Pin Attire
 

Sisters,

I'm posing this question as an advisor to a collegiate chapter. How do you describe proper pin attire to Alphas and Deltas??? Styles & times are so different now than when I was a collegian so the, "Look nice. Wear church clothes," doesn't really work anymore.

Another advisor and I are working on an "ADPi Do's and Don'ts" modelled after Glamour Do's and Don'ts. We would cut out from magazines pictures of women in pin attire and NON-pin attire, then present our display to the chapter.

Collegians, if you have any idea, please help a sistah out!

I think you are on the right track with the dos and donts. I will work on some of the concepts.

Pin attire at my chapter was as follows:

Dos: Dress pants, Blazers, Blouses, Button downs, Dresses or skirts (must come to knee length and not be low cut) Nice dress shoes and nilons with dresses or skirts. Anything you would wear to a professional office.

Donts: Formals, jeans, polos, slacks, kahkis, anything sleeveless, sun dresses, sandles, skorts, shorts, tshirts, tank tops.

I think that covered it. They were very specific. And if you wore you pin without proper attire, you were sent home to change. This was not only pin attire, but Meeting attire.

To add a little more to the don'ts: flip flops, spaghetti straps (unless they are covered with a nice sweater or something.. that least that goes for my chapter), anything that shows major cleavage, no denim of any kind (even on skirts/jackets)

hehehe...see Gamma Upsilon was very specific!! Thanks for the reminder Texas*princess :)

Can you put something in about not wearing clothing that is too tight when you don't have the right body for it? Or wearing those low-rider pants that show your underwear when you sit down? Or showing the tatoo on your lower back? These are all things I see when I visit collegiate chapters. Yikes! I know times have changed, but sometimes I don't know how people could be comfortable in certain styles. On a positive note, I think hair styles have really improved!

WLFEO, you don't miss spending hours with the hairspray bottle getting the "Big Hair" look??

WHat's a nice way to say, "Dress according to body type"? IS that the nice way to say it??

I think that is very proper.
Dress appropriate for body type. No visible tatoos.

Then include pictures of Dos and donts.

Some things my chapter did was that in no way could your midriff show... That way if your shirt was too short or your pants too low there would be a problem... Also to try to describe what were dress pants we said that the pants could not have 5 pockets... This way it eliminated jean cut pants with there little pocket within a pocket, etc... Also being where it snows, we did have to say that doc martin type boots were not considered dress shoes... We also had the fact that no matter what the guard could always send someone back from a meeting who was not in apropriate pin attire... This was left up to their discression...

My chapter did though allow dress sandles when it was warm enough...

The main thing we always told our new members was to dress like you were going to an interview... That usually worked pretty well...

:eek:

Some of the things y'all say are don'ts are things that my chapter *did* (Heidi, can you help me out here?)

I know that we did wear khakis, skirts that were *slightly* shorter than knee length, and sun dresses (when it was warm enough, but nothing with spaghetti straps). Women did wear sandals and no nylons with dresses/skirts. I'm not remembering anything else, but if I do think of anything or if adpi*nurse can further elaborate, I'll let you know!

L&L,
Jennie

Polarpi, we did a lot of those things, too. We did have to wear hose, if we were wearing a skirt or dress, and also could wear sandals. But that was also a time when you could say "church attire" and everyone knew what you meant.

We had a "no denim" rule, but it never seemed to be enforced. I totally agree with the "body type" rule and no visible tattoos. I feel as a whole dress codes have become too relaxed (in church, workplace, etc.) so I don't know if that will work just saying wear church clothes. The pictures of do's and don't s is a great idea. (I feel like a grandma and I'm only 24, but I really wish things were a bit more conservative at times. Especially when it comes to what to wear in certain situations.) :eek:

We are a little less strict...we are allowed to wear skirts without hose and khakis, but no denim. We are allowed to wear flip-flops. Spaghetti straps aren't allowed.

I look at it this way. Would i let my grandmother see me wear her beautiful broach with what i have on? If not....change!


after all, we are wearing the badge of our founders. Shouldn't we respect it as such!

I think we have a winner here!

man, i'm on a roll tonight :)

I hereby nominate Skerbow as GC Good Citizen of the Week! :p

OMGosh LOL...ROFLMAO......hehehe i need stitches, my sides are splitting.....LOL

Dress To Pin
 

DO's: Dress as you would for an interview, a graduation, Grandma's birthday dinner, a nice dinner with your boyfriend's parents. Dress modestly and professionally. Dress shoes only.

DON'Ts: Denim, cleavage, midriff, thighs peeking from a too-short skirt, anything with sequins or sparkles, anything you would wear to a night club. No sweats, chino material, cowboy boots or sneakers. No platform shoes. No spagetti straps showing. Wear clothing that does not constrict your breathing or movement, so that it is appropriate for your body.

You're trying to look contemporary as opposed to trendy. Think fitted slacks, button down shirts, sweater sets, long dresses, dresses and skirts that hit below or at the knee. Bonus: You are building a wardrobe now that will help take you through your first few years in the working world.

HOW TO COMMUNICATE TO THE CHAPTER: Hold a "fashion show" of pre-approved Do's and Don'ts. Tell us what is appropriate and where we might purchase it (This is also a great time to bring in a wardrobing consultant from a dept store like Nordstrom to educate on dressing for success and a make-up artist to give tips on good make-up styles for the professional in the workplace). Make it a TME. Invite your alum, too. They'll enjoy the fashion advice and a chance to spend time with the collegians. This is also a great idea for an all-Panhellenic event.

I think the fashion show is a great idea, especially if you hold one every year. It can serve as a TME...Educate new sisters and "remind" older ones!

In my chapter we were VERY strict. You had to wear hose or trouser socks. No Denim. No spaghetti straps or strapless (increasingly popular) without a coverup. At first, I remember thinking it was silly but looking back, I respect out pin enough to dress properly!

i think those are some great ideas!!!

When I was a collegiate, during Spirit week, we held an etiquette lesson. Most of etiquette covers what is and isn't appropriate for pin attire in a professional setting. Even if you don't respect the pin by dressing appropriately, these are business meetings afterall and should be viewed as such.

ADPiUCF - what awesome ideas!!!

Thanks to everyone who has responded! Please keep the ideas coming...

someone mentioned something earlier in this thread about the lower-cut pants, and that is actually something we addressed at chapter last week.

I think it was said something like "Please remember to be ladies and dress nicely when you come to meeting. Dress pants or skirts which reveal any skin or undergarments are not proper meeting attire"

I'd just like to add my 2¢ that a Fashion Show is THE best way to go. Maybe even make it fun and show the "don't's" while wearing some goofy pin.

We do fashion shows during Rush Retreat. Fashion shows in general are absolutely HILARIOUS... Unfortunately some poeple still just don't get the point. If you're having a recurring problem w/ certain things, it's better to just flat out say what the problem is, w/out pointing any specific person out.

On a side note...

I'm excited the 80's look is coming back... Considering I was only 6 in '89, I'm stoked a/b wearing the cut off sweatshirts! (Not to meeting of course!)

I LOVE big hair! It's so much easier for me! I have to spend 4 million times as long on my hair to get it straight. Big hair is where it's at, baby! Especially since I went to school in TX, where big hair can take on a life of its own!

Girl don't i know that one!!! LOL Y'all are too much!

I look like a wet kitten in flat hair!! Count me in on one more vote for big hair!

Things you think about when you're wide awake in the middle of the night...

I think a FUN fashion show via slides could be both entertaining and educational!! Everytime this topic comes up, I think of a photo in my yearbook, of a sister in another sorority. She looks like a million bucks, wearing jeans & a Fair Isle sweater and her pin - and is holding a beer. We all talked about how nice it would be if we were permitted to wear our pin with jeans, but later, we found out this same woman had to detox - and we weren't so jealous.

But a slide show that showed both proper & improper ways of wearing our pin, especially photos that would bring up discussion, would probably be the best way to go.

When I went to DLC 2 years ago, we played Pin Attire True and False. One of the EO officers was running it and asked one of the chapters there the following: "True or False: You are allowed to wear your pin with jeans." The girl turned around and replied "Oh true." I swear you could hear a widespread gasp among everyone that was sitting there, I felt so bad for the girl and their chapter! But all I could think of was how are you getting away with that!

Upsilon Pin Attire
 

Basically, our Ritual Chair told the Alphas that pin attire was clothing you would wear to work (nothing slutty, too revealing, too casual).