Pref dress! (not normal question)
 

Hi I'm going to be rushing next year and our pref night is divided into two days so I need two dresses! It's not like the normal pref it says to wear a dress that you would wear to church... I've never worn a dress to church, usually in my uniform for some sport. It also says that semi formal or cocktail dresses are too formal. I have a dress from J. Crew that I think I'm going to wear but does anyone else have any suggestions! Anything will help! I have a dress from vineyard vines I'm wearing for graduation but I'm worried it will be too informal.

This is far from a "not normal" question.

That being said, we really can't tell you without knowing which school, but its not always a good idea to reveal that info.

You're going to be going to different chapters - you will not see the same chapter twice at pref. Unless you sweat like crazy, you don't need two dresses. It's unlikely you will be going to more than 3 parties, none of which should last more than an hour & a half.

And once again (directed to the school's instructions, not to you, OP) this is why the whole "wear a dress you'd wear to church" directive needs to be eradicated once and for all.

It sounds to me like they want to emphasize that you should wear a nice "daytime" dress, not an "evening" dress. So, probably not black, not strapless, not shiny fabric, etc. Cotton fabrics would probably work well, but try to get something that doesn't show the wrinkles. Your dresses sound good, or maybe Lilly Pulitzer, if it isn't too "beachy". Pick something flattering, for sure.

You know what would be a great way to find ideas for pref? Search the HUNDREDS of threads on this topic.

But she's not a normal snowflake. She's a unique snowflake. :p

I knew what was in this thread before I clicked on it. :p

you know you guys are very mean. i just wanted a little bit of help and i knew that if i didnt add anything to the question no one would click on it. i know there are many other threads about pref dresses and i have read them thank you very much but none of them had the same specificity as my schools. that being said thank you to sciencewoman for the help.

Because we just HATE playing "Dress the PNM", and that's why all those OTHER "normal" Pref dress threads have no responses. Oh, wait...

You need to ease up. If it takes this amount of ribbing to get you all upset, you have a tough row to hoe ahead of you. It's time to start growing a thicker skin.

I would suggest, if you really don't know what type of dress a girl would wear to church, that you ask people around you, preferably someone who is a sorority member at your school. Another description might be a nice sundress. A brushed cotton, for example. Whereas a print might not be appropriate for a cocktail party, it would likely be perfectly cute at this type of party. And as 33girl said, you only need one dress. Even if you have a full party schedule for preference, you'd still only be in the dress for less than 5 hours total. Go to the first night stuff, go home, take it off, hang it straight up (throw it in the shower near the steam if it needs it), and it should be just fine to wear the next day.

But I've never heard of dividing pref over 2 nights and it seems like a remarkably bad idea. Are you sure you have that right?

Thank you so much. Normally I'm a very calm person but you wouldn't be able to tell the only thing that set me off was I have seen this happen on multiple other pnm's posts and I just think that it's very disappointing that ladies would act this way when they are just trying to reach out for help.

Now that you have pointed it out I understand that I only need one dress I wasn't really thinking but yes it is over two nights when I saw it I had the same feeling that it was quite strange my only thought is since it is after class they wanted to make it so you could have the most time possible with each chapter.

Have you figured out WHY some PNMs get "mean" responses?

They usually fall into a few categories:
1. Entitlement issues
2. Vague/thoughtless questions (if you can't take the time to form a specific question, we're certainly not going to "tell you everything about rush at XYZ")
3. Questions that have been answered ad nauseum
4. Attention whoring (ie, your post - creating purposely misleading titles to get more attention in your thread)
5. Rude or immediately defensive initial posts

Most PNMs that come with polite, well thought out questions, typed with proper grammar, get good answers or are shown where to find answers. Leading off with "I did a search but I couldn't find what I was looking for..." (after having actually done days search so you don't look like a moron when someone brings up 8 threads with your answer) also shows that you have put in your part since you are expecting help from others.

swerve/
As a family law litigator, I used to tell folks to dress for a court hearing/trial like they "were going to Church." As a high church Episcopalian this seemed to be perfectly straight forward description from my apparently narrow point of view. Then one day, a divorce client showed up for trial in worn jeans, running shoes, and a HOODIE in a camoflauge pattern that included olive drab and pink splotches. Now I tell my clients to dress as if there were attending their FAVORITE grandmother's funeral.
/end swerve

swerve/
As a family law litigator, I used to tell folks to dress for a court hearing/trial like they "were going to Church." As a high church Episcopalian this seemed to be perfectly straight forward description from my apparently narrow point of view. Then one day, a divorce client showed up for trial in worn jeans, running shoes, and a HOODIE in a camoflauge pattern that included olive drab and pink splotches. Now I tell my clients to dress as if they were attending their FAVORITE grandmother's funeral.
/end swerve

At my church we have four ushers. Our pastor requests that they coordinate and one wear a suit, one wear jeans, and the other two somewhere between (khakis, polos, sundresses, capris, etc). This way, whenever someone new comes to our church, they'll feel appropriately dressed whatever they are wearing. While I generally dress nicer for church than work, I still like this sentiment. I still don't like the two women who let their kids come in ripped WWE Undertaker tshirts and other ridiculous graphic tshirts).