Rules regarding appearance

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by bejazd

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!

I'm convinced that debrasion & reconstructive surgery are the careers of the future!

[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!)

[cuteASAbug]

Originally Posted by bejazd

(I love that show. The participants are always so good natured about it. I hope I'd take their criticism so well!)

I was watching the WNTW behind the scenes episode and they said that lots of times nominees do say no to them. When that happens, they look for people in NYC who were nominated. So when you see an episode about someone from New York, it's usually because the person who was actually supposed to be on it backed out.

[bejazd]

I think I saw that one too. I'm sure there are people who just can't do that on nat'l tv for a variety of reasons. Does anyone know if Stacy London is a NPC member? I think she has multiple degrees in Int'l business and finance or something. She's so hard core I'm sure I'd be bawling but she really does seem to care about the participants.

[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.

[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...)

[howtheSunrose]

I wouldn't say we have rules but we have standards of dress. For example, we're not supposed to wear pajama pants or any other lounge wear to class. Personally, I wouldn't do that because in my small school environment a professor may notice and view you as lazy. Also, it's considered rude to change into pin attire right before chapter rather than wearing to class unless you have a lab. Many girls do, however, wear sandals or other comfortable shoes with their pin attire to class and then change into dress shoes for chapter.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by 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!)

I would so love to post pictures of some of the women who apply here. You simply would not believe what some women consider as "appropriate attire"! There's one nurse who is simply excellent at her job, but she has the biggest honking tattoo that turns our elderly clients off instantly!!

[howtheSunrose]

Originally Posted by bejazd

I think I saw that one too. I'm sure there are people who just can't do that on nat'l tv for a variety of reasons. Does anyone know if Stacy London is a NPC member? I think she has multiple degrees in Int'l business and finance or something. She's so hard core I'm sure I'd be bawling but she really does seem to care about the participants.

She went to Vassar for undergrad in Philosophy and German. I don't think they have a Greek system there.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by howtheSunrose

Also, it's considered rude to change into pin attire right before chapter rather than wearing to class unless you have a lab. Many girls do, however, wear sandals or other comfortable shoes with their pin attire to class and then change into dress shoes for chapter.

This definitely sounds like a southern thing. When you have to trudge through tons of snow to get to class, you're not going to be wearing pin attire all day, meeting or not. It's jeans and boots and the heaviest sweater/sweatshirt you own.

Northerners really aren't slobs, we just have weather issues.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by 33girl

This definitely sounds like a southern thing. When you have to trudge through tons of snow to get to class, you're not going to be wearing pin attire all day, meeting or not. It's jeans and boots and the heaviest sweater/sweatshirt you own.

Northerners really aren't slobs, we just have weather issues.

Our chapter had all day pin attire requirements...and we were in snow from Dec-April.

[33girl]

We weren't allowed to wear khakis for pin attire. It had to be dresses or dress pants.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by 33girl

We weren't allowed to wear khakis for pin attire. It had to be dresses or dress pants.

Very true. We had a very business casual pin attire requirement. Much more conducive to cold weather.

[howtheSunrose]

Originally Posted by Sperry

Well she went for philosophy and german, so he wouldn't have gotten a bid anyways. Oh wait, it was at a liberal dyke school, so she might have.

Wow, thanks for your spew of venom. However, I have many sisters with various majors from business to philosophy to women's studies and quite obviously they all received a bid. Interesting that a women who pursues an education is labeled a "dyke" even in the twenty first century.

[howtheSunrose]

Oops I suppose I fed a troll. Still, I'm tired of sexists