Advice about clothing for formal recruitment
 

Hi folks,

I know a lot of you have read my recruitment story, but I will be participating in formal recruitment for the second time this upcoming Fall. I didn't exactly worry about what I wore the first time around, but it was a little different from most of the other girls participating at the time since I have a physical disability, and wear orthotics on my legs. The orthotics are there to help me walk, and I also have to wear knee-length socks. I'm a little self-conscious of my orthotics since they are black, and unless I'm wearing black socks or a black outfit, I feel it's going to look a little mismatched. I'm also not able to wear heels, so if I do make it to Preference Night, heels are out the window. What I do have, are some black flats that I could wear to all the nights of recruitment since the only other pair of shoes that I could actually wear with my orthotics are sneakers. I did this for the last two nights of recruitment before I was released. I also did not wear a sundress, but rather a pantsuit. I had a nice top, and a nice pair of black or gray slacks.

What I would rather do this time around is wear a dress to some of the parties. I have a sundress that I bought four years ago on a cruise, but I don't think it even fits me anymore. Should I go with a long dress even if its too formal or should I get a short dress, and see how I could camouflage my orthotics? I've actually worn a short white dress, and put pantyhose over my orthotics, but that was for my high school graduation, and no one really noticed it since I had my gown over the dress. I'm not extremely familiar with semi-formal dresses since I almost always wear a pantsuit for a semi-formal event or a long dress when I go to a formal event. Any advice would be appreciated.

What school are you at? Recruitment clothes depends really heavily on what the school culture is.

If the the school has a less formal round that is shorts and tshirts, you might try a pair of khakis and a tshirt, or a pair of beach pants and a tshirt.

If the school has a first round that is mostly sundresses, you could try a less formal maxi dress.

Like these, maybe:

http://www.lillypulitzer.com/product...+Shell+Shacked

http://www.zappos.com/maxi-dress-flo...oral+print&p=2

Love the lily dress-and you don't have to get that dress specifically, just something similar to it's lines. KDCat gave you great wardrobe advice. You could pull off Maxi dresses at many colleges on most days. If your school has a recruitment t-shirt that is wardrobe requirement wear khaki pants or nice jeans. For pref, wear dressy pants and a floaty, filmy shirt like this: http://www.reddressboutique.com/tops...ank-white.html or this: http://www.reddressboutique.com/tops...tank-mint.html or this: http://www.reddressboutique.com/tops...use-coral.html.

Maybe you could find some dressy white slacks to wear with a blouse like the ones I listed, and cover your orthotics with white socks? Please excuse that this is from a mature woman's catalogue, but this is similar to the dressy pants I was referring to:

http://drapers.blair.com/p/apparel/s...3=c.t3&x1=c.t1

They are made with chiffon fabric, which will make them dressier than linen, cotton, or some polyblend. The fuller cut makes them look almost skirt like. And again, we are not suggesting that you buy these specific items from these specific vendors, but that you look for something similar.

Maxi dress! Maxi dress!

There are so many cute informal maxidresses out there you could probably go through rush 10 times and not repeat. Also, if you get assigned a t shirt you can still wear a maxi skirt with it. This look is super cute and especially if it's still hot out when you rush, is a lot cooler and more comfortable.

Maxi = ♥

OP I think that you might be able to pull off a "dressier" maxi dress for prefs, as long as it is dressier than this: http://www.reddressboutique.com/dres...axi-dress.html

and not as dressy as this: http://www.camillelavie.com/dress/Lo...Fc8F7AodimoAEQ

Do not go the formal route.

This is good advice. If I did that, I would make sure that my pref hair, makeup and jewelry was super fancy. Can you do an updo?

You could also do a solid color maxi dress for pref, with either wider straps or a sleeveless, sheath cut. That would be a little more formal, but not too formal.

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/felicity...esults-_-1_5_C

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/soprano-...sults-_-1_15_B

http://www.zappos.com/lilly-pulitzer...rcle-knit-lace

Oh my gosh, I love that Zappos Lilly Westport maxi dress in black. That would look great for pref. Good job KDCat!

We posted almost at the same time!

I really like that Lilly, too. I get kind of burned out on Lilly, but that one is pretty great.

The biggest thing I think, OP, is to be the best natural you possible. You have to wear the orthotics and you want to look like a normal 19 year old girl going through rush, and that's tricky. I would say long pants or maxi dresses would probably be the way to go to make you feel the most comfortable which is THE MOST important thing.

Don't worry about the heels. There are plenty of options to either take advantage of a flat or have a dress/pants that don't accentuate your feet.

In conjunction with your wardrobe choices, I would work on an elevator pitch (a full explanation you can give in 30 seconds - the time it takes to ride an elevator) that explains your situation so that you can move on to other, more teenager'y subjects. "Here's a thing you need to know about me, here are my restrictions, here is how I make the best of my abilities." We all have something - yours just might be more visible. But since you're dealing with other teenagers, you do have to find a way to not look odd. And that's where the excellent advice above comes into play. Good luck with rush and please let us know how it goes for you.

This is definitely great advice. I'm actually a 22 year old. I will see if I can get the maxi dresses that some of you suggested since I have limited funds due to not having a job yet.

Ebay, Shopgoodwill.com, and thrift stores are your friends.

Plato's Closet or women's consignment shops would be good places to check. Could you borrow a dress or two from friends? I bet you could get a basic black maxi skirt at Target or Walmart.

H & M and Target both have metric butt-tons of maxi dresses - and they're cheap!!

This thread inspired me to get another maxi dress today. I would have gotten 2 if I could have used my birthday Banana republic coupon at the Gap outlet.

OP I am familiar with your campus(I have been an advisor there but have retired) and I don't say this to dissuade you, but it will be difficult for a senior to receive a bid on your campus. Don't let my statement stop you from trying, but just understand that it will not be easy for any senior to get a bid during formal recruitment at your school.

It's not going to dissuade me as I'm still a junior credits-wise...However, I do understand it can be harder for upperclassmen to get a bid.