NEVER, EVER even think about wearing sweatpants to any kind of recruitment event. I personally would be insulted if I was talking to a rushee who dressed like that. It is basically sending a message saying "I could care less what I look like." During my informal, I always wore jeans, a nice sweater, and heels (in the form of either dress shoes or casual suede boots). Like the girls above me have said, it is better to overdress than underdress. You'll feel better about yourself too!:)

I agree. It's one thing if you are rolling out of bed and into sweats for a 7:30 AM class or wearing a fleece to the intramural fields to watch a soccer game. It is another to go on an interview looking sloppy. You don't need to wear a prom dress, but common sense diictates that if the theme is casual, you would wear nice jeans/top/stylish shoes, and as others have said, dress it up a little more each day. You don't want to to "stick out," but you do want to "stand out" as someone who takes care of herself to look her personal best at these events.

Sweatpants can also = Juicy Couture sweatsuits. :)

Unless you know for sure what school someone is going to and it's your school, I wouldn't say "never, ever" wear this or that. Campus culture is very different from place to place. In this case I agree with dressing up a little bit, but at some places, things like Lily Pulitzer dresses and pearls would be every bit as out of place as sweatpants would someplace else.

You're very right. I personally view Juicy as a $300 sweatsuit. It's something to wear in an airport or lounging around the house, in my opinion. I believe that would be inappropriate to wear if I was trying to look my personal best at a casual event to make a first impression. Again, that's just me. I think she is fine with nice jeans, but the OP should certainly inquire with the women on her campus with regards to what is appropriate to wear.

Seinfeld on sweatpants:
 

"You know the message you're sending out to the world with these sweatpants? You're telling the world, 'I give up. I can't compete in normal society. I'm miserable, so I might as well be comfortable.'"
- Jerry and George, in "The Pilot"

As my mom always says "It's better to be overdressed than underdressed and look like trash!!" I would take the advice of what people are telling you. Personally I have worn jeans to a restaurant interview where the theme of the restaurant is causual, but now I work at a department store and I wore a nice pair of black dress pants and dress shirt to show that I was serious and knew how to dress in that right atmosphere. Hope everything goes great and you have a GREAT TIME!!

Sorry, but even if it is Juicy, I still think it is not okay. Nothing says less effort.

I went to school in the cold, snowy North and trust me -- all the sorority women will understand that it's hard to look great with subzero windchills. We had women come to our parties in drop dead gorgeous designer outfits with big dorky parkas on top of them. Women paired their black pants or dresses with Uggs (ew) but you make concessions for that sort of thing when there's a foot of snow. Last year, we saw a ton of leggings under dresses at our pref parties. In any other case, leggings under dresses would be wayyyy too informal but since it was mid-January nobody cared.

Just remember: if you spend half of party warming up because you failed to dress for conditions and you're shivering your ass off and you can't make conversation, it will be worse for you than if you just sucked it up and wore a big dorky parka or boots. Stay warm!

At Illinois, we had plenty of women come through in January in jeans and sweaters, usually with sneakers or boots or other snow-appropriate footwear. Believe me, we did not think any less of them. I guess the gauge for first round would be something a little nicer than what you would wear to class, so if you are on a campus where women wear sweats to class, wear jeans to rush. If you are on a campus wear jeans to class, wear black pants.

umm can i shop with you? i would LOVE to buy $300 on sweats to lounge in.

Yup, read my post again...that was my problem. Your health is more important than looking uber cute in a skirt. Dress nicely but warmly and if all else fails in conversation, bring up how damn cold it is outside, especially walking to the events :P I wore a peacoat over my outfit and I had matching gloves and scarf. You can make outerwear look cute too :) Do they take your jacket and purse from you when you enter the room? If so, why not bring a change of footwear with you and then you can wear cute shoes at the event and change back into snow-worthy shoes/boots afterwards. Just a thought.
Jeans, black pants and nice shirts are perfect for informal, especially in this weather. I think you'll be absolutely fine.

LOL. I would never waste that money on lounging clothes unless I was a movie star. I don't think it is appropriate to wear sweat suits in any kind of setting other than lounging or traveling. That being said, I'm always looking for shopping buddies! :D

OP: You have a good head on your shoulders. Good luck at recruitment!

If someone came to one of our January COB parties, through the snow in heels, I would probably think they had lost their mind.

I like your style. I personally think that air travel requires flipflops and a comfy pair of pants. My dad is from the old school where you dress in Sunday best to fly. He used to yell at me all the time when I arrived here in NC for spring break.

Just don't wear track pants with snaps down the side when you have to walk through the metal detector.

I know that feeling, except my dad worked for the airline, so we HAD to dress up, it wasn't a personal thing!

Same here! Even now, I just cannot imagine flying without dressing in business attire.


.....Kelly :)

don't worry about eyeliner-they should not know that you didn't list them on your bid card. bid matching is conducted by alumnae and the panhellenic advisor(and often a computer), and "what happens in the room, is supposed to stay in the room."

even if they did know, surely they would realize that people make mistakes. your opinion of them may have changed in the semester.

i am the recruitment advisor for a nearby chapter-we match bids by hand-i cannot remember who suicided zta or tri delta, and we advisors would never tell the collegiate members even if we did remember. there is just too much going on at bid matching time and we are too excited about the girls we did get, to worry about the girls we did not get.

you should be fine. don't worry.

I'm with you. I wore business attire once on a plane and I wouldn't do it again.

If ACCESSORIES is newer (I know you don't want to say if they are still in colony status or not so you won't get outed ;) ) and they are a good deal smaller, they may be having events after the main informal rush activities are over and/or having a national team come in.

And yeah - unless it was something HUGE (i.e. the triple in-house legacy to BBB suiciding my chapter of AAA) you don't remember who put what down on their bid card from semester to semester.

Good luck! It sounds like you're going to do just fine.

They could have since reorganized.

Yep. A lot of chapters that have done so just say "we were founded on campus in 1974" or whatever, neglecting to mention that they've been closed and reopened and recolonized 6 times since then.

And even if they aren't new, they may be receiving rush help from their nationals and doing their thing after everyone else is done doing their thing.

I'm sure if ASA ever re-opened Beta Kappa at WIU, we would still claim first sorority on campus - since we were, even though we'd since been closed.

oh yay! the fun starts tomorrow!

That's why some groups at some schools will use the "continuously open" phrase.

Have fun and good luck!

Oh no! I'm sure you are disappointed. But hang in there...your turn will come:)

ack! so not cool. but honestly, if you're in a snow storm, I'd say it's for the best!

Good luck, whenever you get to start! :)

I'm glad you finally got to start recruitment! Just remember to be yourself and have fun with the whole experience! Keep us posted! :)

im glad your having a good time! i cant wait to see what happens!! lots of luck!!

I'm glad you and your friends feel comfortable talking about your preferences, just be careful that you don't end up influencing each other!

Good luck to all of you! :D

I know where you go to school....!
 

I am like 99% sure that I know where you go to school! Will you tell us where you go after you find out if you get a bid?? (If I'm not mistaken you can find out Monday at 10 can't you :rolleyes:)

...and if I'm wrong then we have some SERIOUSLY eerie coincidences going on here.

...I would just love to have the $300! :p

OMG! Pink, I'm so nervous for you! Sometimes pref is awkward (especially if you're paired with inexperienced rushers...i.e. I kinda feel bad for whoever gets me in a pref party!), and you can't really let one meh party completely ruin your perception of an otherwise great group, IMHO (unless there's someone who's completely rude to you or giving you dirty looks, of course!). I hope you end up in a chapter you like, though. It seems like you've clicked with a lot of different people in different groups, so if all else fails, you've met some cool people through rush. Good luck!!!

Don't be discouraged! I know it can be an overwhelming process, but don't think of it as a competition. You shouldn't be comparing yourself to other girls and guessing who is going to get in. If it's truly meant to be, it will happen for you. I understand that they're taking small new member classes, but you never know. You seemed really excited in your previous updates, so just keep your head up. You'll know soon!

Also, you mentioned that you were upset that the girl you really liked didn't pref you...it doesn't always work out this way. Sometimes you get another girl that really liked you or sometimes someone you hardly know. It doesn't mean the other girl didn't love you--that's just how things work out sometimes.

As far as Mascara, it's good for you to be aware of dirty rushing, but as far as not going because your other friends weren't going...like you said, you don't want to influence one another and you think you'll all end up in different sororities...you never know-it could be the one for you. Sometimes you can find an unlikely home in the last place you ever thought to look!

Recruitment is stressful and maybe your friends will have to go through again in the fall or would prefer to do so but remember that you have options this semester and you seem to be enjoying yourself--put your heart into it and I'm sure you'll get something in return! :) Going Greek is an AMAZING thing and I wouldn't trade my sorority experience for anything in the world...
I hope you find the perfect addition to your make-up case :)

<3

Good luck!!! I'm glad you're so excited and I hope that you end up where you want to be tomorrow!!! :)

I hope you had an amazing recruitment experience! Good luck on tomorrow!:)