Help! Not Trendy Enough

[adpiucf]

I have never heard of a formal recruitment where the recruitment committee did not have very specific details on what members would wear each day.

Recruitment is a week of first impressions, which means that everyone must look her best, and there's a certain amount of conformity---why? There's a hint of uniformity (from wearing identical shirts, to wearing shirts of the same family in different colors (ie: red, white or blue polo shirts) to match a theme that the sorority wants to touch on each day. I would imagine your chapter is going "uber" trendy for skit/video day, but that you'll be wearing letters or school colors on other days, etc.

If you feel uncomfortable by this, you may ask to be assigned to behind-the-scenes recruitment work that will keep you off the floor.

The recruitment committee of your chapter appears to have spoken, and from your posts, it looks like the majority of the chapter is excited for the theme. Be a good sport. I'm sure there are sisters who can help you by lending you clothes or going shopping with you.

Recruitment Week is a great time to bond with your sisters as your new members come in. Enjoy it!

[GammaPhiBabe]

Our house has dress check before recruitment. You put on your entire outfit, including shoes, jewelry and even the underwear you plan to wear for each day of parties. The recruitment chair, advisors, & sometimes the standards chair have to approve everything. If it's not approved, you aren't wearing it.

[33girl]

OK....it's becoming more clear...I don't think your issue with it is so much with the clothes as it is the fact that you're not dressing to show your sisters' best qualities, you're dressing to imitate a TV show. I can understand if everyone in the sorority loves Sex and the City or whatever but believe it or not, not every rushee does, and if you rely too heavily on a theme the whole way through rush I think it will definitely turn some people off.

[sororitygirl2]

I really don't see what the big deal is, unless other chapters at your school don't do this, or if you think the theme doesn't reflect your chapter.

At my school, we all decorated and dressed alike to the point of insanity... we did as much as we could within Panhellenic rules. No we didn't want to appear to be conformists, but we wanted to put on a nice little show for the girls, really give them something to remember. When a girl sees 10 houses each day, it's easier to remember, "I liked the one with the jungle theme, but not the one with the 50s theme" - rather than having them all blend together. Also, we saw it time and again, that girls going through recruitment loved the themes - they thought it was fun. They want sisterhood, they want girls who present a unified front. Show them your similiarities and your differences in your personalities, not by wearing random clothes.

I was recruitment chair and finals week of spring semester, we would let all the girls know what they would be wearing in the fall. That way they had all summer to find things on sale or whatever. It was pretty specific (i.e. Khaki shorts that touch where your fingertips fall on your thighs, absolutely no pleats or cargo pockets...) but there was always enough freedom that it could be found in a wide price range at various stores.

Also, we always did clothing checks the week everyone got back. I vetoed anything that was too short, tight, etc... Sorry, but you don't want girls in your house portraying a slutty image at recruitment. You want to present a classy, polished front. We also had other policies to enforce this - meaning minimal jewelry, makeup, etc...

If you honestly really have a problem with your theme because you are afraid it will turn off the type of women your chapter is targeting, then bring it up. If you have a problem because it doesn't fit you but the majority of the chapter loves it, you should probably suck it up for the week of recruitment and move on.

[ADPiShannan]

Wow I cant imagine having to get a specific shoe or specific belt from one store and no other store.

For recruitment its the same pretty much every year

Day one is unity day every chapter on campus wears jeans and our unity shirt. The unity shirt is a greek shirt designed with all the letters on it from all chapters and all chapters wear it. The first day of recruitment is about Greek life not just your own chapter so you all dress the same and you wear sneakers. Now Im sure if they were ratty sneakers theyd say something. Also you are told not to wear too much makeup or perfume and we have a few people who are designated to check to make sure that rule is followed, plus people hand out mints and stuff.

Second day is the same as the first, again unity party in our student union.

Third day you wear khakis and a block letter shirt and brown shoes. A lot of times girls will match their big or little sister with shirts. This day we take them around and give them a house tour and make a philanthropy project on the floor so noone wants to dress really nice and be on the floor.


Forth day you wear pin attire and black suits. Now you have to have a black suit. We tell the new girls a semester before so they have all summer to get a nice black suit. Also black hose and black pumps and we all wear gold jewerly. I dont think we are too strict on the gold since a lot of girls wear silver too.

Then later in the day after that its bid day, so you are to wear jeans and oue new bid day shirts and sneakers.

[CarolinaCutie]

I know I've posted a lot in this thread, but I just wanted to offer an alternative view to the people who say they would feel put off going through recruitment by the completely matching sorority girls.

When I went through recruitment, every house I went to except one had matching outfits (not the exact same outfit always, but still the same general top, pants, shoes). They wore letters and jeans, but all the letters were different. It stood out like a sore thumb to me- they didn't look diverse, they looked mismatched. I didn't drop them or anything over it, but I definitely felt like it was less of an "effort" than the other sororities made to impress the PMs. Just adding my experience.

BUT I think the matchingness is getting away from the original point of the thread... I still want to clarify, CASIGKAP... Do you dislike the trendy theme because it's not your own PERSONAL style, and you will feel uncomfortable? Or because you feel like the theme will not attract girls because it's overly trendy? Both are valid concerns, but I want to make sure I know what you mean.

[EEKappa]

No we didn't want to appear to be conformists, but we wanted to put on a nice little show for the girls, really give them something to remember. When a girl sees 10 houses each day, it's easier to remember, "I liked the one with the jungle theme, but not the one with the 50s theme" - rather than having them all blend together. Also, we saw it time and again, that girls going through recruitment loved the themes - they thought it was fun. They want sisterhood, they want girls who present a unified front. Show them your similiarities and your differences in your personalities, not by wearing random clothes.

Excellent point! This is more about marketing strategy than trying to whip the chapter into conformity.

[CASIGKAP]

Definitely both.

I don't want PNM's to look at us and get the wrong idea. That we ALWAYS look like that and that we are only looking for trendy an hip ladies. Also, I worry that looking this trendy may be a turnoff to many ladies who are looking for a place where they can be comfortable & we'll look like we're all high maintenance.

Also, I am uncomfortable dressing up like this. If we could maybe put some of our own unique looks into the outfits it would be one thing but we are not allowed.

I have decided to just do it and keep my mouth shut. After all, whomever said that Rush is only a few days is right. I will only have to wear these clothes a few days. I have the rest of the semester to look like I normally do. Besides, it wouldn't kill me to attempt to update my fashion sense.

[LionTamer]

Also, will the theme also be "trendy" by next Fall?

[Measi]

I can understand the frustration-- as a "jeans 'n t-shirt" girl myself, getting dressed up is... well, a frightening concept (makeup? eep!)

But I also see the need for at least one rush event to be quite dressy-- first impressions do make or break a PNM's rush experience, I think.

I think voicing concerns about how the event will project to PNM's is a valid one, but definitely do it in a diplomatic, kind, and concerned fashion.

For what it's worth, whenever we had one of our dressier events, somehow a few of my sisters and I actually wound up having a "let's get Mel (being me) dressed" sort of party beforehand... which I griped about at times, but wound up being hysterical fun.

Perhaps it'll ease your worries about it to propose some sort of similar pre-event gathering of sisters who are willing to help less fashion-sensed sisters in a "dress for success" sort of gathering.

~ Mel.

[AOII_LB93]

Originally posted by CASIGKAP

I don't want PNM's to look at us and get the wrong idea. That we ALWAYS look like that and that we are only looking for trendy an hip ladies. Also, I worry that looking this trendy may be a turnoff to many ladies who are looking for a place where they can be comfortable & we'll look like we're all high maintenance.

Also, I am uncomfortable dressing up like this. If we could maybe put some of our own unique looks into the outfits it would be one thing but we are not allowed.

I have decided to just do it and keep my mouth shut. After all, whomever said that Rush is only a few days is right. I will only have to wear these clothes a few days. I have the rest of the semester to look like I normally do. Besides, it wouldn't kill me to attempt to update my fashion sense.

I understand where you are coming from with not wanting the PNMs to feel uncomfortable in your house, however that has far more to do with the personalities of the members and PNMs and the way you have a conversation than it does with the trendiness of your outfit.

Have you looked around at LB lately? I've been on campus a lot (oh the joys of a Master's degree and Teaching Credential!) and yes there are people who are comfortable, but others who are trendy. Recruitment is a time to put your best foot forward, which is why recruitment chairs ask their members to look their best for during those hectic 4-5 days. (I say recruitment is 365 days a year, but that is just the way I work.) It's not about making you out to be something you are not, it's about making the best first impression you can on women who don't really see you for longer than 35-40 minutes on the first day of recruitment.

I have helped out with recruitment for CSULB since 1994, and every year without fail we were told what was acceptable to wear, as collegiates and to some extent- though lesser- as alumnae volunteers. That is part of being the best you can be for recruitment. The women coming through at LB have been dressing trendy as well. It's rare that you see one that is not looking great during recruitment. Why should we expect any less of our members?

[azdtaxi]

As I see it, recruitment is just putting your best foot foward. It's a thing you get more dressed up for. And yes we all wear the same thing and I would find it weird if we didn't.