This is your mother's Rush! What we wore 1960-1990
 

I haven't posted in awhile but have read the boards occasionally. Everybody going through recruitment this year seems fixated on what to wear, and what to bring for their recruitment. I have also noticed the phrase "This is not your mother's rush" and thought that it might be fun to tell the PNM's just what it was like "back in the day" so that they could see just what our rushes were like. So I'll go first--

Mid 1970's at the University of Kentucky:

Every morning I washed, dried, and fully rolled my just-below shoulder length hair. Full makeup including base and eyeshadow. Hosiery every day-- no 1970's recruitment was complete without nylons.

Perfume- Your great-grandmother's scent, "Blue Grass" by Elizabeth Arden (this was Kentucky, the Bluegrass state, after all!)

Shoes: For everything but Pref Night, caramel colored wedges with buckles and rope trim on the heel
Matching purse: caramel colored leather, hobo-style

Open House (13 Houses) -- We had 2 days where we had to visit all the houses, wearing casual skirts. I can remember 1 of the 2 days and I wore a dressy blue jean skirt trimmed in lace along with a pale blue t-shirt with a square neckline, also trimmed in cotton lace. I think I wore an ivory cotton wrap-around skirt the 2nd day.

First Round (10 houses) -- I wore an aqua-blue polyester knee length skirt that had side pockets with a white polyester gauze shirt that had art-deco style ladies all over it. I hand washed the shirt, let it dry then wore the same outfit for the second day because I was going to different houses. Polyester-yes! This was the 1970's.

Second Round (I think we could go back to 6 houses) -- I had to go shopping because I did not like anything that I brought for this. Also, we had a Saturday off and my most of my rush group hit the mall. I bought a pale rust colored dress with longish puffy sleeves and smocking on the bust. Again, it was knee length. I wore it with a rust, navy and white abstract-print scarf.

Prefs! (3 houses) -- I wore my prom dress (don't try this now). Imagine a medium yellow long dress with a square neckline trimmed in cotton eyelet, low back, empire waist with a white ribbon. The material was a polyester flocked organdy with white and green flowers and it had a huge floral border on the bottom. I wore white Pappagallo heels with it and they had round toes and round heels.

Things change ... :)

This is your Mother's Rush part 2 --
 

Don't Try this now:

SEC (Kentucky) recruitment as an out-of state sophomore with no recs at all. I was the first in my family to go Greek, and my best friend who was in a sorority at Ohio State did not even mention them. When I got to the dorm, my rush group and the rush counselor were talking about recs, and she said that if a house wanted you they would get a rec for you, even if it meant having you meet an alumn.

So I was at one of my favorite houses the party before Pref night, and the girl that I was talking to said, "Stay here for a minute. I want to introduce you to someone." She came back with another girl, introduced us, then left us alone. This girl started asking me about home, high school, my job. She seemed really interested in getting to know me. Finally I asked her what year she was in. There was a moment's hesitation and then she said, "I'm an alumn." We both looked at each other, and she knew that I realized where my rec was coming from. I was invited back there for Pref Night, although I put another chapter first and got my first choice.

Things have changed drastically since I went through rush because so many girls go through recruitment and the competiton in the SEC seems almost brutal now.:)

I want to play! (even though my rush was in 1997).
This is right before Brittany Spears, but post Nirvana. So it was normal to wear a baby doll tee with a pair of doc martins.

Fall Meet and Greet: I think I wore a a light blue wrap skirt with big dark blue flowers print and a white top and brown sandals.

First Round: I remember my planned outfit was not going to work because it was snow/sleeting/icing outside. I think I either ended up wearing a black skirt with a gray or red ribbed turtleneck or black pants with a blue/gray button down. Either way, I know I wore black knee high boots.

Second Round: I know I wore my favorite dark green courderoy dress. It was fitted and had buttons down the front and capped short sleeves with brown knee high boots.

Pref: My prom dress. Our proms weren't that fancy, so it was ok. I was not as glitzed up as some girls who were wearing lots of sequins! My dress was black, to the knee, the straps did a weave print in the back. I wore black heels with this.

One word: quiana.:p

i wish i could remember all my outfits-i only remember one outfit and that was worn on the first day of ice water teas(which was 18 houses over two days). i wore a short sleeved white cotton sweater with a yellow flower applique and a yellow cotton skirt that buttoned up the front(bobbie brook, anyone?). i wore my favorite shoes which were wooden platforms with leather woven straps. i had a stylish shag haircut(ugh!)-fall 1975.

barbino-great thread idea!!

lane swerve/

I love that so many GCers are so seasoned in their GLOs. :) Much respect to old school.

/lane swerve

Aaagghh! I think that my pref dress was made of Qiana.

Pretty sure that I wore Bobbie Brook at some point in rush too ("the total look of Bobbie Brook"). But how on earth do y'all remember in detail what you wore every day?:eek:

i remember that one outfit, because i had the sweater and skirt and i had yellow slacks i could wear with it-snappy! but remembering the rest of the outfits? no clue. i do know that i certainly did not stew over what to wear, nor do i think that anyone else did. i don't even know that i had anything new-after all, the people i was rushing with and meeting didn't know me, so as far as they knew every outfit was new.

carnation, do you remember any of the other brands that we wore back then? bobbie brook is the only one i can remember, but i do remember that that outfit was bobbie brook.

lol at quiana and all the other synthetics we wore.

I can't remember what clothes I wore during rush (this was late seventies), but the footwear was definitely clogs. I wore clogs every day in college, but I forget what I wore on snowy days. Oh, probably clogs.

When I had to get a white dress for ritual, it was an ivory polyester one with long sleeves, a Nehru-type collar, and a tiered skirt. That was worn all four years as well.

My hair was washed with Short and Sassy shampoo freshman year, although I was growing out my Dorothy Hamill haircut.

What was that brand that had a lot of dark-colored jumpers and little bitty print blouses? Ack! Why can't I remember? I had a ladybug-print blouse one year.

ETA: Villager! But it was very school-in-the-fall and would've been out of place to wear in a torrid Southern summer.

dorothy hamill haircut senior year! what was i thinking???

I only remember what I wore for two of the four rounds. The second round was called cokes and I wore a red corduroy blazer, white blouse and a tweed black/white skirt, hose(of course) and black pumps. I have a picture of this. For prefs I wore a tea length black velvet skit and a cream angora sweater with little pearls on it, hose(it was Jan after all), dressier black sling backs. I also remember coming back from prefs and finding my roomate(who was not rushing) and her entire family in our room. The only people who were supposed to be in the dorms were the girls rushing. Their presence really threw me off.

Did you guys wait eagerly for the August issue of Seventeen, which was double-thick and had the latest styles in it?

YES, Carnation!

Texas Recruitment - 1983

First round - white suit (shoulder pads!), turquoise, black and white striped blouse. Monet black and gold necklace with matching earrings. Black patent pumps and pantyhose. Wouldn't go out without pantyhose.

Second round - can't remember

Third round - Blue cotton dress - white collar, red polka dots, matching red flats. The only problem? IT WAS THE EXACT SAME DRESS AS THE GAMMA PHIS WERE WEARING - only theirs were red with blue dots. I had some pnms ask me if I was the president and that's why my dress was different.

PREF - I had a black crepe dress with a lace collar. Our pref wasn't as formal as some - I don't know if that has changed.

I only have 2 outfits that I can remember from recruitment in the Fall of 1981. The first is the outfit I wore the day before pref. Pleated white skirt with flowers on the bottom and a lavender t-shirt. The preference dress I wore was borrowed from a friend because my non Greek mother wisely told me I wouldn't need any formal wear at College! I was on a bus 2 weeks later retrieving all that formal wear I left at home.

For me it was the August issue of Glamour magazine. Back in the day they had the "top ten best dressed college women" and I was So Impressed that for a couple of years in a row, there were women from UCSB Kappa Alpha Theta who made the top ten list. This was when I was in high school... I did NOT make that list BTW.

I'm digging through a scrapbook to find photos; this is a fun thread!

Mine was in 1997, too. August in the Midwest = hot and humid.

First round: sleeveless short jumper thing from Express in greens and blues. It looked better than it sounds, I promise. Whiteish sandals.

Second round: it was colder/rainy this day and I way overdressed. brown pants with white button-up shirt and long scarf. Beige mules. I looked about 10 years older than everyone else going through, blech.

Third round: I went way too casual as a reaction for overdressing the day before. Sleeveless black satin dress with floral print. It was waaaay too short for how tall I am. Black sandals.

Pref night: Black sleeveless calf-length dress with white trim around the arms, neck and right below the bust. Black sandals.

I had horrid fashion sense when I went through Rush. I also had the short Meg Ryan shag at the time, which was not the best cut for my hair type.

Back in the 60's the fall clothes were called "transitional cottons." Ooh, September at Alabama in long sleeved dark plaid cotton dress! Why did I do that????

seventeen magazine-waited by the mailbox for mine!

^^ to beat my younger sister to it.:D

AzTheta, I discovered that college/August Glamour issue once I hit college. I can remember reading about a Butler Pi Phi before I pledged. How wonderful it would have been to be named one of the Top 10!

I had to get out my rush book when I wrote my Rush Thread. Quiana was high quality stuff! Other brands were PantHer, College Town, and of course, Gunne Sax!

What about Teen Magazine? There was a Teen Miss America every year, and was I excited as a pledge to see Jana Kerr is an ADPi!!

Man, I hated that stuff!:eek:

My pref dress was a Gunne Sax. It was a street-length cotton and velvet sundress with a matching jacket I originally bought for the Christmas dance senior year. It was perfect for pref, even if it was September. I don't remember buying anything new for rush, and I don't think anyone else did either. Our school just wasn't that competitive.

Fun fact: Miss West Virginia 1980, Pam Paugh, was an Alpha Xi and was away at the Miss America pageant during rush that year. Her sister was Miss West Virginia 1977 Patsy Paugh, an AXD at another school ... now better known as the late Patsy Ramsey, mother of JonBenet.

You all have great memories! 1983 was a long time ago and I don't remember most of what I wore for rush, but I do remember what I wore when I signed up for rush during orientation: a Calvin Klein denim skirt and a green Polo shirt, tucked in with a skinny belt and of course the collar was turned up. On my feet were a pair of Bass sandals. I was so completely unprepared for rush that I had to go out the day of Pref and buy a dress. I was so desperate that I spent more than sixty dollars on it, which was a fortune for me then.

you made me go look in my scrapbook...
 

LOL PantHer!!!! I remember that well...Vicky Vaughn was another one around that time. I should just go look at the labels on Mom's clothing that I saved.

We had a structured informal rush that lasted 2 weeks, and 7 sororities. Meet the Greeks I have no clue what I wore. Same for much of the theme week, but I do remember I wore pleated capri jeans (lol) and an orange polo neck sweater to ASA's theme party.

First night of prefs I wore my HS graduation dress...blue and lavender plaid with this sort of corsety belt thing in the middle. Not really in season but it was one of the better things I had. Obvi I didn't "preplan" my rush outfits before I went back to college.

Second night of prefs I wore a pale pink tank-top dress (see the Steve Perry Oh Sherry video) with a (borrowed) dusty pink Shaker knit sweater over it. The first party of the night there were 50 sisters plus probably at least 60 rushees crammed into a dorm suite. With candles. I thought I was going to die of heat stroke. And THEN I had to go to another party. Bleeeaaahhh

Third night of prefs (this was ASA) I wore a black sweater with pink cabbage roses on it and my friend Tina's black knit skirt. (This was my fave outfit which is why I saved it for ASA. I kind of knew. :) )

As you can see I would have been royally screwed if I hadn't had a dorm floor of girls to borrow from - I don't think any of us made it the whole way through rush in completely our own clothes. This is just another reason I <3 deferred rush. ;)

Pledge pickup night I wore jeans and the ubiquitous sleeveless/cap sleeve Shaker knit top.

On another note, I also remember what I wore the first day I got to campus. The aforementioned capri jeans, a rainbow striped cutout-back shirt I got in Florida, jelly shoes and every rubber Madonna bracelet I owned. :p

1970s......USC......First round: a pink sleevless (a la tricia nixon) knit dress from Saks. Cinched in waist...white slingback shoes with pantyhose. Hair long, straight. I do not remember anything else except for what I wore for pledging. And that, despite the fact it was probably very fashionable, would sound atrocious.

OMIGOSH yes! I think I still have the 1969 edition. I used to try to save 1 magazine a year, just to go back and laugh at the fashions.
But I hated Seventeen for showing wool skirts and sweaters in August. In Alabama, we have about 2 weeks to wear that stuff...in February.:rolleyes:

I used to wait for Seventeen, and Glamour and Mademoiselle!!!! YOU HAVE THE 1969 August edition?! I envy you.

Oh, and from the "olden" days: You know how you could tell if someone was cool or not? If they showed up at school in a sundress (on the first days of school when it was sweltering) or their back to school wool outfit.

1992-Since during the late eighties/early nineties we dressed for high school, I didn't have to buy anything new. I don't really remember too many of my outfits, but I know one day I wore a suit that had no collar and buttoned up the front with a skirt that was a black and white sort of tic pattern WITH hose of course. I'm sure I wore one of my many broaches with that...probably the one I had from Benneton. For Pledge to Panhellenic, I wore a blue, pink and black floral knit cotton dress with puffy sleeves. I have the picture for that one.

Where are the pictures people??

I don't know how to post pictures, or I would!

Nooo problem! You can upload them on http://photobucket.com/. After the upload, they'll provide you the completely IMG link that you can simply post right in the Reply to Thread box here.

My friends and I would always want to get those glorious wool outfits for our back-to-school clothes...in Houston, Texas. I particularly remember one lovely butterscotch sweater/skirt combination that I actually got to wear on a cool morning in late October. Of course, I was frying by noon.

Although this isn't a vintage recruitment wear post, I saw pictures of the PNMs at my oldest daughter's recruitment in 2000 and animal prints were huge that year and all I can say is that they looked like they were getting ready to film "The Lion King". My daughter, along with several others in the pictures, was playing a zebra.

Well... I've found some pictures. I would have to scan them & then post them. Don't hold your breath (in other words, I may bump this thread in a month or so, when I get around to figuring out how to do what it is I need to do).

Idea: take the photos to the local chapter (they're always asking to see them anyway) and have an active scan them for me. They are all so technology-savvy.

I flipped through my old AOII scrapbook last night and looked at the pictures from rush- in 1993 for Open Houses I wore a lovely Blue/Green/White/Black plaid shirt with a waffle weave shirt underneath. I am pretty sure the plaid shirt was from the men's side of Abercrombie & Fitch (and if I remember correctly, it wasn't mine- I snagged it from a guy friend's closet). It was paired with black walking shorts and finished off with white ankle socks and Bass Bucks shoes. I look like I just walked out of a Pearl Jam video. Both my friends in the picture are dressed similarly.

Oh the joys of rush during the days of grunge.

Oh, for pref I wore a blue with cream polka dots short sleeved dress with cream hose and blue heels. I still remember my Rho Chi's advice of - NO NUDE HOSE! (nude hose were considered a "cuttable" offense by some).

I would post pictures, but I don't have a working scanner. :)

My brain is not allowing me to recall a single 1979 rush outfit other than my oh-so-appropriate and virgin-like pref dress: floor length white dotted swiss with cap sleeves. :)

1981

Navy bermuda shorts and kelly green Ralph Lauren polo shirt (which had to be specially purchased at the only store in Nebraska that carried them), collar UP, no doubt, and navy blue bass sandals for open house.

White sleeveless wrinkly cotton dress with ruffle and embroidery, white espadrilles for skit and house tours.

Royal blue skirt and blouse outfit with sleeveless v-neck top with a big ruffle around the v and a ruffle on the bottom of the skirt....can't remember what shoes I wore. I think this was pref. I might be missing a day.

Navy blue and white striped short sleeved wrapdress, navy pumps for bid day, we were told to wear navy blue. Actives wore black dresses. Pictures on the lawn in dresses. Then for our party later, we wore navy shorts and our brand spanking new white Kappa Kappa Gamma SWEATSHIRTS with the sleeves pushed up. In August.

I already had the white dress and loved it. I bought the blue skirt and blouse outfit in Lincoln and went on a pilgrimage to Omaha for the RL polo shirt. I'm pretty sure I had the blue and white striped dress already, too. I know I wore it for years to work and church after college.

Late Seventies-- I remember one of my sisters did not pass Wardrobe Check (Yes, we had it!) for Open House one rush. We wore long dresses and it was a garden party theme. I remember the dress she had- navy blue sleeveless poly with bright flowers and a low neckline with a pointy white collar. So she was hunting down an acceptable substitute. I gave her the one I wore the first year I rushed on the other side, which I had also worn to a formal. It was white cotton pique with a bright red floral trim ruffle on the bottom, on the straps (sleeveless) and down the front vertically, with some kind of buttons.

Then I borrowed my former roomate's dress after I went shopping but could not find a Malia-type dress like she told me to last minute. The dress of hers that I wore was a long sleeveless A-line shift in a pink & green small print on a white background. It was very plain but had a large ruffle down the front. I wore it with a hot pink thin leather belt with a gold frog buckle (frogs on both sides, they buckled in the middle, remember those)? I also had a multicolored ribbon belt with large lions that fastened the same way and I wore it everywhere.

I worked at a big department store during the summer and breaks so I always had a discount when I bought my clothes. I wasn't very preppy and got teased for it -this was the south- but I always had fashionable clothes and sisters frequently borrowed from me. I remember one time telling 2 sisters that they could each borrow the same dress for a formal (I forgot) then having to decide who was going to wear it and what the other one could wear. I'll admit that I borrowed clothes, especially shoes too.

I remember being as fixated on clothes and what I was going to wear as these PNM's now seem to be. I think that it is part of life when you are young. I seemed to always be shopping then.:)