barbino, was it a pappagallo belt? i had a ton of those with the most exotic "frogs" seahorses, scallop shells, conch shells, etc. all in gold. you could swap the belts and the "frogs" as you wished.gee, i wish i had those now-not that they would fit around my waist!

I had that belt as well, ironically enough it was lion heads. My mother also an ADPi had a large lion head pin(Anne Klein) and someone asked her if she was a member of the Lion's club.

Gasp! The nude hose in the 90's were so wrong! Ha! I remember we wore sheer black hose with practically everything. White shoes were also completely passe even in the summer. During the same time period, I only remember what I wore for pref. We didn't have supper formal prefs, so you just wore a church style dress. I was into Yuppie style, so I picked a red dress that was double breasted with a white collar and blue buttons. It had a little blue pocket square so it looked like a little red suit dress. I paired it with white hose and a pair of navy heals. I had super curly hair down to my waist a la Nicole Kidman. My husband laughs when he sees pictures of my hair back then and says I looked like a Pentacostal (no offense to any one of that religion.)

I never did get the "nude hose = Satan" thing that was going on for a while. This all reminds me of my dad. He HATED seeing women wearing the cream colored hose and one day when I decided to sport them (with my navy suit and matching pumps, yeeesh) I got an earful.

I don't remember-- but the more I thought about it, the buckle might not have been frogs but seashells or even something else- yes, you could switch the belt color and I had several. The wierd thing is the minute I thought of the gold lion's head buckle for this post I instantly thought of ADPi. Back then it never crossed my mind, although now I am amazed that it didn't.

I suspect that I, like the Reluctant One, would never have/would pass wardrobe check. Her skirts (like her sisters and all Panhellenic) are VERY short. And I wore, (I can't believe that I am revealing this), to Bid Night (which was cocktail attire) a gorgeous jeweltone silk shirt with a print (with the same jeweltone) skirt.......with the hippie band (jeweltone of shirt) wrapped around my long hair.

Horrible thing was........I wasn't the only one.

I thought that was funny, because I wore bermuda shorts and a Ralph Lauren polo shirt on day one of my recruitment...in 2007. My collar was definitely not up though.

I LOVED the Pappagallo store in my home town. My favorite outfit to wear to meetings was a pair of yellow cord walking shorts with matching knee high socks with my penny loafers and a yellow and green argyle sweater!

You are not the only one! I will post some pics of our rush at UTK if I can find them. And like the Reluctant One, back in the 70s, my skirts were quite short. The more things change the more they stay the same...

It was the 70s. You had to stick it to The Man, man. (Even if you were joining a sorority.)

This is from the University of Houston Rush Booklet - Fall 1966. I have scanned the entire book, but this is just the info for what to wear each round.

Open House - School clothes* and casual shoes

Period I - Cotton dresses and heels

Period II - Sunday or tea dresses (no hats) heels and gloves

Period III (Pref.) - Date dresses (not cocktail dresses, no hats) heels and gloves

*In 1966, 'school clothes' meant dresses or skirts and blouses.

OK, time to fess up. I am SO old....you were not allowed to wear pants on campus on weekdays unless you had a raincoat on over them.

(By the time I graduated we were all wearing bell bottoms and going braless and spending the night with boys in the dorms)

I am so old that we still had 19 houses at Florida State - 10 ice waters one day and 9 the next. I am so old that the dorms were not yet air conditioned - in Florida! And you could NOT skip any of the parties. They had tear sheets you had to hand in at every house and heaven forbid you didn't turn yours in somewhere - you probably would have been disqualified.

I am so old that they told you that if you asked to use the bathroom it meant you didn't want to be invited back. After 8 glasses of ice water, I had a really tough decision to make. There was a girl in the Theta house who I had known from GIRL SCOUTS when we were little, and I always thought she didn't like me anyway, so I had nothing to lose. I made the decision. Lo and behold, they asked me back anyway.

I wore Villager dresses with full slips underneath, Weejun loafers, carried a monogrammed John Meyer purse, and wore a circle pin at the collar notch with my initials engraved for the ice water parties.

For skit parties I wore my Villager suit and Pappagallo low heels with a matching purse, and for third round (Information?) parties I wore a green Bobbie Brooks dress and Bernardos with a woven straw Aigner purse.

Prefs were black dresses and heels. I still have my white dress I wore to pledging and initiation. It's packed away with that stupid Girl Scout uniform. Memories!

Nylons were worn with EVERY outfit.

My hair was done in a center part flip that flopped in the heat. No foundation, but a little eyeliner and some lip gloss. Everyone in Florida has a tan in September, so we didn't really need too much makeup.

It was deadly hot, but back then not all places were air conditioned, so we were somewhat used to it.

I can tell you that everyone on my hall rushed and all but two pledged. That is what you did back then. I think that there was more of a drastic change in my four years than at any other time in history. I wore a suit to freshman homecoming with gloves, heels, and a giant mum, but by the time I was a senior, I wore Jesus sandals and a pant suit.

I loved Pappagallo. I had belts to match every color polo. I think I must of had Sperry Topsiders in every color. Does anyone else remember the big watches where you could change the ribbon on the band to match your outfit? I remember wearing Lanz sundresses during recruitment, but beyond that I have no idea. This is a great thread.

This is great, AnchorAlum! How could I forget the flopping flips in high school? (Why did we even attempt them in the Houston heat?) I bet you're just a couple of years older than I am...your post is full of memories!

pappagallo shops were the best! one is still in business in mountain brook,al., but i have never been in it. i should, the next time i am in birmingham.

anchoralum-i am about ten years behind you. the dorm rooms were still not air conditioned my freshman year-only the common rooms, but the sorority houses all were-thank goodness!

I have no idea what I wore to rush all those years ago except braces. That I can remember. I think I wore slacks one or two nights and maybe sundresses the other days.

Rush was the beginning of October, and I had already managed to gain 10 pounds on Snickers in the 6 weeks I had been away from home. (I was homesick and Snickers were very comforting.) I didn't have a lot of clothes in the first place and I remember it was tough finding something to wear after gaining those pounds. I had a frugal mother, bless her sweet heart and a big shopping trip was out of the question. Besides, how would I get to town? Only a few people had cars at school. Most of us didn't even have tvs.

So, during MTSU rush in 1975, it must have seemed that a 12 year old boy was trying to join a sorority. That's how I must have looked. I had no fashion sense, very short hair, I was a little plump from the snicker diet, and to top it all off, there were those braces. Thankfully, the sisters saw something in me that wasn't based on appearance. I'm still amazed that those great girls chose me to be their sister.

AnchorAlum and carnation, is there room in the car for one more? sounds like I fit somewhere in there, and, going through California rush, saw some incredible wild times and changes.

One thing for sure - we did NOT wear pants to recruitment freshman year, but that certainly changed by senior year. So many changes in the four years I was at University.

Ha...in 1993, LSU still had some non-airconditioned dorms. I remember going to Tiger day my senior year and coming home all excited to live in this beautiful dorm with 10 foot tall wooden doors and wooden furniture in huge rooms....but no air conditioning. My mom laughed at me when I insisted that it was not hot. She reminded me that it was just April. August in Baton Rouge would be a completely different story! I didn't end up going to LSU after all, but she broke my heart. :(

Reading this thread has got me thinking about what I wore in 2001 at Auburn. I wasn't much in to fasion (still not, really), so I just wore what I already had in my closet.

Round 1, Ice Water Teas. 15 chapters over 2 days.
Day 1 (8 parties)

Lavender and baby blue striped sleeveless sweater and white capris pants.

Day 2 (7 parties)

Hot pink, short sleeved, fitted cotton shirt and black capris pants.

I can't remember what shoes I wore. But I remember they were cute, but uncomfortable, so I wore comfy flip-flops between parties. I don't remember any other PNMs doing this. My roomate didn't either, and she had the NASIEST blisters by skit day!

Round 2, Philanthropy
Day 3 (10? parties)

Panhellenic T-shirt (Navy Blue) and khaki shorts and runing shoes and tube socks.

Round 3, Skit
Day 4 (5 parties)

Pink print chiffon sundress cut on the bias with diagonal hem and spagetti straps. 2 inch, off-white, satin strappy sandals.

Round 5, Pref
Day 5 (3 parties)

This one, looking back, probably wan't a very good choice. I think I may have committed a HUGH fasion faux pas. You know those mix-and-match evening gowns where you buy the top and bottom seperately? I found this black satin top with a 3 inch white satin border at the top and white spagetti straps. The top was ok, and fit really nicely on me. But I wore it with a black cotton-blend stretch pencil skirt. Looking back I probably shouldn't have mixed fabrics like that! The good news is it was pref, so the lights were dimmed. I'm sure my hostess didn't notice.

YES!!

I loved Sassy too.

I don't remember what I wore each night of rush, but I do remember spending a lot of time on my hair, curling it and arranging my fringe just right. Big hair lasted well into the 90s -- it just wasn't as big as it was in the late 80s.

I still have one babydoll dress leftover from 1991 -- the only article of clothing I kept (besides a couple of lettered sweatshirts) from that time. I actually tried it on for fun earlier this year, and by some act of God, it still fits. Not that I'm going to wear it out of the house or anything!

I had a cousin who is about 3 or 4 years older than I am. When she started college they had "hours". Yep, curfews.

We in SoCal were SO chic. My high school did away with the dress code (although they tried to renew it when my daughter was there, the older one) when I was a senior. It was so stupid....suddenly we could wear slacks (which covered us up), but we always wore micro minis. I cringe everytime I realize that we must have put on one heck of a show: walking upstairs wearing the Carnaby street style minis...with lace underpants.

No need for sex ed.

But then I got to college. I heard that just a few years prior to my arrival rushees wore St. John knit suits with white gloves. In Los Angeles...in August...and in those years no airconditioning....definitely the Pasadena/San Marino presence.

AnchorAlum and FSUZeta, I would love to hear your retro recruitment stories!

I only remember a few things that I wore for rush at FSU in the mid-80's. On one of the icewater days I wore a pink pencil-type skirt from the Limited with buckles at its very high waist, and on one of the later days (maybe skit day - round 3?) I wore a Laura Ashley drop-waist dress. I can't remember what I wore for prefs except that it was covered with candle wax by the end of the day and I never could wear it again.

I do remember having to find something to wear for the extra day of round 2, which happened because the original round 2 day was canceled because of rain. We were supposed to go to nine parties that day, but by the third or fourth party we were soaking wet, so rush was expanded by a day.

Re: Pappagallo
I'd never heard of these shoes until I started college, and there was a store right next to the dorm. WOW! I loved the shoes, but they were SO expensive...$35 back when you could buy a good pair of leather shoes for $10 or $15. BUT...they had great sales, and with a 6.5 foot, I could buy one or two pairs.
When my mom died, I found a pair I guess I had bought for her on sale - a short of shaggy red velour with 1" heels and a rhinestone-studded buckle. Totally NOT my mother! But she kept them all these years. Too bad they're not my size.
There are several Pappagallo shops around the country. They're not a chain...I'm guessing they kept the name after the shoes quit being made.

i loved the shoes...before i had children i wore a 6.5 narrow shoe. it was hard to find that size, but pappagallo and aigner were always brands that i could find that size in. now my foot is a 7 narrow, and you would think that it would be a little easier to find, but not so much.

LOL about the feet getting bigger after pregnancies, it's so true. Do y'all remember that Pappagallo had a line aimed at middle schoolers called Miss Pappagallo? We adored it, especially the year that everyone was wearing Mary Janes.

So...I teared up when I read that sentence about your mom. When my mom died I found a white handbag that I bought for her: she kept the card in it.

This is a total downer on the thread but my dad and I went through my mom's "drawer" last weekend. In it were my graduation announcements, for both high school and college, pictures of us, programs from various musicals/high school activities, and every card and school project I ever made for her.

/end sad mom hijack. On with the thread!

Gamma Sigma Sigma Meet n Greet, Fall 99...Gap flared jeans, long sleeved ribbed Gap heather gray shirt...with (drumroll) those GIANT shoes that were in style back then...giant spongy rubber heels, about 2-3 inches off the ground! I was so excited about them!!! My roomie had them and I rushed out and bought me some!

I actually didn't pledge that semester...shortly after that meeting I left school for other reasons. Went to another Meet n Greet and DID join fall 2000...but I don't remember what I wore! Must have not been as memorable as those shoes ;)

At sometime in the past I wrote about why I went through rush in the very early '70's. I have no recollection of any outfit I wore except for the first day. Since I only went through rush to move out of the house a week early, and knew no house would extend me a bid since I was such a geek and unpopular in HS, what I wore was not going to make any difference as far as I was concerned. I actually wore lederhosen that I had gotten a few weeks earlier when I was in Europe as a HS graduation gift. Of the 10 houses on campus, amazingly, 7 actually invited me back the next day (I had a full party list the entire week). Imagine what that did for my ego and confidence. After that I actually wore cute clothes! I was convinced that those invites were a mistake and I would be told by my rush counselor, "oh sorry, but you were not invited back to any house." To this day, I am still tell my sisters I am still waiting to hear that I was dropped that first day.

DaffyKD

I went through COB in 1983 and I'm quite sure I wore a pink button down, khaki walking shorts and either penny loafers or topsiders.

For rush on the "other side" in mid-August, I think for 1st round we wore a white skirt and shoes with a colored polo shirt (shirt colors assigned, thank you!) 2nd and 3rd nights were costumes so it varied depending on theme and Pref were matching red floor length taffeta formals with a big white sash. Dress checks, makeup checks, jewelry checks, you name it, it was approved before rush. Oh yes, it was definitely the 80s!

Carnation, My daughters back to school issue just showed up in the mail. There are 823 fashion and beauty ideas! I guess I just figured out how to spend my morning.

Flash back to the early 80s. Formal "Rush" in mid-September. Very few houses with A/C since Ohio is supposed to be cold.

Round 1 - 18 houses in 1 day. I wore Liz Claiborne Khaki Bermuda shorts, a yellow Ralph Lauren polo and brown Pappagallo flats. I think I had an argile sweater over my shoulders. I screamed of "preppy".

Round 2 - I don't remember, but I attended about 10 houses.

Round 3 - I can't remember the number of houses (maybe 6), but I remember they were over 2 nights. I wore suits, which was not typical. One was a raw silk teal suit and the other was an off-white heavier material I do remember the white suit was hot.

Pref - 3 houses on 1 night. I had this dress with shiny material (some type of rayon) that had diagonal strips in black, red and blue. It had a tie belt and puffy sleeves. I think I wore black sheer hose and black pumps.

My hair was in a bi-level cut with "side burns"

OMG, that sounds exactly like a dress I had only mine was silver-gray background, pink & white stripes.

Ooo ... I had those belts too! And one of those Pappagallo wooden handle purses where you unbuttoned the purse and swapped it out so that your purse, your belt, and your espadrilles all matched!

Not only Seventeen, but also Glamour and Mademoiselle. One of the Mizzou ChiO's the year I went through rush (1970) was one of Glamour's Top 10 College Girls. Of course they made much of that.

As to what I wore: what I remember is a doubleknit Bobbie Brooks polo dress (bumble bee logo)--navy/red/tan; and an interlock knit--multi-colored dots on blue...can't remember the others.

It was 1979, and I was a challenge to my friends, because I had attended a largely-Jewish high school where the whole concept of "prep" was utterly foreign, so they had to change my look for rush. Out with the shiny qiana disco blouses and in with the Villager. Out with the Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, and in with the madras shorts. Ditch the skinny gold chain necklaces, replace them with twee Pappagallo hunting horn earrings and a watch with a grosgrain ribbon that matched my outfit. Tone down the make-up.

Candies were the only thing from my city-girl past I was allowed to keep and only for pref (which was stupid, because they hurt and probably made me 6'1", which meant I had to stoop to hear anyone). Otherwise, espadrilles or sandals.

I wore both Aigner sandals AND and Aigner belt one round (I hadn't quite got the preppy thing down, and may have overdone it). Oh, and an Aigner purse.

Farrah Fawcett hair was mandatory - but my hair doesn't hold a curl, so it only looked good for the first party or two, then it was just long and straight with a slight bend at the end for the rest of the night. I had grosgrain ribbons in my bag matching whatever outfit I was wearing, and would use them as hairbands once the Farrah Fawcett hair flopped.

But for pref, I wore what I wanted - my beloved Candies, with the simple green stretch-cotton spaghetti-strap sundress my mom, who hadn't gone to college and didn't want me to rush, had bought for me once she relented. It wasn't a brand name (A Brod), but when you're 5'11" and weigh 115, you can wear pretty much anything. And hair in a French twist.

So I essentially did the whole rush (except preference) in costume. Which of course we advise girls never to do.

I don't remember much of what I wore for my late-90s a cappella rush, except the final night. I wore faded black Levi's 501s, a black velour polo with purple patch pockets on the bust (this was meant to be a funky, thrift-shop type of look), and black-and-white checked sneakers. Burgundy lipstick and a touch of blush and eyeliner. When I walked into the event, the group members were all in stunning black tie: the girls in full-length black dresses, the guys in sharp, classic tuxedos. Oh, how I wanted to be one of those girls in the elegant black gowns!

For my first rush on the other side, I wore a subtly patterned, ankle-length black satin cheong sam I'd found in Chinatown, with my hair in a bun. That was not a forgiving garment -- I wore it that one night, and it never fit me again.
________

Ahhhh the memories...
 

I wish I had a picture of the darling Malia sundress I wore for either round 1 or 2. It was afabulous tiny green and white check with an occasional bright blue and hot pink check. The straps were bright blue ribbons that tied in bows on the shoulder. The dress had a built-in bra too! I, of course, wore lime green espadrilles to complete the outfit. I remember feeling so confident in this outfit! The year was 1979.

http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/z...iaSundress.jpg

^^^Is it just me, or does it look like that girl really needs to shave her back?

OK, when I read that, all I could think of was this SNL skit. Warning: extremely politically incorrect.

Several of my friends went through formal recruitment in the late 80's, and I can summarize their Texas-sized hairdos with two words: "Aqua Net." In fact, when a couple of them ran low while getting ready, they ran down the stairs to my room to use my can...