While the San Jose Mercury News reports that middle-school girls want to look like top models at their graduation ceremonies, principals apparently still frown on the “Lolita look.”

Education writer Joanne Jacobs reports that while “at one middle school graduation, halter tops are okay, spaghetti straps aren’t. At another, it’s the reverse. Strapless dresses and high heels are banned at most intermediate schools. And at Cupertino (Calif) Kennedy Middle School’s ceremony, administrators” brought “shawls
in case they need a ‘quick fix’ for a skimpy dress.”

Deborah Lambert writes the Squeaky Chalk column for Accuracy in Academia.