Our new members wear all white "dressy" clothes, which permits slacks as well as skirts and dresses. We're not overly fussy about the pureness of the white, though, so we get a lot of variation. After all, it's tough to find true white when your pledge class is initiated in December, as mine was! The sisters (both collegiate and any alumnae who are there) wear all black.

We follow this same dress code when we induct a new chapter. But to go one step further to honor that new chapter, on the day of the induction sisters all over the country wear all black and their member badge in tribute... which we'll be doing tomorrow to welcome our 26th collegiate chapter!! :D

Same for my sisters! I will say that I advise my collegiate chapters to think tasteful when it comes to makeup in such situations, as in wedding day vs. going out clubbing.

I love you

On this note, I will say only that we were asked to arrive in all white. It was only after arriving at initiation that we changed into our catsuits (white for initiates, green for sisters) and the officers donned their white faux-fur stoles over their green catsuits.

Um. I'll shut up now.

:p

What? The creepy Mormon cult-look doesn't appeal to you? :D

I was told that if we could not find a boa made entirely of white dove feathers, we could wear one made of pigeon feathers that had been bleached.

Seriously, the main thing I remember is no wristwatches. In this day and age, those have been supplanted by cell phones, and I would hope it goes without saying, those are verboten.

Oh, the shoes! I forgot about the shoes. What kills me is there must be a factory out there somewhere that makes all that stuff. And some $8/hour factory guy who thinks all sorority girls are complete nutballs.

I'm thinking I've heard more than once that the no-makeup rule is to keep makeup from getting onto the robes, which would then have to be cleaned and pressed every time instead of once or twice a year. That would make more sense.

Now I'm creeped out. The ad at the top of the page is www.shopwhitedress.com. How do they know???????????????????? :eek:

What kills me is we probably all wore exactly the same thing, but since we can't discuss, we don't know! Back to the factory thing - they couldn't stay in business if they were just manufacturing secret catsuits for just Alpha Xi.

Keeping my ears open and my mouth shut.
 

I feel a tad bit guilty because I so enjoy reading the information on this thread, but do not feel comfortable sharing information. Am I the only one who feels this way?

One of the sisters in my alumnae association shared a little bit about her initiation (at another campus) that might be similar to yours, and it was wild.

I will say this about my Alpha Xi initiation - I was blown away. I thought it might be because it was so long coming for me, but then again, I don't see how it could be any less beautiful or meaningful to anyone experiencing it. There's a phrase that I've heard a lot - and many sororities have used it - that their sorority isn't something they "joined," but rather, something that they have always been. THAT is how I felt at initiation.

I know what you mean; I'd love to see how other chapters do their initiations. Actually, I'd REALLY love to attend the initiation they do at Convention every other year. Since it's the National Council that does it, you KNOW it's done perfectly. I'm curious to see how it differs from how our chapter did it. ("uh oh, I can't find the sacred turtle shell" "okay, we can just use a seashell instead. No one will know the difference.")

That's why it really bothers me when GDIs talk about sorority initiations like they're something bad or abusive or, (ugh) kinky. Delta Zeta's initiation ritual is beautiful and uplifting and I would be absolutely shocked if it WEREN'T the case with the other NPC organizations as well.

I feel the exact same way. Maybe that's why we can't share: we'd all find out we've been wearing the same thing. :D

We do not have the no makeup requirement, for which I am grateful, because I am a mascara addict.

Nope.