New Member Ceremony Help!

[als463]

Originally Posted by ladybug12

OK, I was going from my reading on other posts that white/cream attire required for fomal pledging for most NPC groups. And my Southern/SEC brain not thinking in terms of someone signing up for recruitment at the last minute...sorry!

No problems. At Penn State, you signed up and went through recruitment. I was first in my family to go Greek (immediate family-uncle is a Sigma Chi and younger cousin is a DPhiE). It was never discussed that I should go and get a white (or some groups use black) initiation dress. Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to find white dresses in the dead of fall in State College, PA. Thankfully, I was able to find something. I can honestly say, however, that going Greek and joining Phi Mu was one of the BEST choices I ever made. Good luck OP!!!

amIblue-I agree with you! That is such a big market! It's like, Old Navy and Victoria's Secret acknowledge the importance of representing college teams--you'd think someone would have something like a sorority representation section with white and black dresses. Weird!

[Titchou]

Originally Posted by ladybug12

OK, I was going from my reading on other posts that white/cream attire required for fomal pledging for most NPC groups. And my Southern/SEC brain not thinking in terms of someone signing up for recruitment at the last minute...sorry!

I don't know where people get that! My group certainly doesn't require it - at least not nationally. Now, what individual campuses do may be a horse of a different color. We simply require "pin attire."

[melindawarren]

Originally Posted by ladybug12

How can someone go through formal recruitment and not know that they will need appropriate white attire for formal pledging? Isn't this something that should be told to all PNMs as they sign up for recruitment? Certainly easier to find a cute white dress in June than in September.

Well, TBTH, I'm the first one in my family to go Greek, and nobody told me about what happens after recruitment-everyone just stressed getting ready for recruitment. I didn't even begin to think about "after recruitment" until a few days ago. Completely stupid, I know, but I was very single-mindedly focused on the "getting in" bit.

Of course, I have no clue about the OP's situation.

[amIblue?]

you know, a talented seamstress could make a killing by setting up a white dress booth somewhere on campus sometime around bid day.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Am I the only one who sees buyawhitedress.com or something in the banner ad every time I log on to GC?

[als463]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Am I the only one who sees buyawhitedress.com or something in the banner ad every time I log on to GC?

Seriously, when you first posted that, I thought, "Really? I've NEVER seen that advertisement. What is she talking about?" As soon as I clicked to look at something else, I saw the advertisement. Oh, wow. How did I miss that? In all honesty, though, I did not have a GC account until after I was an initiated member.

[southbymidwest]

And then you have the deferred recruitments that start in January- daughter, yours truly and grandmama in Florida were all scouring the stores and internet for appropriate white dresses in the dead of winter. We ended up having the most luck at Marshalls/TJ Maxx.

[melindawarren]

I don't know what I need yet, but I hope that I find out far enough in advance to go out and get things!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by melindawarren

I don't know what I need yet, but I hope that I find out far enough in advance to go out and get things!

Well, you're not as out in the hinterlands as some people are. I mean in some college towns, you're lucky if you can find dressy clothes period, let alone white dressy clothes.

[melindawarren]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Well, you're not as out in the hinterlands as some people are. I mean in some college towns, you're lucky if you can find dressy clothes period, let alone white dressy clothes.

Very true (my cousins live in one of those towns. I can't imagine what they'd have to do to find a white dress now!). I might actually look now...if the return policies are good...

[HQWest]

Originally Posted by melindawarren

Very true (my cousins live in one of those towns. I can't imagine what they'd have to do to find a white dress now!). I might actually look now...if the return policies are good...

For the small town girls - the internet is fabulous for just this.

Zappos has free returns and if you are a vip you can get rush delivery for free. Mod Cloth is another good place to look for something different or even Lilly had white and black dresses in the end of summer clearance.

Yeah, no...where I'm attending college there's absolutely no decent conservative white dresses. Trust me I knew I was going in to recruitment since the beginning of this year and have stopped to look everywhere. I don't know why but it's always sheer white dresses that are out in stores which I would never subject myself to. And before I went through recruitment, we weren't told what to have or anything. They just specified what to wear when meeting the sororities...nothing after.

[melindawarren]

Originally Posted by 23girl

Yeah, no...where I'm attending college there's absolutely no decent conservative white dresses. Trust me I knew I was going in to recruitment since the beginning of this year and have stopped to look everywhere. I don't know why but it's always sheer white dresses that are out in stores which I would never subject myself to. And before I went through recruitment, we weren't told what to have or anything. They just specified what to wear when meeting the sororities...nothing after.

I know, right? I know this would be tough for campus panhellenics to do, but it would not be the worst idea to mention that girls should have an all-white outfit if that really IS what the sororities want.

[frangiblefacade]

For anyone reading this thread trying to find white dresses still, I found a few nice ones at Deb this semester!

[ms_gwyn]

way back when (we are talking '91) I scrambled to find a white dress, stockings and shoes [drama THAT DAY] and then for pledge presents...that was a task...it was a no go for me to find a white dress that look nice on my...I was allowed to wear a very nice off white formal, I think I found at a Dillards in Scottsdale. Of course after the fact, I found out I could rent a white dress...

It really was a comedy of errors, I look back and laugh now, but it was not a laughing situation then.

You know...this should be a part of the recruitment manuals the PHC puts out...because not all PMNs are knowledgeable