These days, being awake before shuffling into Hewitt for some food (coffee) is hardly a requirement, let alone putting shoes on. Back in the day, however, this would not slide. In the early teens and twenties, if you didn’t get down to breakfast by the time the cord went up at 9AM (literally, the velvet rope-style cord that closed off the dining hall), then you’d be out of luck until Luncheon at 12 o'clock (bells at 12). Bringing food up to your room was off limits, save for Sunday mornings when you could bring milk or coffee or bread up -- but again, this all had to be done before 9AM.
By the 1950s, coming to dinner was mandatory -- “dinner checks” were nightly at 6:30PM, where you had to either display your food card in the dining room or sign in, if you were planning on making a beeline to your room. The dress code was just as strict and didn’t loosen up until well after 1970. You want to wear your curlers and pin curls to dinner? Well you can’t, and even if you wear them to a daytime meal, they must be covered by a bandana. Bathrobes and housecoats were not permitted outside of the dining hall after 10AM, and slacks and shorts were also banned after 6PM on weekdays, 1PM on Sundays (when gentlemen were invited to the beau parlors). Speaking of gentlemen, they “were expected” to wear neckties at dinner, but that was it. An even vaguer description of male dress codes from the 1966-67 blue book reads, “Gentlemen must dress appropriately.” |
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