Neville: On a whole, people do not look down on those who don’t wear white shirts. Most children who attend these yeshivos with the white shirt only policy have fathers who wear colored shirts (including me). When not in school my son’s had their choice. If they wanted colored shirts, fine, white shirts fine. Once a school has a white-shirt only policy then that is what you have to wear to school. If a parent feels that this rule is not good for their son, then by all means please send your son to a yeshiva where he can wear colored shirts.
At least one mesivta (in the 1990’s) that I know of changed because the bochurim asked the hanhallah if they can change to a white shirt policy. 40 years ago when I attended mesivta, we were allowed to wear any colored button down collared shirt. The rabbeim only wore white shirts.
You and “shopping” may think that it is shallow thinking to have this policy……and you may be right. The yeshiva though has every right to set their own rules and policies.
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