and to expand on adpiucf's suggestion-do not get black or white hoochie mama dresses. one of our national officers once told me that at the initiation of a new colony, many girls had low riding, short white skirts , white tube tops or halter tops and, dare i say it? white flip flops. in other words, except that they were in all white , they could have been going club hopping, ritual ceremonies in sororities are solemn occasions and you should dress accordingly.

and get all white dresses and shoes-no colored trim and no
off-white, and look in the mirror to see if you need a slip with your dress or skirt.

There are sooo many white dresses on sale!! I would reccomend finding a white sweater to go with a white dress because many chapters require your shoulders to be somewhat covered (or we do anyhow) And you may get cold if you have a house/room that has AC. (you'll probably wear it year round for events...)

eta, your skirt should be knee length, strapless dresses def reqire some kind of sweater, and nice simple white heels are also a must have.

Just a random comment, but ever since I joined a sorority, I love white clothes. Every time I go shopping, I just drift over to white stuff. I don't know why, but after I bought my first white dress (for sorority stuff), I fell in love!

This may be organization specific as I was once told Angels don't wear sleeves or turtlenecks in regard to ceremony dress. (I'm a Pi Phi) I would recommend a dress without sleeves based on my experiences but you could have a white cardigan sweater just in case.

So do you have to wear sleeveless dresses for Pi Phi? What would you do for a woman who needed to have her shoulders covered due to religious reasons?

I can't really discuss why we need sleeveless dresses, but I'll just say it makes things easier. Also when there's 75-80 women in a room you don't want to be wearing a sweater, just my opinion. My chapter never had to deal with a girl who had to have her shoulders covered in the time I was an active so I couldn't tell you. It was never mandatory nor in the bylaws, just strongly encouraged as were most of our chapter's policies regarding ritual wear.

Hum...well I guess if it is your first white dress, i would make sure I had a coverup just in case. And they won't really find many cute white dresses w/sleeves, we all just wore sweaters to cover up.

You guys just get more and more helpful! I got a white eyelit dress that is a halter top, but not low cut.. It also ties in the back.. Kind of counfusing but it is beautiful.(YAH Neimans sale, hide me from more sales hahah)

Would this be appropriate with a white cardigan? I am wearing this dress to a rehersal dinner this friday.. My best friend (who is a DG) is getting married Saturday.. So if I can't use the dress for sorority purposes it isnt a huge deal. I should just find out now while I can still shop. Can you tell I am to addicted to shopping?

I have white dressiesh wedges.. should i invest in some white heels??

If you can find some white heels I would, but otherwise you can at least survive your pledging w/the wedges and see. If you pledge, you will probably be wearing white for a few years so another pair wouldn't hurt. I would def get a cardigan just to be safe, all schools are different, but it is better to be over prepared.
:)

If you're wearing it to a rehearsal, why not wear a brightly colored cardigan with it to offset the white? :) And yes, for sorority ritual that requires all-white, you'll want a white cardi.

Jharb-- I was initiated in a room with over 100 women and we were FREEZING because they'd cranked the air down so low! ;) Depends on the chapter house!

This must be a chapter tradition because I'm also a Pi Phi and I've never heard of this rule. My white dress happens to be sleeveless, but I've seen girls wear dresses that cover their shoulders and no one says anything.

Slightly off topic...but I LOVE how you said that!!! "Angels don't wear hootchie momma whites...you shouldn't either." :D Love it!

Too bad everyone's mascot doesn't fit into that sentence. "Anchors don't wear.....wait....anchors don't wear clothes...nevermind."

:p

PsychTau

I went to Payless, got a really cheap pair of white heels (they're actually pretty cute) and I wear them only for ritual stuff--I mean, for me anyway I didn't want to spend a ton of money on shoes I would only wear a couple times a year. But, yes... I would suggest heels.

Haha, it was like that. One of our advisors always said stuff along those lines. You wear classy, sleeveless whites. It was just always the way things were done in my chapter. Although sometimes white flip flops would make it onto the scene if we had some sort of emergency ceremony for some reason!

Just a reminder with all of this white dress talk...before you go out and spend money on this sort of thing, just remember not every group requires whites or blacks. I know the sales are great...but don't buy anything you wouldn't want to wear to other events...

WhiteDaisy's right - if you do buy something get it from a store that will let you return it, and don't take the tags off till you're sure you need it.

Although you always need black anything IMO. :)

CJ is right, as always ;)

But a girl can always use a little black dress...or 3 :D

Truer words have never been spoken. :)

Good point!! A little bit different of a situation, but my roomate one year was in a sorority that made them buy these hiddeous white dresses that were made especially for them. They were used for initiation and pref I believe. Anyway, they were ugly, and no one ever wore them to anything else, but that was the point, that they would be able to.
ANYWAY, I think the two key words are USEFUL and TASTEFUL. Good luck in your search!!

Pref Dress
 

I bought a dress that I absolutely adore from Ann Taylor loft. I was originally planning on wearing it to Activities day (the day before preference.....my school recommends a classy sundress or skirt outfit, something church appropriate), but now I'm thinking of wearing it to preference.

It was slightly pricey (on sale though), made of silk and it's a coral color with a sort of tan and red floral/paisley print, I also got some leather coral kitten heel slides to go with it. It's spaghetti strap and knee length and not too clingy but is still flattering.

Would this be appropriate as a preference dress (the pamphlet says cocktail or dinner dress with no sequins or rhinestones.....and one of the girls pictured is wearing a flowery dress)? Or should I wear it on the activities day?

Thank you for your help!
-Annie

3 more weeks until rush.....soooo excited :)

Re: Pref Dress
 

OMG! I got my pref dress at Ann Taylor too! It was on sale and it's the prettiest thing ever. It's white with a pinkish peachish sash and a brown, green, and pink/peachish floral pattern. I had a chance to get the matching shoes, but they no longer have them in my size -kicking myself-! I spent 4 hours looking for shoes to match my pref and semi-formal dresses to no avail! You and me will both be visions of loveliness in Ann Taylor! LOL! That's just too sweet! [/hijack] -sorry!

the coral dress sounds lovely and totally appropriate for pref,not knowing your campus.

babypink-your dress sounds pretty too!! i just love ann taylor.

Last year I went overboard with the pics, but there is another good place for plus sizes, Fashion Bug. They got some nice black dresses for pref night and nice skirts for skit day.

Pref night
http://fashionbug.charmingshoppes.co...D001323&nav=FP

Some of the stuff are age appropriate, others are not.

Like kddani said, find something that flatters your body, not an outfit that will make you look like a potato sack.

Absolutely not true.. angels DO wear sleeves and SHOULD be respective and not provocative. Those at Convention would note that all of Grand Council wore long sleeve white suits for the ritual day. If you are buying a white dress for ritual, think conservative and one that can be worn year-round. If you want a sleeveless dress because it looks good on you, get a cardigan to wear with it in January or with Texas A/C.

2006!!!!!
 

I really found this thread helpful! --especially for the upcoming fall rush!
I was wondering about purses... I heard they had to wait outside. Should the designer bags be left at home and tote bags worn (to carry flipflops), or should no purse come at all?
Also, what about short skirts?

I don't see the need for a designer bag. They're most likely going to be sitting on the ground, so I wouldn't bring anything really "good".

I think short skirts have been discussed many times in various threads. Not a good idea to go too short, because you'll be sitting and moving around a lot and you don't want to put on a show. Yes you want to dress cute, but you also want to be classy. Short skirts also tend to ride up even more when you sit down, and you'll have a tendency (knowingly or not) to yank on them and adjust yourself.

Many places recommend Ziploc bags labeled with your name if you must bring anything at all.

Also, been mentioned before, but worth mentioning (many times over)...if you do choose a skirt NO THONGS! There is a possibility that either you will be sitting on the floor, or you will be sitting in a chair with a sister sitting on the floor in front of you. They don't want to know what your Brazilian looks like, no matter how cool it is...I promise.;)

You don't need a purse at recruitment. You can't bring anything but yourself in or out of a recruitment event, so no one will be looking at your purse!

Lock your cell phone/purse in your car or leave them at home. Bring a ziploc or small tote with a couple of dollars, your keys and your student ID. Maybe a lipstick and some blotting papers-- makeup melts on your face and in the sun, so be careful about what make up you wear and pack. Bring along any regular/emergency meds, including a tampon (you never know).

Your recruitment counselor will keep an eye on everything when you are at the parties. Do bring an umbrella and a bottle of water. You may want to have a cereal bar and some breath mints handy, too. It's a long day with unpredictable weather and few breaks!

Short skirts aren't bad as long as they fit and they're not uber-short. You will end up sitting, kneeling or squatting and possibly sitting on the floor at some of these events, so a "short" skirt should be one that comes just above the knee or slightly shorter. Anything more than that and you might unintentionally embarrass yourself!

It's HOT outside and COLD inside! At least one PNM each year at UCF down in Orlando faints during a party due to a combination of dehydration and heat. Eat breakfast, wear sunscreen and drink water!

If you do need to carry a cell phone with you (my mom had cancer during recruitment one year and was in the hospitial when I was doing recruitment) put it on silent even if you leave it in the hall in a bag. If it is for a medical reason see if you RC can hold it for you. She can always get you if it goes off, but it is much more polite for her to help excuse you then checking a beeper or cell phone during a party.

It should go without saying, but please... for the sake of everybody... avoid heavy perfumes. I had one PNM who made me sneeze the whole time I was talking to her.

What's everyone else wearing for rush this year?

I just wanted to wish ufdale good luck with rush- it'll be a long, stressful, HOT week but in the end, its worth it. You've gotten some great advice from the women on here, make good sense of it and you'll be fine.

One quick note- last year we were given tote bags by PC to put our papers, flip flops, make-up, etc inside. We were allowed to carry purses inside, because the sorority women will offer to carry them for you while you are a guest in their house. I haven't heard any different and I don't see in any of the rush rules we've been given by PC where that's changed. It's a personal preference thing though, whatever makes you feel most comfortable.

Expect to see a variety of under/overdressed at UF, I was very surprised last year at the number of tanks and denimn minis I saw on the first day and just as surprised at the end of the week to see girls prancing around in full length beaded Scala gowns for prefs. :rolleyes:

open houses: rush shirt, skirt, black leggings

first invite: suggestions?

second invite: sundress

third invite: little black dress

Personally, I still say ix-nay on the leggings.

Honey, I thought we had a talk about the leggings.;)

Also, prefs you may not want to wear a little black dress, as most sororities this is what the sisters wear. You want to stand out (in a good way).

Open house: skirt or modest shorts, t-shirt and flats, sandals or tennis shoes. No leggings.

Second invite - if this is philanthropy round, I'd do a skirt, capris or gauchos

third invite - sundress

Prefs - nice dress, not black. If you only have black, make sure you add a colorful or distinctive accessory or scarf.

Great idea on the capris and gauchos. We never had enough tables during philanthropy to all sit down so most of the time we ended up on the floor doing our "craft" project. I use the term craft but normally it was putting together some type of a school sypply kit and then putting a ribbon on. I swear in the total of 6 weeks I did recruitment during college I stuffed more "school supply" bags then in my entire 7 years as a teacher!

I know you guys advised against the leggings, but I bought a pair and I just love them. If it is too hot, I won't wear them.

As for the black dress, I think that I'm supposed to wear a black dress. But, I've heard that other colors are acceptable.

I think you're supposed to wear a cocktaily dress, which it just so happens that most of them are black. But a lot of the sororities wear black too which is why PT said not black. Definitely do something to make it stand out if that's all you have.

Incidentally I was reading InStyle and there was a whole page dedicated to leggings - including HORIZONTAL STRIPED ones. :)

I don't really understand why you're asking for advice then if you're not going to listen to us anyways. A number of posters from a number of different schools with different levels of formality and dress during recruitment all said not to wear leggings. That should say something.

Well, I thought about what everone said, and I decided to go with what I liked. To my knowledge, there are no rules against leggings for my rush; but, if there are I just won't wear them. No biggie. I really don't mean to offend anyone by not taking their advice.