When I was growing up I wasn't allowed to wear "dungarees" (jeans) outside the house unless I was on my grandfather's farm. My school in FL had a very strict dresscode also and pants for women had such restrictions, it wasn't worth it and most of us wore skirts or dresses.
When I moved to ATL to live with my Dad wat 16, I still followed the same "dresscode" for a couple of years. Habits are hard to break
And think about it - you don't have to wear makeup, worry about plucking your eyebrows, if your face breaks out, no one knows, and you can be dog ugly and look the same as the beauty queen in public