Help! Not Trendy Enough

CASIGKAP · #1 04-21-2004, 05:37 PM

O.K. So here's my problem. We are gearing up already for fall rush. I do not particularly care for our theme but vowed to give it a try. However, the theme (which I can't give away yet) is 100% absolutely, positively, TRENDY!!! I am a casual gal who likes to occasionally dress up for our events but it seems to me like we're going overboard. All the other girls are excited but I can't seem to be able to get out of this funk b/c the theme is not me. I feel like we're looking like we are trying too hard.

All the other ladies are behind this but I seem to be the odd duck out. I'm pretty sure most of you will tell me to just keep my chin up and do it for the best of the sorority.

Any advice???

decadence · #2 04-21-2004, 05:40 PM

Purchase a long black coat and a small black dress plus smoke a cigarette in a cigarette holder á la Audrey Hepburn.
You'll seem elegant, eccentric and mysterious and no-one rushing will think anything of it that you aren't dressed like everyone else.

greencat · #3 04-21-2004, 05:42 PM

Suck it up. The majority has spoken. Ask the recruitment chair to take you shopping because you want to make sure you buy something that fits the theme.

If it makes you really uncomfortable, request to be taken off the floor and given behind-the-scenes work.

ETA: Your chapter may be trying to hard to impress with this theme. Maybe there are some other girls who feel the same way. That you are trying to be something you're not and that this is going to show at rush. Speak out in chapter meeting. At least you'll be heard.

CASIGKAP · #4 04-21-2004, 05:43 PM

LOL

I should try that b/c of our theme. Unfortunately, we received a packet that contains specifically what we are to wear including the colors allowed.

Talk about overkill.

33girl · #5 04-21-2004, 05:53 PM

Guess you didn't see this thread LOL.

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...threadid=36705

tunatartare · #6 04-21-2004, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CASIGKAP
O.K. So here's my problem. We are gearing up already for fall rush. I do not particularly care for our theme but vowed to give it a try. However, the theme (which I can't give away yet) is 100% absolutely, positively, TRENDY!!! I am a casual gal who likes to occasionally dress up for our events but it seems to me like we're going overboard. All the other girls are excited but I can't seem to be able to get out of this funk b/c the theme is not me. I feel like we're looking like we are trying too hard.

All the other ladies are behind this but I seem to be the odd duck out. I'm pretty sure most of you will tell me to just keep my chin up and do it for the best of the sorority.

Any advice???

Is your house generally laid back or is it more go all out when it comes to rush? If it tends to be more laid back, you could maybe ask the girls in charge of planning rush why they're going a different route. If it's not too late, you could maybe change the theme to something a little less trendy. This past semester we did a Camp KLP theme. We wore jeans and our unity letters, and for one night we had a slumber party/show and tell type thing where we all wore pj's and letters and the PNM's wore pj's. It wasn't formal or trendy at all and all the girls loved it. It's hard to find a theme that will please everyone though, and rush only goes on for so long, so you may just have to accept that.

lauralaylin · #7 04-21-2004, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CASIGKAP

Talk about overkill.

It's not overkill, although it can seem that way if you aren't directly involved in the planning process. Your recruitment chair is being smart by planning all of this ahead of time.

Since your clothes are already decided for you, maybe you should focus on make up, hair, nails, that type of thing. Maybe get a make over during the summer? When I joined, I didn't even know how to blow dry my hair, but living in the house, especially during rush, I learned a lot about how to make myself look better. Think of it as fun. Get a pedicure with a few other sisters right before rush, or other things like that to make the whole process more enjoyable.

AchtungBaby80 · #8 04-21-2004, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CASIGKAP
Unfortunately, we received a packet that contains specifically what we are to wear including the colors allowed.

Talk about overkill.

That's overkill? We were not only told what to wear and what color to wear it in, but what shoes and belts to wear, too. In a way, it made things kinda easy because there were no "OMG, WHAT will I WEAR?" moments.

I disliked some of our past themes, too, but rush week doesn't last forever, at least.

Glitterkitty · #9 04-21-2004, 10:41 PM

I thought it was against NPC rules to require members to dress identicaly and force them to put out money for clothes they wouldn;t ordinarily wear just for rush? Has this changed??? I know my chapter just says "nice black dress", khakis and jerseys or something like that. If someone wanted me to buy a new belt, shoes, outfit etc. for every rush I'd raise. And I am sure as hell not going to wear something I don't like.

CASIGKAP · #10 04-21-2004, 11:22 PM

Everything & I mean EVERYTHING is coordinated. We are even under orders to get manicures & pedicures to look our best. I have to put out $$$ for new clothes & shoes that I am positive I will never wear again.

We tend to be pretty casual at our house. I know it's fun to do something out of the ordinary and different but I really feel it's getting to be excessive.

tunatartare · #11 04-21-2004, 11:25 PM

Woah, I definitely think it's a bit excessive. I think if I was a PNM, I'd be kind of freaked out if I went to a house where all of the girls were dressed exactly the same.

CASIGKAP · #12 04-21-2004, 11:40 PM

O.K. I should amend this. We are wearing the same outfits but in different colors. So for example, we would all wear black skirts but either blue or white tops. Still, it is weird.

KSUViolet06 · #13 04-21-2004, 11:42 PM

Geez. I know we're expected to look uniform, but what we're wearing is usually stuff we already have. For example: khakis and a natural color (brown, white, tan) shirt. Our theme is 50's so we're wearing black pants and a white button down shirt w/ a simple accent like a scarf. As you can see, this is ALL stuff that most people have. Our hair and nails don't HAVE to be done (although that's nice). If you would LIKE to purchase everything brand new, that's your choice, but it isn't a requirement.

Besides, our Panhellenic will not allow perfectly matching outfits. (defined as THE EXACT same item from the SAME store)

You may want to suggest that the theme be one that is simple and doesn't involve anything you HAVE to go out and purchase.

33girl · #14 04-22-2004, 10:22 AM

CASIGKAP,

Do the other sororities on your campus do this? If so, it may be a matter of "keeping up with the Joneses." But if they don't, I agree that this is a bit much.

Edited to add that even if you do matching outfits it should be relatively affordable stuff, like Express or Old Navy, unless you are all Rockefeller heirs. If the rush chair is ordering you to buy designer stuff, that's out of control.

If you are at a campus where every group does this and you've always done it, it's normal and you see the positive in it. But if you're not, it can seem a little freaky and make people upset. Heck, we had people kicking and screaming when we went to drapes in our composite...I can just see if we'd told girls they had to buy this or that outfit.

CarolinaCutie · #15 04-22-2004, 10:50 AM

I don't see anything weird about it. What have you done in the past for Recruitment that has been easier or less uniform?

I agree with AchtungBaby80, knowing exactly what to wear makes it easy. One of our sample outfits might be:

-Pink shirt ordered with rest of the chapter so they are all the same
-Black dressy capris or pants (no cargos, drawstrings, etc)
-Black belt if your pants have belt loops
-Black open toed sandals (no flip flops, no hooker shoes)

Toenails must be painted, makeup must be done, hair must be worn fixed and down.

All this makes it EASY because we don't have to think about what we're wearing, our Recruitment Director does it FOR us.

Honestly, I think if it is to the point where your Recruitment chair is picking out outfits, you should not try to convince her to change it, because you said that the other sisters like the idea. I really feel like you should go to her and ask her for a little more help in choosing what to wear. She can help you to find something that you feel comfortable in and that still fits in with the theme.