Unusual question about recruitment attire
 

Hey everyone,

I'm planning on rushing in the fall at a relatively small school in Texas. I'm reading through everything but I have a bit of an unusual problem. I know I'm supposed to wear cute shoes (sandals, heels, etc) but I can't do that. I had foot surgery two years ago and now I can't wear heels or any kind of flat sandal, like shoe for more than about 20 minutes. I even have orthotics I wear in my shoes (I wear converse so nobody can tell). I don't want to be dressed inappropriately but I also don't want to be limping awkwardly around campus during rush.
Would it be appropriate to wear my converse under a maxi dress? Should I just go ahead and wear comfortable shoes with the orthotics and make sure they work with my outfit? Do I just suffer through it and hope I don't hurt myself? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Can you wear dressy flats?

Not at all, totally appropriate. Converses are commonplace at most college campuses. You may stand out wearing them, but not in a bad way. Wear what you feel comfortable in especially given all the walking that you will be doing.

Jolene, I'm currently looking for some but usually flats aren't good for me because they have the structural integrity of flip flops. My only other idea was cowboy boots.

I haven't gone through recruitment in years...okay, it was just after the stone age...post Breakfast Club, barely.

Although, I love my heels, I feel your pain. I hate it that comfortable shoes can look so damn ugly.

There are several types of athletic flats that have support and are comfortable yet stylish. Born, Keen, Merrill and Skechers are a few to look at;

http://www.amazon.com/KEEN-Womens-Ri...apparel&sr=1-4

Maybe your could get creative. Simply adding a matching clip on flower or bow to coordinate with your dress might be nice. Full on bedazzling might be too much.

There are several metallic Birkenstocks;
http://www.amazon.com/Birkenstock-Wo...ic+birkenstock

Please Texas recruitment authorities don't shoot me for mentioning Birkenstocks.

Good luck!!!

I am surprised that you can wear Converse, since they offer no arch support at all. Is there a Foot Solutions Shoe store in your area? They sell orthopedic shoes that are stylish.

Another oldie here, but in addition to the great suggestions above, I would recommend checking out Taryn Rose ( orthopedic surgeon turned footwear designer) and Geox.
Best of luck!

This is confusing to me as Converse have no internal support at all (except for the very newest issues and that change was a very big deal.) If Converse work for you, virtually any closed dressy flat should. Or perhaps you can look at the orthotic brand sandals (ie: Born, Mephisto etc.), some of which are not so hideous.

I can hide specially made orthotic inserts in my converse.

Also thank you everyone! I very much appreciate the suggestions!!

Stick with the Converse. They are your go to shoes, and there is no sense to change it up before recruitment. At my school's prom this year, several girls had Converse on with their prom dresses. Some got colors to coordinate with their dresses and some got blingy ones. Right now, they are more fashionable that flats would be.

Any inserts you can fit into your Converse you can fit into other more appropriate closed footwear. Bring your inserts and go shoe shopping far in advance and wear the shoes many times before recruitment so you're comfortable in them.

With all due respect, she's going through recruitment in Texas. Even at one of the less competitive schools, what works up in your neck of the woods will likely not be appropriate there. Even the smaller schools such as TCU have very competitive and very fashion conscious recruitments.

I am pretty sure that I know what kind of inserts the OP has. Or at least, a vague idea. I have a two pairs; one for sports and one for dress. They are NOT cheap. Mine were $200 five years ago.
They are too bulky for flats. I have them in my ski boots. I had to cut an inch off the end to get them to fit in my ski boots. I also put them in my tennis shoes in summer months.
I had a separate pair made for dress for shoes. They go just past the arch and narrower for dress shoes.

I could see creating your own shoes as a conversation piece, if done right. Girls might say "Oh cute shoes!" and you could say "I made them myself..."

Not all Texas school are UT, and my neck of the woods is one of the tougher recruitments out there. Stay in your lane about my neck of the woods.

Depending on which Texas school, cowboy boots with a dress may be perfectly appropriate during recruitment.

I had to wear an orthotic in my shoes through most of college and got fairly creative with footwear. I found some flats/low heel shoes that let me hide the insert (mary janes were my go to).

You are correct, they were not cheap and I got the smallest ones the man could make for me. I'm worried that combat boots or booties might look strange in the East Texas in the middle of the summer. I'm going to go shopping on Monday and hopefully I can find something. I'm halfway tempted just to wear a boot on the bad foot with a cute shoe on the good foot

" I'm halfway tempted just to wear a boot on the bad foot with a cute shoe on the good foot"

Ha! That's what I was thinking! I broke my toe and had to wear a bootie to a formal event. It was no big deal, at all.

I am very much aware that this school is not UT as she said "small" Texas school. I am also very much aware of the ins and outs of recruitment in many parts of the US, but particularly the south and Texas. I am also much more familiar with your school's recruitment and you'd be rather shocked to know how familiar I am. The artificial "competitiveness" caused by IU's failure to comply with recruitment procedures followed by every school in the country still has nothing on the southern recruitments. Tromping around in Converses beyond the first day would look just plain weird. You're the one who has a lane to stay in on this topic.

Can her rec writers add a note in the rec that by Dr.s orders she can not wear heals or shoes without support? Just a heads up that it is not a lack of fashion sense but a true medical reason for the shoes she is wearing.

OP - I will message you tonight, I promise! You're not alone, you're not the only one, it's gonna be fine. You're getting some good suggestions here, hope that your stress level about footwear is dropping a bit.

For the love of Mike, I totally get what she's saying about orthotics and ugly shoes. I'll leave it at that.

^^^ Please send me the info, too. I also have to deal with orthotics and I'm always open to suggestions!

Meanwhile, does anyone else find it amusing that "Sororitysock" is adamantly stressing her knowledge of appropriate recruitment footwear? I thought her expertise was limited to socks and sock puppets, but apparently it extends to shoes as well! ;)

That's actually a really good idea! I have a few rec writers who know me very well and I will ask.
Ya'll have been so helpful and kind and I can't thank you enough for all of the suggestions. I feel a lot better knowing there are women out there who want to help.

Excuse me, but you forgot UT, the rest of Texas, AND Indiana's recruitments. Sheesh, sis, get it right!

I would not have rec writers address the issue. I think it is calling undue attention to something that (like it or not) may get distorted into a bigger issue than it really is.

Can you wear "normal" shoes for any length of time? Could you wear your orthotic shoes to walk from house to house, and then just wear the cute shoes when you go into the party? I'm sure you couldn't wear heels for any length of time, but could you wear a sandal or a flat shoe for a short party in which you would likely be seated much of the time?

OP, I'm not quite sure if you have to absolutely wear orthotics all of the time, or what type of foot surgery you had (no need to disclose) . If you have issues related to your toes and need a roomier toe box you might want to look at Danskos. I tend to have foot problems and lower back issues if I don't wear good shoes and I'm on my feet a lot. I actually got a cute pair of closed toed clogs in a neutral color to wear with my spring sundresses if it ever stops raining. Also Taryn Rose does have good shoes although they are a bit pricey. Also depending on the norms of what's in at your school will likely dictate fashion/shoe choices. But may of the other posters had great suggestion on shoe brands to look into as well.

Also if someone is looking down at your feet which if they are then perhaps say I've had surgery on my feet and can't wear heels etc. But I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about that. I think if you wear attire to go with the campus norms hopefully the shoe thing won't even be brought up. Best of luck and I hope you keep us posted on how things go for you or if you find a good shoe option. :)

Well, if it's that odd, why are several chapters at the smaller Texas schools wearing them in their social media photos from philanthropy events, recruitment events, social events, etc? Please check out some of the social media at these smaller schools, they are not quite as "high fashion" as you would like to believe. I did a quick look at several facebook pages and saw tons of cowboy boots (which I thought was awesome) and Chucks.

I also would not have made the recommendation about the shoes had I not checked with a college aged women (one who just finished traveling for her organization, not mine, and travelled throughout Texas) who said that Chucks or cowboys boots would be much better choices than Born, Merrill or Dansko. Her words not mine "no one under the age of 40 would be caught dead in those type of flats".

Also SororitySock, your "neck of the woods" reads heavily with snark. I attended a university with over 35,000 students and live in an area with over 250,000 people, I don't believe there are any woods to speak of. Please don't insult any Big Ten university and imply that it is backwoods or unsophisticated enough to know what fashion is. That's what annoyed me. I also don't claim that my alma mater gets recruitment right, but ask most women who have been through it and they will tell it's tough. If for no other reason, there is no other campus in the country with 23 NPC chapters which makes for a grueling schedule.

I like irishpipes suggestion of wearing the converse from party to party and then changing before you walk in the door, provided that you can wear regular shoes for a short time. You should not be standing too much during the parties.

Best of luck to you!


Why does this initial reply require a sock puppet account?

*Putting on irritable/annoyed face*

Totally understand the OP's situation. I cannot wear any type of "stylish" footwear at all. Period. If I would attempt to walk in anything that didn't have my foot orthotics (and now an ankle-foot orthotic), I'd be doing a face plant on the first step. THAT would be a lot worse than wearing Converse shoes (which are cute, and if you have to make them work, then let's figure out how to help her make them work, and not get sidetracked because that's not helpful to the OP at all). BUT, I am not the one going through recruitment. The OP is, and I will do my utmost to help her, because she sounds like a very sweet PNM who is requesting support. I can do that.

Lobleedsorange, if you have cowgirl boots, I bet you can make it work, especially in Texas. :D I bet you can make Converse and cowgirl boots work through most rounds, but during pref, as someone else suggested, can you swap some dressy flats for right before you enter the door? The only tricky thing would be pref, but if there are some foot-friendly flats, that would be golden. :D Depending on your school, you'll only go to two or three pref parties.

I would mention it to my rec writers.
Just MHO.

I'd find someone to ask about cowboy boots, because I know that I've seen lots of girls in sundresses and cowboy boots in Texas.

You might be able to make booties work with a pref dress.

http://www.zappos.com/coolway-nelia-cognac

http://www.zappos.com/toms-majorca-p...ede-perforated

I'm not so bad that I can't walk without the orthotics. However I'll tear a ligament and put myself back in a boot if I'm not REALLY careful. I did this after I wore heels when I was a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding.
I think cowboy boots are my best bet for the casual days. For philanthropy day, I can try to find some comfortable wedges (I've been looking, some of the comfortable ones really aren't bad). And on pref night I'm going to carry bigger purse or take a wal mart bag and hide it in a bush and put on my heels at the last second, and just deal with the pain. At my school you can go to a maximum of two pref parties (there are only 6 sororities on campus). hopefully I'll be lucky enough to be invited to two and if I show up to bid day in a boot, then it was worth it. If I make sure my hair is amazing, my cat eye is flawless, and my clothes are cute, nobody is going to pay that much attention to my shoes.

Talk to your Rho Gamma. She should be able to help you out with this.

At most schools the first round/s of rush are quite casual. I don't see the Converse or cowboy boots as a problem. But I think I'd get working on finding a cute functional shoe that is a smidge dressier for preference. One really good shoe in a neutral color is worth the significant expense. If you take care of them they can last you for years. It doesn't need to be a high heel. And I personally think total flats are gacky (maybe my brain defending my inability to wear them). But there's a lot of ground in between those two ends of the spectrum. And yes, my princess feet do great in a wedge, even a high one.

Good luck!

I'm sure everyone posting (non-orthotic-wearing) means well - I'm sure, because I "know" you guys from your posts. That said, I'm totally losing it here. THERE ARE NO REALLY GOOD SHOES IN ANY COLORS that will accommodate many/most orthotics. I'd gladly spend a thousand dollars or more to have that "one really good pair" if only they existed. I'm positive that the OP has been searching for footwear and is having the same experiences that I have had (and so many others, FWIW).

Total flats, if they have enough "volume", may work with orthotics. It's all a matter of luck, truthfully.

That's the bottom line. My hope for the OP is that this will become a non-issue as her recruitment progresses.

I'm a mom. The idea that you are going to tear a ligament just to wear cute shoes to pref is giving me a heart attack. Don't do it! Can you wear sequin Converse for pref, and have your Rho Gams drop a word to the pref chairs?

Okay, random act of Momming over. Ignore me as you wish. :)

Sequin Converses:

http://www.amazon.com/Converse-Sequi...equin+converse

I have custom-made orthotics. I'm not really sure how large yours are, but I didn't get a choice in size and I'd say that mine are pretty thick to accommodate my high arch. I used to have to wear them almost constantly for about a year when I was experiencing severe foot pain.

What I found is that I was most easily able to accommodate my orthotics in boots, just like you can in cowboy boots. I remember when I went to pick them up, I was wearing moccasin boots, and the orthopedist was surprised that they accommodated my orthotics once I took their insoles out. Luckily for me, the fabric that they were made of had enough give that they were able to accommodate the orthotics. Unfortunately, I didn't really try the orthotics out in summer-y type shoes (preferring to wear walking sneakers and deal with foot pain when I absolutely had to wear something dressy on my feet--I don't always make the best decisions :P), and thankfully it's no longer something I worry about (I'm mostly orthotic free now).

Additionally, I've seen my BF's mother wear Mary Janes and I've been told she wears orthotics as well. I'm not sure where they were from, but they looked like they could've come from Clarks or a similar company. I'm not sure what her orthotics look like, and I wonder if she had special "dress" ones made like a previous poster mentioned.

If you're going to go looking for shoes, I would suggest looking for shoes that are pretty padded and have removable insoles. They should already be made to fit a bigger insole than normal, and you'll hopefully be able to remove them to fit yours in. Also, look for shoes that are made with an upper that allows stretch and try sizing up to see if that allows your orthotics to fit. I think Mary Jane flats with removable insoles might be a good idea, as long as they can fit your insole, since they have more structure than a regular flat.

I understand what it's like to have foot pain, and I really hope you can find something that works for you!

Would Mary Janes like this work?

http://www.zappos.com/gabor-gabor-35...k-samtchevreau