Appearance Regulations for Recruitment?

[33girl]

Ummm, gang, read the rest of her posts. I honestly think the LAST thing she needs is alumnae support (from her chapter's alumnae at least).

Again, it all depends what other chapters on campus do. It also depends on how much you'll be "putting on." Matching outfits and such are one thing, but don't ask girls to get (example) fake nails if they never wear them - they'll be uncomfortable, and you'll look like a bunch of phonies. AOIIAngel pretty much hit the nail on the head.

If you have sisters that would dye their hair pink before recruitment just to "make a statement" or piss people off...you have deeper issues that matching polo shirts are NOT going to fix. It would behoove you all to try and fix them over the summer so you can present a united front to the PNMs in fall.

[IndianaSigKap]

One of the other chapters in my area, actually ordered the same cute top from an online retailer (for around $15) and each girl in the chapter got to pick out what color she wanted. The top was a basic staple and looked good on most body types. They could select their own bottom (pants, skirt, etc.) as long as it was khaki. It looked nice on the recruitment floor and it actually was a shirt they could wear again.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by IndianaSigKap

One of the other chapters in my area, actually ordered the same cute top from an online retailer (for around $15) and each girl in the chapter got to pick out what color she wanted. The top was a basic staple and looked good on most body types. They could select their own bottom (pants, skirt, etc.) as long as it was khaki. It looked nice on the recruitment floor and it actually was a shirt they could wear again.

That's the easiest way to go - but some schools have "no frills" rules about everyone not wearing the same top (even if it is different colors). So you have to be careful about that.

[qbt1990]

One of the girls in my chapter showed up for the super casual open house night with over exaggerated bright pink blush and hot pink/purplish lipstick. The whole look would have been more appropriate for a theatre production and she was told to remove it. It's all about looking natural and approachable, IMO. Definitely great advice being given on here!

[KSUViolet06]

My campus tried to follow "no frills" so we couldn't bulk order matching things (or ask people to all buy x shirt from Mall Store B.)

We were usually given a list of what was needed for each day including colors/other guidelines (ex: round 1 = black polo, dark denim, black closed-toe heel) in April-ish. For some items there were more specific guidelines (ex: make sure your black polo is in good condition/not faded, no distressed/ripped denim, etc.) Our clothes were always simple things that we either already owned, could borrow, or could buy without spending a ton of money (and would use again.)

Then we'd shop over the summer. The recruitment chair would send out some helpful links to stores that have stuff we needed (ex: "hey guys, I saw polos at Old Navy last weekend.)

We had dress check the first week of school. We were always told to leave the tags on anything we bought in the event that it didn't pass. But it wasn't that intense and everyone was really good about following the dress code.

As far as hair, we didn't have any regulations for it other than "don't show up looking like you just got out of bed/the shower/etc." Pretty common sense for any situation involving meeting people for the first time.

Nail stuff was optional. If you normally get a manicure/acrylic nails, cool. But we weren't told to do so just for recruitment.

[HannahXO]

This doesn't really answer the OP, but I think this thread is really interesting- everyone does recruitment dress so differently. On my campus, panhellenic has really extreme restrictions on what we wear for every round except pref. We have to wear letter shirts that cost under a certain (reasonable) amount apiece, and the chapters can choose either denim or khaki bottoms and "comfortable shoes," meaning they can't make us wear heels. Everyone looks nice and put together and matches (chapters bulk order different letter shirts for each round) and it helps prevent showing off each group's "status," although it does limit expressing our personality via wardrobe. We just have to be really good talkers! Our campus takes no frills to an extreme.

For pref, we are allowed to wear whatever is "traditional" for each org (black dresses mostly).

[DeltaBetaBaby]

We bulk-ordered shirts for the first round, and they were usually some variety of black...so, to prevent fading and/or different colors on the second day of first round, we weren't allowed to wash them. We had to just Febreze them and throw them back on.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

We bulk-ordered shirts for the first round, and they were usually some variety of black...so, to prevent fading and/or different colors on the second day of first round, we weren't allowed to wash them. We had to just Febreze them and throw them back on.

If they're fading after one wash, I would say you need to get higher quality shirts. Or enlighten people to the concept of washing dark things in cold water.

[twinkle555]

Originally Posted by kt8319

I have already given directions about which outfits will be worn on which nights so they have plenty of time to prepare for recruitment in September. I was just wondering about everyone's policies, such as if you must have your hair down, no nail polish, no big earrings, etc. I'm not really sure how to go about setting these rules, and just wasn't sure about how most chapters have policies on those types of things. And of course I would never force anyone to go tanning or get a manicure or anything of that sort, just the basic regulations and allowances chapters provide. Also, I'm worried about how to enforce it because we have a couple of girls who sometimes ignore policies (things like dying their hair in an odd way right before recruitment would not surprise me).

The chapter I advise did a powerpoint slide showing EVERYTHING acceptable they would need to purchase, including the appropriate jewelry and shoes. As for hair and nails, we always told them they had to have their hair styled (as in not wet, not scrunched..they had to have it down and curly or straightened) and STRONGLY RECOMMENDED a fresh haircut and dye job if needed. Manicures were always either french, nude or clear polish, no colors. We actually did a sneaky way of getting the girls to go tanning, we would have tanning parties at the local salon during spirit week where they would serve non-alcoholic drinks and snacks and offer us HUGE discounts.Tanning wasnt an issue that we enforced. We would also have outfit checks where girls had to present themselves to the recruitment chair and an advisor in all their outfits WITH hair done, shoes, nails, jewelry,etc. So when all was said and done, if there were girls that didnt follow the regulations and guidelines, and they didnt fix the problem,they didnt recruit, plain and simple. Instead they had to do the boring tasks like work in the kitchen and plate snacks, set up crafts for Philanthropy Day etc. Hope that helps

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by twinkle555

We actually did a sneaky way of getting the girls to go tanning, we would have tanning parties at the local salon during spirit week where they would serve non-alcoholic drinks and snacks and offer us HUGE discounts.

That's fucked up.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

That's fucked up.

This month's new hot handbag is having your skin look like a handbag.

GOD. Get with the times!

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

That's fucked up.

My thoughts exactly.

[psy]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

My thoughts exactly.

ITA.

[Alumiyum]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

That's fucked up.

Very. Suggesting a spray tan (SUGGESTING, not requiring...they don't work on everyone and can be expensive) is one thing. Real tanning should be DISCOURAGED.

My chapter used to require red polish on toenails and clear polish on (clean and groomed) fingernails, and natural looking make up and hair (though on our campus a pink streak or something similar in the hair wouldn't be all that unusual and I doubt anyone would ever be asked to change it for recruitment). We did do matching outfits for parties and on my campus many of the sororities wear a certain color when they go out together to stand out, so that was common as well. We had dress checks for our pref and open house dresses. I felt all of that was fair...it drives me crazy to see what some of them look like during recruitment now. I applaud minimal control of appearance. But our campus holds recruitment about 2 weeks after school beings and in my opinion sorority women should at least show up to class with clean hair, clothing, and faces and show up to parties looking their personal best, whatever that might require. Anything less is laziness in my eyes.

I do suggest a refresher course on what clothing is appropriate when, and how to dress different body types correctly (clothing should fit, and that does not mean should-be-shrink-wrapped). And a reminder that being clean and well groomed is essential...not just for recruitment, but for life. Appearance matters. Observe what is the norm on your campus and go from there. It's NOT too much to ask that everyone put their best foot forward during recruitment. But try to come up with your guidelines as far ahead of time as possible, especially if certain outfits are required so that no one grumbles about scrambling around at the last minute to meet the requirements.

[BAckbOwlsgIrl]

Lane swerve here...I think it is interesting to read about Recruitment dress stories.

Shortly after dinosaurs roamed the earth...of the days during RUSH as it was called, we all wore red shirts. No biggie. However, we had this alum who would pass around the same tube of red lipstick right before the day started. BRIGHT RED. FIRE ENGINE RED with not much blue tone to it. I think it was Clinique. I told her that it would not look good on my fair skin. Her response was that it would match the red shirt. Yah right. Not all red lipsticks are equal on all skin tones no matter what you are wearing. Well...we all sucked it up because it was only for a day, it was Rush and it was an alum...and we had no choice. Think Lipstick Nazi.

...End of lane swerve.