General recruitment questions from a PNM
 

I'll be rushing at a Big XII school in August, and I have a few general questions.

Does a recommendation letter hold more weight if it's from an alumna of my school's chapter?

Does having more than one recommendation letter help at all?

And finally, the dress I currently have picked out for pref is fairly conservative everywhere except the back. It's black, has a high neck and long sleeves, is somewhat loose fitting, and comes more than halfway down my thigh. The back, however goes about halfway down my back and has cut outs. Is this appropriate if done with tasteful hair and makeup, a clutch, and a simple heel?

Any help would be much appreciated! :)

1. Yes.
2. Depends on the school and the rec - recs from those who know you well and can give the chapter insight into the awesomeness that is you are better than general information only recs. Check out the thread(s) about your specific school to see if more than one rec is required. For most schools, one is sufficient.
3. I vote no on the dress, but someone from your school would be better able to tell you.

1) Maybe - depends on who it is and how well they know her.
2) Maybe - depends on the school. It won't hurt though.
3) I'd be more concerned about being too hot in the long sleeves. Not sure about the length....would prefer to see knee length

The dress sounds beautiful but I think you will be too hot. Long sleeves will be extra uncomfortable in August and in hot, crowded rooms during pref parties.

I respectfully disagree on knee length as suggested by titchou. Just dont get your dress too short so that sitting is awkward.

I would have to say that "halfway down the thigh" is NOT conservative at all - and would have to second the recommendation for something closer to knee length.

This is one where it just depends how tall you are, I think. In any case, PNM's should error on the side of being conservative.

Unless they are sheer (and I hope not since it's not 1993), long sleeves on a black dress in August can kind of bring a Wednesday Addams vibe. :p The length is an additional issue.

Can you wear a strapless or regular bra without it showing in the back? If the answer is no, then I wouldn't wear it for the event. Not saying you have to wear a bra at all (some people can get away with that) but if you can't wear even a strapless bra then it's not conservative enough for recruitment.

Ladies, I am not advocating a hootchie mama dress for prefs, but I dont know very many 18 year olds wearing knee length hemlines. Maybe a better way to measure is to make sure the hem is longer than fingertip length. :)

Fingertip length is fine if you pair it with flats. The problem comes when you wear it with hiiiiiiiiiiiigh heels.

To the knees might be a little extreme for 18 year olds, but somewhere between fingertips and just above the knees would probably work, depending on the PNMs height and what shoes she is wearing.

(I love these "what to wear" threads. I especially love when 33 weighs in. Guaranteed grins and the occasional loud laugh ensue, and her comments make my day so much funnier. 33, don't ever go away. I need you in my world. In the meantime I'm looking SO forward to the threads where the PNMs post actual photos of dresses. That's my favorite part of these threads.)

OP, that dress as you've described it is a NO for Preference. It might be fine for a cocktail party or some other affair, but not Preference. It sounds a little "old" to me. Just my opinion. And, your description of it brought to mind Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. No. Nononononononono.

Get busy shopping again.

Just remember Julia may have been the prostitute with the heart of gold in Pretty Woman, but she was still a prostitute. Not a good comparison for pref. LOL

It's a good idea to "test drive" any dress you plan to wear. Can you sit in it comfortably without having to pull it down or adjust it? Or is it so short that, as Patsy Stone would say, "The world is your gynecologist"?

iLost