How short is too short?
 

I'm fairly tall and thin. It's hard to find dresses and shorts that are long enough, and it doesn't help that I have longer than average legs! As a result, most of clothing isn't appropriate for recruitment. But as I shop, I find myself wondering: how short is too short? Would mid-thigh be appropriate? Fingertip length? Or should everything hit just above the knee?

Another thing: for the first two rounds, PNMs are given a t-shirt and we have to wear shorts with it... would shorts similar the these be too short? Would it be alright to wear a skirt with a t-shirt?

Can someone offer me some guidance? I don't anyone to think I look trashy and inappropriate, but at the same time I want to wear fashionable clothes.

Fingertip length should be fine for your dresses. Especially if you remember not to pull on it. You might go a little more conservative for prefs.

The shorts in the link are fine - I would go ahead and order the tall so they will not ride up. (they are a little longer)

Depending on how long in the torso you are, fingertip length could be too short. I would say 4 inches or so above the knee is about the upward limit.

Those shorts look fine as long as you are not too tall. I have seen those shorts on a girl 6'0" and in that case they would be too short for recruitment, but if you're 5'8" or below you should be ok. If you're concerned about them being too short, then you could try J Crew or their outlet. They have 3", 4", 5", 7" and 10" inseams. You could try on the different lengths and compare.

You could also try Old Navy. They have several lengths and they are having a great sale.

When in doubt, go a little more conservative. And that's not just for appearance's sake. You will through most of rush be sitting in a chair with a sorority girl sitting on the floor in front of you. And there are times when you could be on the floor as well. It's awkward in the best of times. If you're flashing girlie parts, well, nobody wants that. Not too short and/or too tight is going to be a winning formula. Just use your discretion and err toward longer.

And underwear that covers appropriately....

I vote fingertip with a gut check as a back up, meaning if it's fingertip length, great! But if you still feel some sort of doubt then skip that dress and try another. Make sense?

I have a pair of short similar to the ones in your link that I wore in recruitment (on the other size) about 4 years ago. They were 5'' inseam and I felt really comfortable in them--not once did I feel like they were too short. I'm 5'6'' if it helps.

Having a tall daughter with very long legs I can appreciate what you are going through. GAP and J Crew work really well for my daughter. These shorts should be fine unless you are in the 6'4-6'5 range. My daughter is 6' and she has these shorts and pants from GAP. All clothing will look shorter on you if your legs are long- my daughter was dress coded nearly every day in elementary school and I was dressing her! That's another story.

My advice to you is to look polished and you know when the dress or shorts are to short. Your bum needs to be fully covered. For dresses or skirts you need to sit down. If you are show casing the family vault or can't sit without flashing the vault it is to short.

Good luck to you.

LMAO

There's some good advice here! Thanks for everyone's input. I will definitely check out Gap and Old Navy. The only J. Crew in my area closed a few weeks ago :( I was very sad, lol.

The "how short is too short" discussion leads us into another one... how tall is too tall? Heels-wise, I mean. No one wants to be the one tottering over everyone at a party.

Wear what is comfortable for you. You don't want to trip on heels either - so if you don't normally wear them, recruitment is not the time to learn. No one can wear sky-high heels all day first round and not feel tired and sore at the end of the day. Your feet will thank you if you try to stick to cute wedges or sandals for first round.

Now one of the very tall girls (6'4"?) told me that she made an effort to wear flats through all of the early rounds and then wear heels with their cocktail dress for prefs. 1) it was more comfortable and 2) it made a dramatic statement with their dressy attire and an up-do.

FWIW, my daughter is wearing flats for all rounds except preference. At preference she is wearing a pair of wedges. Some tall girls rock the heels all the time. She finds the wedges to be a whole lot more comfortable then other heels.