off from conception to fruition. Although Molly plans to begin her podcast with Olivia, the latter refuses to share her story publicly; Molly and her friends instead console her privately. However, Molly cannot let the dress code issue go, as she believes the situation is unfair on multiple levels. She thinks it’s wrong for teachers to bribe students for compliance and target girls.

Molly chooses to protest the dress code in ways that do not harm anyone else. She decides to flout the dress code since the class camping trip has already been cancelled, and her classmates won’t be penalized for her behavior. She does this with her parents’ permission, revealing her plan to her mother and garnering her support first. Molly both acts on her own and uses her podcast as a space for other students to share their experiences being dress coded. While nothing immediately changes at school, the podcast’s Instagram page gains a following and reach. Seventh graders, high school seniors, and even adults reevaluate the dress code, and it is Molly’s mother who suggests the girls petition the superintendent. Molly and her friends collect hundreds of signatures in support of their petition—a clear sign, once again, that this is not a frivolous matter, but a cause supported by both adults and peers.

However, Molly and her friends receive no response, and this, in conjunction with the continued enforcement of the dress code, urges them to ramp up their protest efforts. They are particularly motivated to do so when students are dress coded in the middle of a tornado watch, signaling that girls’ clothing is more important to some teachers than students’ safety. In response, Molly and her friends put up posters protesting the dress code at school. Once again, their efforts are peaceful. They don’t break in or vandalize the school, but wait for a moment when the school is already open, and put up art that can be taken down later. Creative expression is key to the protest, as the podcast, Instagram page, and posters all play a part in spreading the protest’s message.

Molly is penalized for the posters, but holds firm in her efforts to have the dress code removed. Despite the unfair punishment, she still follows due process, trying to get on the board of education’s agenda; it is only when the board of education refuses to hear the girls out at a meeting that Molly and her friends finally resort to a camp-in. Still, the camp-in is peaceful. The girls move from the meeting hall to the grounds, so the custodian is not restricted from doing his job. The students who show up bring their own equipment and are supervised by adults, including teachers. When the students receive a promise from ex-principal Ms. Milholland that the dress code will be addressed, they agree to go home.

Ultimately, the protest pays off, with the board hearing out different students’ experiences and vowing to rewrite the dress code with student input. On one hand, it is possible for a reader to think the novel ends too neatly. On the other hand, this ending rewards Molly and the others’ informed, peaceful protest.