Chapter Meeting Attire

[tld221]

We've gone through the gamut of dress codes in our chapter. Before I was a member, my sorors said for a while it was completely business attire, but then over time, attendance declined because who wants to wear hose and a skirt suit for a meeting that probably would go over the time alloted? and then the meeting locations definitely didnt match the attire - community centers and sorors' homes. Then there were "fines" for not dressing appropriate and all sorts of mess...

then the attire was changed to casual. people started coming in jeans, sweats... all sorts of stuff that really isnt appropriate for any kind of meeting. the demeanor of the meetings changed with the attire, meetings got shorter and nothing got done.

which led to month-long debates on making the attire business-casual, which as mentioned above, you'll get a different answer from each person as to what that means. we eventually settled on "smart business casual" which in my head meant "if a man met me on the spur of the moment for a date, i'd be OK with what i was wearing." or "if i had to speak on behalf of my organization in 10 minutes, i could just do a once-over in the mirror and go."

so if for you it meant jeans, sneakers and a sweater, fine. if it means a blazer, pants and heels, go for it. a sundress and sandals? great! as long as its in good taste and doesnt make SGRho look bad, do it. our chapter has grown a lot since the days of business attire, and have changed our location so we have more exposure to the public than we wouldve than, say, someone's home or at a community center.

we also have a chapter blazer so i suppose that's always "chapter meeting attire." but i'm clearly not going to wear it with cropped sweats and a tank top.

the only caveat in our chapter meeting attire is to wear neutral/sorority colors. so one day of the month, certain colors stay in the closet. now does everyone stick to this? of course not, but that's the precedent that was set when i became a member of that chapter so i follow it.