Opinions for big SEC school
 

Hi all. I've done a lot of searching and reading back on old topics posted and WOW, they have been so incredibly helpful! I can't say enough about the amount of great advice I have discovered here (nerd moment: I may have totally jotted down some notes so I don't forget over the next *crazy* week!)

I'll be a freshman rushing at a big SEC school very soon, and I am so excited. I'm not from the south (try somewhere between California and Oklahoma) and where I'm from rush is definitely not a big deal. I'm not a legacy anywhere, but luckily I've been able to secure recs for all of the sororities on my campus, although many came from my city's Panhellenic alumni group. (Question One: Is that okay? Are those 'not-as-good recs because I did not personally ever meet the woman writing it? For many sororities, it was the only way I was able to secure a rec.)

While my school posts a great 'What To Wear' guide that includes photos galore, I'm the planner type, and was hoping to maybe ask a few questions here about the outfits I have planned for each day. I hope this is okay!

Open Houses/Ice Water Teas
http://i25.tinypic.com/w02f0n.jpg
http://tinypic.com/r/23iid0i/3
Question Two: I love Lilly Pulitzer. Is it going to possibly make the wrong impression wearing it the very first day though? Are these dressy enough/too dressy?

[b] Philanthropy[b]
(The t-shirts I chose are just similar colors to ours, I don't have the ones we'll wear yet obviously)
http://i25.tinypic.com/rtkig6.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/dmejw1.jpg
Question Three: Are bows too little-kid? I love wearing hair bows, but I'm afraid girls will think I'm still channeling 3rd grade.

Skit Day
http://i30.tinypic.com/kcey4y.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/3509bue.jpg
Question Four: Formal enough for your typical SEC skit day? Which one of these would be better, if either?

Pref Day
http://i31.tinypic.com/rrqu5e.jpg

Final Question: Is there a consensus/opinion on acrylic, fake nails? Obviously cut short and kept in a clean french manicure. I tend to wear them, but I'm not sure of the opinion of them down South, if it's more of a 'those are trashy looking because they're fake' or if it's a do-as-you-please, as long as it's tasteful? Wow, that was a mouthful, sorry!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read all of this and help settle my nerves! Overall, I am just very excited to go in with an open mind because with the number of sororities on my campus, I am confident with the right preparation I will find where I belong. I think my nerves come more from the move-halfway-across-the-country part more than anything right now.

I have cousins that have rushed at SEC schools and they have given me the notion that a dress for Prefs should be knee length. Besides that, I do like all the outfits you picked. I would think that bows would be fine as they seem to be very popular / on-trend these days.

Sorry, should have clarified - my pref dress hits right at my knee, I'm only 5'0", so things tend to be longer on me than on 5'11" models! Thanks though!

It is better that you have the recs you got than no recs at all.

Fake nails are OK as long as they don't look fake. I'm sure there's some nail-biters and weak-nailed sisters in the sororities who'll be sporting them too. :)

I personally would skip the strapless dresses since your other options for those parties are great and so you have one less thing (is my dress staying up?) to worry about.

Strapless is fine. Many girls will wear them. You will be hotter than you have ever been before. Check the shoes for Ice Water Teas. Most girls will wear some sort of nice looking leather or rubber flip flops because you will walk all day and not have much time between houses so it is tough to change shoes. Also, I don't know which SEC school you are talking about, but not all let you bring purses into the houses. So the purse does not need to match. A tote bag full of your supplies (deoderant, wipes, lipstick or gloss, comb or brush, a small travel fan etc.) will work better. Really high heels are better for Pref than for Skit Day.

At my SEC school I wore flats all the days except for pref. I was much more comfortable than if I had worn heels for skit AND pref!

as for the nails, I don't remember a lot of PNMs wearing fake nails. Or, if they did I don't think they had french manicures, but rather a solid color. But honestly, as long as they don't look a hot mess then I don't think it's a big deal either way.


as for recs- I definitely had to get some recs from the local panhellenic. With that being said, I preffed at a house where a rec came from a woman who I had never met, nor had any connection to. So, you should be fine with those recs, but each sorority works differently and I also don't know which campus youre on. But I think you'll be fine.

You will see lots of girls with fake nails, both in the chapters and going through rush. Most will have the pink and white ones.

your outfits look great. good choices!

The only "critique" I have is that I wouldn't wear the same shoes for more than one day. Just find another pair of flips similar to the silver ones, but different enough to stand out. The second skit outfit is cuter IMO, but the first one would be fine, I think. If you're worried about it being dressy enough, just wear some nude heels instead of the white flips. And if it were me, for pref I'd get shoes with color (because all black can blend in) or get earrings/a bracelet with color if you do wear black shoes.
BCBG Fatima
These are super classy and gorgeous...and make the outfit a little more noticeable without being "out there". (And since you said you're 5'...platform bottoms can help. I'm 5'4" and LOVE the platform soles.)
BCBG Katya
Again, a little more noticeable than all black, but not flashy.
Jessica Simpson Josette
These are flashy, but I have a thing for red shoes with a black dress.
Vince Camuto Misty's
Only if you're daring...but these shoes with that dress could be pretty kickass.

Of course if you choose flashy shoes, stick with the pearl accessories. If you go with a plain black shoe you can make yourself more memorable with accessories like these:
In red or yellow
(If you pick something that bright I wouldn't wear a bracelet)
Traditional but visible
These are still pearls, but show up more than plain studs. They'd be awesome with the right cocktail ring.

As for bows...with a t-shirt, they can be cute. The people that pull them off without channeling 3rd grader do it by making sure everything else about them looks age appropriate. (Pick sophisticated shoes, wear enough make up to look polished but not so much you look like you're playing dress up, have your nails done, etc.)

French tipped fake nails at the right length will be fine. I used to wear them during recruitment, too, because my nails are brittle no matter what I do and that was the only way to guarantee they'd look perfect for a week straight. Good luck, especially with the move! Remember how hot it will be for recruitment...bring a tote bag with flip flops (when you wear heels), some shine blotting sheets, deodorant if you're a sweater (I am, I'll admit it...I always carried some), a little powder for touch ups if you wear it, a brush, and some breath freshners (NOT gum). Also wear water proof make up!

I just re looked at all the photos. I love everything- very cute and appropriate in my opinion. I think I would switch your ice water day with philanthropy. Most campuses go casual to a little dressy. Did greek life tell you the second day was more casual then the first? If you want to do a sun dress the first day maybe you could do another sun dress or a cute skirt the second day. Just a thought, but really I think your in good shape.

I love Lilly to and I think you will be just fine especially at an SEC school. I think the bows are just fine. Everyone is wearing them in HS and college. They are cute. I think your skit day outfits are fine. The first one screams "sorority girl" to me though. I'm at a PAC 10 school and all the college girls have fake nails on. I can not speak to the south, but they seem pretty generic as long as they are not ubber long with rhinestones and airbrushed pictures on them.

It sounded to me like they are being given t-shirts to wear for philanthropy days because she noted that the colors are similar to the shirts they are given. Sometimes philanthropy is more casual because they are doing crafts and may be sitting on the floor or using paint, etc. that could damage clothing, right?

ETA: I also think she's wearing the same shoes twice (re: Alumiyum's post) because she's seeing different chapters on day 1 and day 2.

Our philanthropy day was exactly that. Actives were also in T-shirts, and all chapters actually had the same shirt in different colors. It was also inevitably the ugliest shirt that of the year no matter what color we got.

Obviously not an SEC school, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I might change the philanthropy round outfit a little if you have a Kappa chapter. The light blue/dark blue combo is cute (of course!) but it can be a little awkward if you show up in full blown colors for one sorority. Just a thought. :)

Great advice everyone, thanks so much.

We do see different chapters on days 1 and 2 of both Ice Water and Philanthropy, hence the same shoes. I figured Jack Rogers were nice without being flip flops, but I may try to find one more pair of cute flat sandals.

Our philanthropy round t-shirts are given by the school, so no option there on top at least. I can always swap out blue shorts for a pair of khaki ones, thanks for the advice FleurGirl!

I'm leaning towards the second skit day outfit so I don't have to do the strapless dress hike up, but with a different pair of shoes. Not complaining about going to buy another pair of shoes, that's for sure.

As for the pref day outfit, the idea of adding something bright is a great idea. I'm such a pearls girl, I just automatically picked them, but maybe a pair of bright shoes would really add some pop.

Sounds like I have an excuse to go shoe shopping. Oh, gee, what a shame.
Thanks again all!

Welcome to the South! You will fit in perfectly with your pearls! You will see many girls in strapless dresses and pink/white French nails (natural looking). Your outfits look great and I am sure you will be fine. My daughter wore khaki shorts one day, navy the next for Philanthropy round---she also had some lighter khakis as an option if the T-shirt did not go with navy.

Your pref dress looks great...very classy and appropriate.

It is extremely hot and the humidity is a killer if you are not used to it. We moved my daughter into the house yesterday afternoon...it was blazing. Drink water at every open house...and bring some in your tote bag as well (or sports drink).

Have fun!

I love your outfits, so well put together and thought out! Don't be nervous, everyone will be very welcoming and you won't be the only one away from home :) I like your first skit day outfit the best!

Welcome to South!

My thoughts ...
Lilly is queen so anything by her is great in the SEC.
Pearls are very classy just like the sorority women you will be meeting.
I love the pref dress, but many (to most) actives will be wearing black, go with a color.

My friend's sorority is not allowed to wear Lily during recruitment. Does anyone else find that to be kinda strange?

No, I find that very sensible.

That's probably to prevent possible print overload, even though there are solid Lily things it's easier to just ban it altogether.

I love Lilly, but Lilly on a hundred girls in the same room would probably make me dizzy.

Not to mention that Lily is NOT cheap.

Could it be because they don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable in a sea of expensive brand names? Rush and pledging is not a cheap activity and to put hundred dollar + items of clothing in the mix could give a wrong impression to girls who can afford to join but maybe not have that kind of a wardrobe. I know I would make some assumptions if I walked into a room filled with girls in Lilly pants carrying Longchamp bags.

maybe. I guess what I thought was weird about it was that her house isn't really the type you would expect to be wearing Lily. They're trendy...but a less conservative, more "fashion week" trendy. If that makes any sense at all! haha

I'm voting strange. I understand the cost of recruitment wardrobe can get easily out of hand if nobody is thinking about the price (they don't mention that when talking about the cost of being in a sorority haha). And Lilly is expensive, but to band it all together??? Odd.

Maybe they do not want to give off that vibe or they are trying to keep in mind the sisters that are on a budget, which is always nice.

I'm willing to bet it's because the possibility of a huge number of girls wearing the bright, flashy Lily prints is overwhelming. That really could be a disaster, and maybe it's easier to just ban distracting, large prints.

Or maybe since 90% of the pnms will be wearing Lilly, they want to be able to tell who's an active and who's a pnm.

My girls always had to wear solids--white dress for open house, polo shirt or button down in one their philanthropy's three colors for philanthropy day, red dress for skit, etc.

Am I alone in thinking that Lily is ugly? Mostly the bags, but looking at the clothing I'm not really changing my opinion.

I would think banning prints in general isn't an unusual thing and if Lily is popular there mentioning it specifically would be normal.

If they didn't want designer stuff, there are WAY pricier things than Lily that they could ban. I honestly think this is just because of the loud print factor.

Nope, not at all. Some of the more solid piece are ok, but I don't think they are anything special.

I don't know which SEC school you are attending, but at Auburn many of the actives wear white for pref. My daughter, as a PNM, wore a black dress last year with red pumps. She has been able to wear the same dress for some other sorority events, as well. (It is a pretty conservative dress, though.)

Re: Lily

On year, my chapter wore Lily or solid dresses in "Lily" like colors....yeah....I bought a bright turquoise(non-Lily) linen sundress. I'm not a fan of the Lily prints.

I think your outfits look great!

well, this florida girl loves lily p.

im not a big lily fan either. some of the dresses are nice, but I think the actual styles of the dress are pretty plain and the prints are just trying to cover up the lack of design in the cut of the dress. and i think you can find something much cuter for a heck of a lot less.

I was born and raised in Georgia (graduated from UGA) and I agree with you.

It's not my style. I get why people like it, but the traditional shift dress with bright print that I think of when I think of Lilly Pulitzer looks beyond horrible on me. I need things with a waist. They do make other cute clothes, but for $300 a dress I want something a little more original looking.

Are we seriously going to tell this girl not to wear the same shoes twice? Seriously?

If a group is THAT hung up on looks, I would RUN the other way.

I agree with everyone who thinks that 1. Lilly dresses are ugly, 2. They're too expensive, and 3. You can get something ten times better for much, much less.

I think wearing something different from what everyone else is wearing will set you apart, in a good way.

like