Dress code for DeMolays and Male Advisors

In a previous post you heard me discuss "Tribal knowledge." One of those happens to be our dress code in New York DeMolay. A quick WIWAD story: St. Andrew's had a casual dress code between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I showed up in a full suit while everyone else was rocking much cooler outfits. One of my brothers said to me "Oh didn't you know?" Clearly not.  In consultation with the State Executive Committee and the State Advisory Council we are promulgating the below dress code for DeMolays and Male Advisors. "Mom" Cook is working on one for young ladies and female advisors and should be out soon.

We also know that dress clothes are not cheap. We are working with "Mom" Draves to set up a clothes closet program. More details to come.

Dress Code For DeMolays and Male Advisors
One of the frequent questions that we get is 'What do I wear?" To help flesh this out we wanted to define dress code a bit:


The chapter members, subject to approval by the advisory council, will establish and set their own dress code for chapter meetings. Chapters should take steps to ensure that dress codes do not create undue financial hardships on the members.


No dress code may be used to prohibit a DeMolay from wearing attire that is religious in nature.


Care should be taken to ensure that clothing does not contain un-DeMolay like sayings or graphics. When visiting another chapter or another youth organization, care should be taken to observe their dress standards.  For example, if a young ladies' group is hosting an event and their rules require ties, DeMolays should wear ties. We are guests in their house.


In general, DeMolay uses the following standards for young men and male advisors:


DeMolay Casual: A pair of slacks with a polo shirt. Shorts and t-shirts are not considered casual. We will note when shorts can be worn.


DeMolay Business: A pair of slacks, with a dress shirt, tie at a minimum, jacket or blazer, or a culturally equivalent outfit such as a barong or a kilt or military uniform.


DeMolay Formal: A tuxedo or dark suit, or a culturally equivalent outfit, such as a barong or kilt or dress uniform.


DeMolay Athletic: A pair of shorts or pants with an A-Shirt, Tee Shirt, or Tank Top.



As a rule of thumb, you can always dress down if you over dressed for an event, but hard to dress up if you under dressed.



New York DeMolay does have a clothes closet to help youth secure clothing that they may need.


In addition, you may want to visit these resources:

Harvard: https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/dress-success

The Art of Manliness https://www.artofmanliness.com/category/dress-grooming/