Rules regarding appearance
 

Do sororities and fraternities have rules regarding appearance? I am curious as to whether tattoos or piercings are allowed or if it depends on the individual chapter.

This depends on the individual chapter, and even then, I doubt any of them have written rules - it might just be frowned upon.

The one thing there might be an actual rule about is that you can't tattoo your letters or any other sorority insignia on you.

I wouldn't doubt a chapter or two out there have bylaws about tats and piercings, but I don't think a national org as a whole would. That's something that would have to be applied across the board for collegians and alums...and who wants to be in an org where they dictate what their 30 yr old (or heck, 21 for that matter) members can/can't do with their bodies??

So even if there are no written rules against it, do you think there are some chapters that might not want you to join their fraternity or sorority because a tattoo or piercing doesn't fit their image?

Absolutely. If you walk into SEC recruitment (or any competitive/conservative) looking like you fell facefirst into a tacklebox, you're probably not going to get a bid.

One/a few tattoo(s) that can be covered? Probably not a big deal...
Tounge ring/bellybutton ring? Probably not a big deal, especially with a clear spacer in.

I am talking about a single tattoo or piercing.

The gal I marry better have a snake tat on her arm.....

At my campus, all of the Sigma Kappa's got their letters tatooed on their big toes...ouch! One of my sisters had a stupid looking panda head with a big red bow and AOII under it on her ankle. My old roommates (twin sisters) had a piece of wheat and a red rose entwined around AOII on their ankles. The list goes on and on. Head to toe tats are a completely different story though!

PRESH!

My point is...tattoos and sororities (and definitely fraternities) are not mutually exclusive. Tattooing is very common, so I doubt is often an issue. The problem comes when hiding a tattoo is impossible because every skin surface is inked. People don't get jobs for the same reason. It turns mainstream America off...Greeks are definitely mainstream America!

The only rule regarding appearance that I can think of is a friend of a friend told me that her chapter had a rule that all of the actives and new members had to look presentable all the time- including having a professional manicure and pedicure every week.

That'd be okay if the mani/pedi was included in your dues!

She didn't tell me that, but I don't think it was. I generally try to get one every two weeks, so I'd be ok with that, but I wouldn't like someone telling me that I'd be fined if I didn't get one.

The only appearance rule I can think of is when you should and should not wear your badge/pin...i.e. you don't put your badge on a t-shirt or a sweatshirt, or any top when you're wearing jeans.

Tattoos and body piercings are so common now I can't see how you could enforce any rule on those these days. I wouldn't get one (although my mother in law has several tattoos!)...I'm way too conservative for that....but I've come around to accept the idea that girls and women can have a tasteful, discreet tattoo and nobody really cares.

but the dermatologist/plastic surgeons in the office next door to mine are making a fortune doing tattoo removal and reconstructive surgery on piercings gone wrong!

I'm convinced that debrasion & reconstructive surgery are the careers of the future!

Seriously. If you want destroy the sisterhood in your chapter, start making up stupid rules about appearance.

On the other hand, learning how to dress/present yourself professionally, especially in the business casual environment where the rules are hard to define, can be a real benefit of sorority membership. Look at how many people end up on What Not To Wear because they never really had any experiences or guidance to learn how to present themselves! (I love that show. The participants are always so good natured about it. I hope I'd take their criticism so well!)

I was watching the WNTW behind the scenes episode and they said that lots of times nominees do say no to them. When that happens, they look for people in NYC who were nominated. So when you see an episode about someone from New York, it's usually because the person who was actually supposed to be on it backed out.

I think I saw that one too. I'm sure there are people who just can't do that on nat'l tv for a variety of reasons. Does anyone know if Stacy London is a NPC member? I think she has multiple degrees in Int'l business and finance or something. She's so hard core I'm sure I'd be bawling but she really does seem to care about the participants.

I agree with you to some extent. There are some campuses that have taken dress codes/guidelines to an extreme. It does perpetuate some of the negative stereotypes about sorority girls that are out there. Especially when it gets nitpicky.

However when it comes to Recruitment I think it's a good thing to give actives guidelines. Let's face it, this is the time a Chapter is supposed to be presenting itself in the best possible light. On a large competitive Recruitment campus during 1st round PNM's have 15-20 minutes to decide if they like ABC or not. Often those first conversations are identical from Chapter to Chapter. "Hi! What's your name? Where are you from? What's your major? How do like your dorm/room mate? etc" So one of the factors PNM's use to form their opinions is how the actives looked.

We don't go to the extreme of saying only a size 4 is allowed to wear _____, but we do dress check every outfit the actives plan to wear. In the spring we lay out guidelines for the actives so when they shop during the summer they'll keep these things in mind. Mostly it's for uniformity, but there are some wearability and style issues we address.

Some examples, on Philanthropy Day the actives wear shorts. We don't want any Daisy Dukes, so they are to look for mid-thigh length or longer. During most of the parties PNM's sit on chairs while the actives are kneeling on the floor. We don't want anything too low cut because I doubt the PNM's would appreciate a mega-cleavage view. (If the PNM's were guys that would be a whole other story. ;):D) Because the actives are constantly standing and kneeling, anything that's too tight might ride up or even rip.

Then there's my personal pet peeve -- strapless dresses. Yes, yes, I know they're hugely fashionable now and have been for the last several years. But IMHO there is nothing more unattractive than seeing a group of young women, all dressed up and looking lovely, then constantly pulling up their tops. Every year I watch the parade of PNM's enter the house and I swear every one who's wearing strapless is yanking on it. :rolleyes:

We did have a house rule regarding appearance in the public areas of the chapter house. And all that really meant was don't go walking around in your skivvies or butt shorts in the common areas because you never knew who you might run in to (parents, girls' boyfriends, professors, employers, etc...)

I wouldn't say we have rules but we have standards of dress. For example, we're not supposed to wear pajama pants or any other lounge wear to class. Personally, I wouldn't do that because in my small school environment a professor may notice and view you as lazy. Also, it's considered rude to change into pin attire right before chapter rather than wearing to class unless you have a lab. Many girls do, however, wear sandals or other comfortable shoes with their pin attire to class and then change into dress shoes for chapter.

I would so love to post pictures of some of the women who apply here. You simply would not believe what some women consider as "appropriate attire"! There's one nurse who is simply excellent at her job, but she has the biggest honking tattoo that turns our elderly clients off instantly!!

She went to Vassar for undergrad in Philosophy and German. I don't think they have a Greek system there.

This definitely sounds like a southern thing. When you have to trudge through tons of snow to get to class, you're not going to be wearing pin attire all day, meeting or not. :) It's jeans and boots and the heaviest sweater/sweatshirt you own.

Northerners really aren't slobs, we just have weather issues.

Our chapter had all day pin attire requirements...and we were in snow from Dec-April.

We weren't allowed to wear khakis for pin attire. It had to be dresses or dress pants.

Very true. We had a very business casual pin attire requirement. Much more conducive to cold weather.

Wow, thanks for your spew of venom. However, I have many sisters with various majors from business to philosophy to women's studies and quite obviously they all received a bid. Interesting that a women who pursues an education is labeled a "dyke" even in the twenty first century. :mad:

Oops I suppose I fed a troll. Still, I'm tired of sexists :(

What would you think about a small diamond stud on the side of the nose?

It all depends on the nose. I used to think that those were really cute and I wanted one, until I saw a girl with a really piggish nose who had one, and the stud just made her look like a troll.

I would say that a trip to Hot Topic is in order to get yourself a clear spacer. I hate going in that store, but they have the best spacers I've ever found.

Seriously, I have my nose pierced, and it's been pierced for over 4 years, and I think I would have worn a spacer to any even semi-competitve rush. Unless it was a HUGE trend on campus, and even then, I'd question it.

ETA: I don't feel like looking for it now, but there's an entire thread on here about nose piercing/wearing during rush. It was a few hundred posts long from what I remember. It might be 3 or 4 years old, but it's still relevant.

I have some clients with tattoos that scare me! But I still take their money.;)

I did have a woman with a doctorate come in for an interview on a Saturday wearing cargo pants and flip flops. OK, we are by the beach but that does not fly. At all. needless to say, she wasn't a greek, and she didn't get the job, despite being a nice person and qualified.

Thanks, AlphaFrog. I didn't see anything noted in the "similar thread" section below so I didn't search for anything old. I checked out the old threads and am surprised at how many people have tattoos and piercings. I guess I just associate Greeks with a more conservative image.

Very true. On the other hand, it's hard to feel comfortable and look presentable with a 115 heat index.

Oh, I understand completely but my colleague sees it only has a validation of her negative view of sororities, despite the fact that without dress/appearance guidelines for recruitment at an SEC chapter, her daughter's group probably would stand out in a negative way since all aspects of rush are traditionally really well planned out.

(To be honest, I just doubt the size four rule was ever even really stated as a policy. I think maybe in the course of dress check it worked out that way because normal sized people didn't look that great in whatever it was. But even so, in a process in which appearance matters like SEC recruitment, don't take it all personally if the chapter thinks you look better in something else. It's not like they've limited your participation in recruitment; they've just saved you from not looking your best.)

My D's school has Winter Recruitment but they were given the dress requirements at the end of the Spring semester as the recruitment outfits for the actives are approved (or not) before T'day break.

Winter is a bit different than summer as the weather is colder and the girls are a bit more "covered." No manis/pedis are built into the dues (my D wishes! :)) but the actives are required to wear closed-toe pumps and of course stockings throughout rush.

I agree about the strapless awkwardness. We were at a college function last night and way too many young women were yanking at their dresses....

/hijack...What Not to Wear...

I called my Membership Development Advisor one night and she said "Oh my Gawd..I'm watching WNTW and there is a girl that I went to school with!".

Can't recall the girl's name but she's from Ga and she is an actress in a local theatre/playhouse.

Back to thread...

Most chapters probably have rules about looking your best because you are representing the organization even if you aren't wearing your letters, Badge/pin or whatever.

nationally, we have a rule that you can't get the letters or the spelled out name (lambda psi delta) tatood anywhere on your body, but symbols like a diamond or tiger are fine. we don't really frown on multiple tatoos or piercings; it more about the personality behind them. as for appearance, we are expected to look professional and put together any time we are representing LPsiD, and of course there are the rules about not wearing letters when participating in certain activities. but day to day appearance is no big.