I have no problem with dressing alike--it does help you remember which group is which, especially in a large greek system. In fact, I am queen of matchy-matchy and I actually like school uniforms. I think the most striking memory I have from rush back in the day was walking into AOPi house to a sea of red dresses on girls arranged artfully up and down the staircase! 25+ years later, I can see it as clearly in my mind as if it was yesterday. I don't think 99.9% of girls on the other side of rush have a problem with dressing alike, it's just the shopping that is getting to me. I don't have time for it, my daughter really doesn't have time for it, and it's frustrating.

Maybe the key is in how they do it. It seems like at some chapters you get a list kind of late in the game with no consideration for what's actually available, and in other cases, you get more lead time and a better thought through selection.

If I were rush dress assigner, for one of the more formal rounds, I really like the idea that one of my friends used for bridesmaids' dresses: everyone had to use the same fabric, but she could choose a pattern that seemed like her. You'd have the uniformity and the individuality. But even then it'd be tough because you'd have to make sure that half the chapter didn't do the same one.

I agree. The recruitment team and advisors spent alot of time thinking about what would look best on everyone v. what's actually available. We got our clothing list in April. With Refinement Week and dress check in August, we had five months to locate everything, which I think is plently of time.

Most of the items were basics like polos, gauchos, capris, or black cocktail dresses and most girls either had those or easily found them at the mall. In 3 years as an active, I can only remember having a hard time finding one item (an olive colored khaki skirt in 2005-to go with a black tank and flip flops).

The main reason FSU discourages PNM's from wearing long sequined/beaded gowns or just long dresses for pref day is that most of the sorority members will be wearing long formal dresses. There is a need for Panhellenic members to be dressier than the PNM's. On pref day most houses are required to wear floor length white, black, or sorority specific color formal gowns (usually satin or taffeta-like fabrics). Because of the guidelines on the Greeklife website, PNM's usually show up wearing semi-formal or cocktail dresses that are of a less formal material. The differences in dress create a clear division between sorority members and PNM's while still maintaining the atmosphere of the day.