Rules regarding appearance

[AOII Angel]

At my campus, all of the Sigma Kappa's got their letters tatooed on their big toes...ouch! One of my sisters had a stupid looking panda head with a big red bow and AOII under it on her ankle. My old roommates (twin sisters) had a piece of wheat and a red rose entwined around AOII on their ankles. The list goes on and on. Head to toe tats are a completely different story though!

[JoeyBRONX]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

At my campus, all of the Sigma Kappa's got their letters tatooed on their big toes...ouch! One of my sisters had a stupid looking panda head with a big red bow and AOII under it on her ankle. My old roommates (twin sisters) had a piece of wheat and a red rose entwined around AOII on their ankles. The list goes on and on. Head to toe tats are a completely different story though!

PRESH!

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by JoeyBRONX

PRESH!

My point is...tattoos and sororities (and definitely fraternities) are not mutually exclusive. Tattooing is very common, so I doubt is often an issue. The problem comes when hiding a tattoo is impossible because every skin surface is inked. People don't get jobs for the same reason. It turns mainstream America off...Greeks are definitely mainstream America!

[cuteASAbug]

The only rule regarding appearance that I can think of is a friend of a friend told me that her chapter had a rule that all of the actives and new members had to look presentable all the time- including having a professional manicure and pedicure every week.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by cuteASAbug

The only rule regarding appearance that I can think of is a friend of a friend told me that her chapter had a rule that all of the actives and new members had to look presentable all the time- including having a professional manicure and pedicure every week.

That'd be okay if the mani/pedi was included in your dues!

[cuteASAbug]

She didn't tell me that, but I don't think it was. I generally try to get one every two weeks, so I'd be ok with that, but I wouldn't like someone telling me that I'd be fined if I didn't get one.

[bejazd]

The only appearance rule I can think of is when you should and should not wear your badge/pin...i.e. you don't put your badge on a t-shirt or a sweatshirt, or any top when you're wearing jeans.

Tattoos and body piercings are so common now I can't see how you could enforce any rule on those these days. I wouldn't get one (although my mother in law has several tattoos!)...I'm way too conservative for that....but I've come around to accept the idea that girls and women can have a tasteful, discreet tattoo and nobody really cares.

but the dermatologist/plastic surgeons in the office next door to mine are making a fortune doing tattoo removal and reconstructive surgery on piercings gone wrong!

[ISUKappa]

We did have a house rule regarding appearance in the public areas of the chapter house. And all that really meant was don't go walking around in your skivvies or butt shorts in the common areas because you never knew who you might run in to (parents, girls' boyfriends, professors, employers, etc...)

[bejazd]

Seriously. If you want destroy the sisterhood in your chapter, start making up stupid rules about appearance.

On the other hand, learning how to dress/present yourself professionally, especially in the business casual environment where the rules are hard to define, can be a real benefit of sorority membership. Look at how many people end up on What Not To Wear because they never really had any experiences or guidance to learn how to present themselves! (I love that show. The participants are always so good natured about it. I hope I'd take their criticism so well!)

[Zillini]

Originally Posted by AlphaGamUGAAlum

I'm afraid that it's those kind of rules that make us look like superficial jerks.

One of my colleagues keeps telling people about all the rules that her daughter was giving for appearance as a rushers at an SEC recruitment as if it's indicative of the values of the group generally.

It's making me mad because I don't think she has any idea what she's talking about, having never participated in rush, much less a wacky SEC rush, but if someone really did tell the group that no one bigger than a size 4 could wear certain items, it does make it seem like the the group has strange values.

(I still think she should just shut up about it since it hurt her daughter's group to float that story out there time and time again, but apparently because she knows what the girls were told to wear, she knows everything about sororities now. )

I agree with you to some extent. There are some campuses that have taken dress codes/guidelines to an extreme. It does perpetuate some of the negative stereotypes about sorority girls that are out there. Especially when it gets nitpicky.

However when it comes to Recruitment I think it's a good thing to give actives guidelines. Let's face it, this is the time a Chapter is supposed to be presenting itself in the best possible light. On a large competitive Recruitment campus during 1st round PNM's have 15-20 minutes to decide if they like ABC or not. Often those first conversations are identical from Chapter to Chapter. "Hi! What's your name? Where are you from? What's your major? How do like your dorm/room mate? etc" So one of the factors PNM's use to form their opinions is how the actives looked.

We don't go to the extreme of saying only a size 4 is allowed to wear _____, but we do dress check every outfit the actives plan to wear. In the spring we lay out guidelines for the actives so when they shop during the summer they'll keep these things in mind. Mostly it's for uniformity, but there are some wearability and style issues we address.

Some examples, on Philanthropy Day the actives wear shorts. We don't want any Daisy Dukes, so they are to look for mid-thigh length or longer. During most of the parties PNM's sit on chairs while the actives are kneeling on the floor. We don't want anything too low cut because I doubt the PNM's would appreciate a mega-cleavage view. (If the PNM's were guys that would be a whole other story. ) Because the actives are constantly standing and kneeling, anything that's too tight might ride up or even rip.

Then there's my personal pet peeve -- strapless dresses. Yes, yes, I know they're hugely fashionable now and have been for the last several years. But IMHO there is nothing more unattractive than seeing a group of young women, all dressed up and looking lovely, then constantly pulling up their tops. Every year I watch the parade of PNM's enter the house and I swear every one who's wearing strapless is yanking on it.