(Editor's note: The Old Gold series provides a look at University of Iowa history and tradition through materials housed in University Archives, Department of Special Collections, UI Libraries.)

Old Gold recalls many cringe-worthy moments from his life, particularly during those rugged junior high years. In the fall of 1970, for example, when he was in ninth grade, Old Gold was asked by a roving reporter for the school paper—an eighth-grader, no less—what he thought of girls wearing slacks or jeans to school.

“They should be allowed to if they want, during the winter,” Old Gold said.

Not exactly an enlightened comment from a 14-year-old with a decidedly limited worldview and from a small town in Iowa. But it’s true: Most public school districts at the time required girls to wear skirts or dresses to classes. Times were changing, though, including fashions and styles. Dress codes, widely enforced in schools and in the workplace, were undergoing close review and revision by boards of education, administrators, and other authorities. At Charles City’s public schools, the revisions arrived in 1971.

A similar story unfolded at the University of Iowa Main Library that fall. On Oct. 5, 1970, Kathy Wachel, head of acquisitions, presented a petition with the signatures of over 80 library employees—male and female—arguing for a change in the dress code for female staff.

“In view of recent social trends we, the undersigned, feel that it would be reasonable for a more liberal standard of dress to be accepted for the female staff members of the university libraries,” the petition stated. “We feel that individual employees are sufficiently responsible not to wear anything inconsistent with the dignity and execution of their duties.” By the following year, the UI Libraries’ administration agreed to the requested revisions.

As late as 1967, women students at Iowa were strongly encouraged to avoid wearing slacks to classes, the library, and even football and basketball games, according to the Code for Coeds. The Code, published by Associated Women Students from 1938 until its demise in the late 1960s, offered tips to incoming female students on a range of topics, including recommended dress. A trend toward more leniency in fashion can be detected when a researcher pages through successive editions of the Code.

No matter how cold or warm it is outside—and it is 10 degrees as Old Gold writes this—the “pants revolution” reminds us of the constant called change.