Did you have really curly, big hair in a droopy side pony tail, while wearing big pink hoop earrings?

haha ;)

This whole idea of Southern schools wearing sundresses to football games is so foreign to me - I actually had never heard of it until a year or so ago, and when I did I was like :confused: :eek: :confused: ???

Regional differences are so funny. If someone wore a sundress to a football game at my university or any other schools near me, they would be looked at like they came from another planet. (Went to a Big 10 school.)

I would agree with the other ladies that its more important to make sure that your clothes are flattering and fit well, than to worry about the label.

Yes, there might be some chapters at some schools who are label conscious. However, as others have pointed out, would you want to spend the next 4 years going broke trying to keep up with them? I agree that looking good on a budget is an important skill for a college student, and many chapters would appreciate that quality in you. :)

The geography of the Big 10 makes sundresses impractical for 75% of the football season. If you're wearing a sundress in IL, IA, WI, etc in Nov, I would definitely look at you like you came from another planet.:)

There's being label conscious, and then there's the ability to update classic pieces with inexpensive trendy/fashionable touches in order to look youthful and put-together. Classic pieces include well-fitting turtleneck tops in nice fabrics and colors, well-tailored dress pants, nicely tailored dark jeans (boot cut or straight leg...skinny jeans are too trendy and usually expensive), a pair of black stilettos, ballet flats, a nice black leather/mock leather bag with metal hardware, and flattering black dresses.

Even at label conscious chapters (and whether or not these chapters have their priorities in order is a whole other thread...), a PNM with finesse in combining her classic staples with trendy accessories will ALWAYS look like a million bucks...and it's not like people can see the tags on your clothes, so even if you get a $9.99 top on double clearance at TJ Maxx, if it looks great on you, nobody will be the wiser.

Honestly, some women who are extremely label conscious have no idea how to put themselves together. They end up looking garish and tacky with an overload of super trendy items. I think it's so much better to just look well put together and you'll be able to use the classic pieces for years if you take good care of them.

While it's definitely easier if a PNM has a $1,000 recruitment wardrobe budget, a PNM with a good sense of style should have most of what she needs in her closet already.

Please, please, PLEASE don't do a turtleneck. A turtleneck just looks like it's trying to eat your face, and they don't give your upper body a long, clean look. Be conservative with your necklines, but not that conservative! Just stay away from them, and you'll be ok:)

You definitely have a point there!

(Though I still can't even imagine a sundress in August/September, when the weather generally would be warm enough.)

Semi-related note...we had a Graduate Consultant from our chapter at an SEC university come live with us for a year. When she first arrived, she suggested that perhaps chapter members weren't dressing up enough for class. We laughed and pointed out that 1) the other 15 sororities on campus dressed as casually as we did on campus for the most part and 2) if she could still tell us that we should be wearing skirts and dress shoes to class after she actually experienced January on our campus, perhaps we'd consider it.

By late January/early February, she was dressing the same way we were. :)

Especially in the North, turtlenecks in clean lines are appropriate for chilly recruitments. Obviously a PNM shouldn't wear a bulky, boxy grandma turtleneck. That said, every season designers and brands ranging from Forever 21 to Ann Taylor to Marc Jacobs show turtleneck tops. They don't have to be conservative or stodgy in the right cut.

Again, you have to dress for your body type but as someone who was recently at a chapter at a fairly fashion-conscious school, we saw plenty of PNMs and active sisters wear turtlenecks/high necked tops in fabrics ranging from jersey to cashmere. They mostly looked fantastic, youthful, and stylish. So I happen to disagree, but to each her own.

ETA:

Gorgeous:
http://www.ardenb.com/shop/detail.as...d=25&sub_id=49

Grandma:
http://www.krystalacres.com/images/sweater/D7069a.jpg

Agree.

Yes:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h1...002/turtle.jpg

No:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h1...hrug_alone.jpg

THe second one looks like the sweater is eating her from the neck down!

GIS = Turtleneck

Me, too...Big 12 here (actually Big 8...dating myself!)--I never wore anything but jeans and sweatshirt or sweater under my parka :D

But at the big SEC schools where it's hot until Thanksgiving, it's sundresses in school colors for girls and coat and tie (or at least a buttondown and tie) for guys.

I find that the perfect fit t's with a pair of nice dress pants a staple in my wardrobe too. I just hate to spend too much on tops, because I am a total klutz and I wear my food on my shirt half the time! (I always keep an extra top at work to change after lunch.) Even a simple plain fitted (read fitted as not skin tight) T can be dressed up with some simple pearls or classic jewlery.

That being said, if you have a nice necklace, bracelet or ring don't be afraid to wear it with something not so nice. You would be amazed the number of people I work with who wear jeans with pearls these days and look amazing.

Ditto on the shoes... shoe hell can be a bad place to go!

I got my black dress at Dillards on major clearence at 7$ (marked down from $189). No one who saw it would think cheap, but it was. Also it had a classic cut and the shape flatters me. I can also dress it up or down as I need to. I have even worn it to open houses at school with a colorful cardigan over it. No one is none the wiser.