Ditto to greencat's comment about the looks component being a neccessary evil...it sucks that recruitment is like that, that you only have five minutes to make a kick-ass impression, but hopefully someday sorority recruitment will change to reflect the growing disatisfaction with the process...
However, showing up looking unkempt, unstyled and sometimes gross is not the way to express your individuality or to prove a point...i think a lot of chapter members complain about the superficiality or conformity of rush and then sabotage their wardrobe choices or looks just to prove a point...but really, it's cutting off your nose to spite your face...some PNMs might appreciate the 'relaxed' nature of your chapter but i think most of them actually will prefer another one that presents a poised and maintained image...
...though i do think that image does not always have to have Louis Vuitton bags and Tiffany diamonds
now THAT was funny, since i remember the one complaint of my Rho Chi group was about one house who had all of these girls wearing Tiffany bracelets with the logo on them and they thought they were just showing off