This is your mother's Rush! What we wore 1960-1990

[ellebud]

I suspect that I, like the Reluctant One, would never have/would pass wardrobe check. Her skirts (like her sisters and all Panhellenic) are VERY short. And I wore, (I can't believe that I am revealing this), to Bid Night (which was cocktail attire) a gorgeous jeweltone silk shirt with a print (with the same jeweltone) skirt.......with the hippie band (jeweltone of shirt) wrapped around my long hair.

Horrible thing was........I wasn't the only one.

[WaterChild]

Originally Posted by NUBlue&Blue

1981

Navy bermuda shorts and kelly green Ralph Lauren polo shirt (which had to be specially purchased at the only store in Nebraska that carried them), collar UP, no doubt, and navy blue bass sandals for open house.

I thought that was funny, because I wore bermuda shorts and a Ralph Lauren polo shirt on day one of my recruitment...in 2007. My collar was definitely not up though.

[AXOrushadvisor]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

barbino, was it a pappagallo belt? i had a ton of those with the most exotic "frogs" seahorses, scallop shells, conch shells, etc. all in gold. you could swap the belts and the "frogs" as you wished.gee, i wish i had those now-not that they would fit around my waist!

I LOVED the Pappagallo store in my home town. My favorite outfit to wear to meetings was a pair of yellow cord walking shorts with matching knee high socks with my penny loafers and a yellow and green argyle sweater!

[ZTA72]

Originally Posted by ellebud

I suspect that I, like the Reluctant One, would never have/would pass wardrobe check. Her skirts (like her sisters and all Panhellenic) are VERY short. And I wore, (I can't believe that I am revealing this), to Bid Night (which was cocktail attire) a gorgeous jeweltone silk shirt with a print (with the same jeweltone) skirt.......with the hippie band (jeweltone of shirt) wrapped around my long hair.

Horrible thing was........I wasn't the only one.

You are not the only one! I will post some pics of our rush at UTK if I can find them. And like the Reluctant One, back in the 70s, my skirts were quite short. The more things change the more they stay the same...

[33girl]

It was the 70s. You had to stick it to The Man, man. (Even if you were joining a sorority.)

[ihr]

This is from the University of Houston Rush Booklet - Fall 1966. I have scanned the entire book, but this is just the info for what to wear each round.

Open House - School clothes* and casual shoes

Period I - Cotton dresses and heels

Period II - Sunday or tea dresses (no hats) heels and gloves

Period III (Pref.) - Date dresses (not cocktail dresses, no hats) heels and gloves

*In 1966, 'school clothes' meant dresses or skirts and blouses.

[AnchorAlum]

OK, time to fess up. I am SO old....you were not allowed to wear pants on campus on weekdays unless you had a raincoat on over them.

(By the time I graduated we were all wearing bell bottoms and going braless and spending the night with boys in the dorms)

I am so old that we still had 19 houses at Florida State - 10 ice waters one day and 9 the next. I am so old that the dorms were not yet air conditioned - in Florida! And you could NOT skip any of the parties. They had tear sheets you had to hand in at every house and heaven forbid you didn't turn yours in somewhere - you probably would have been disqualified.

I am so old that they told you that if you asked to use the bathroom it meant you didn't want to be invited back. After 8 glasses of ice water, I had a really tough decision to make. There was a girl in the Theta house who I had known from GIRL SCOUTS when we were little, and I always thought she didn't like me anyway, so I had nothing to lose. I made the decision. Lo and behold, they asked me back anyway.

I wore Villager dresses with full slips underneath, Weejun loafers, carried a monogrammed John Meyer purse, and wore a circle pin at the collar notch with my initials engraved for the ice water parties.

For skit parties I wore my Villager suit and Pappagallo low heels with a matching purse, and for third round (Information?) parties I wore a green Bobbie Brooks dress and Bernardos with a woven straw Aigner purse.

Prefs were black dresses and heels. I still have my white dress I wore to pledging and initiation. It's packed away with that stupid Girl Scout uniform. Memories!

Nylons were worn with EVERY outfit.

My hair was done in a center part flip that flopped in the heat. No foundation, but a little eyeliner and some lip gloss. Everyone in Florida has a tan in September, so we didn't really need too much makeup.

It was deadly hot, but back then not all places were air conditioned, so we were somewhat used to it.

I can tell you that everyone on my hall rushed and all but two pledged. That is what you did back then. I think that there was more of a drastic change in my four years than at any other time in history. I wore a suit to freshman homecoming with gloves, heels, and a giant mum, but by the time I was a senior, I wore Jesus sandals and a pant suit.

[chioalum]

I loved Pappagallo. I had belts to match every color polo. I think I must of had Sperry Topsiders in every color. Does anyone else remember the big watches where you could change the ribbon on the band to match your outfit? I remember wearing Lanz sundresses during recruitment, but beyond that I have no idea. This is a great thread.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlum

OK, time to fess up. I am SO old....you were not allowed to wear pants on campus on weekdays unless you had a raincoat on over them.

(By the time I graduated we were all wearing bell bottoms and going braless and spending the night with boys in the dorms)

My hair was done in a center part flip that flopped in the heat. No foundation, but a little eyeliner and some lip gloss. Everyone in Florida has a tan in September, so we didn't really need too much makeup.

It was deadly hot, but back then not all places were air conditioned, so we were somewhat used to it.

I can tell you that everyone on my hall rushed and all but two pledged. That is what you did back then. I think that there was more of a drastic change in my four years than at any other time in history. I wore a suit to freshman homecoming with gloves, heels, and a giant mum, but by the time I was a senior, I wore Jesus sandals and a pant suit.

This is great, AnchorAlum! How could I forget the flopping flips in high school? (Why did we even attempt them in the Houston heat?) I bet you're just a couple of years older than I am...your post is full of memories!

[FSUZeta]

pappagallo shops were the best! one is still in business in mountain brook,al., but i have never been in it. i should, the next time i am in birmingham.

anchoralum-i am about ten years behind you. the dorm rooms were still not air conditioned my freshman year-only the common rooms, but the sorority houses all were-thank goodness!

[Jobellesis]

I have no idea what I wore to rush all those years ago except braces. That I can remember. I think I wore slacks one or two nights and maybe sundresses the other days.

Rush was the beginning of October, and I had already managed to gain 10 pounds on Snickers in the 6 weeks I had been away from home. (I was homesick and Snickers were very comforting.) I didn't have a lot of clothes in the first place and I remember it was tough finding something to wear after gaining those pounds. I had a frugal mother, bless her sweet heart and a big shopping trip was out of the question. Besides, how would I get to town? Only a few people had cars at school. Most of us didn't even have tvs.

So, during MTSU rush in 1975, it must have seemed that a 12 year old boy was trying to join a sorority. That's how I must have looked. I had no fashion sense, very short hair, I was a little plump from the snicker diet, and to top it all off, there were those braces. Thankfully, the sisters saw something in me that wasn't based on appearance. I'm still amazed that those great girls chose me to be their sister.

[AZTheta]

AnchorAlum and carnation, is there room in the car for one more? sounds like I fit somewhere in there, and, going through California rush, saw some incredible wild times and changes.

One thing for sure - we did NOT wear pants to recruitment freshman year, but that certainly changed by senior year. So many changes in the four years I was at University.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

pappagallo shops were the best! one is still in business in mountain brook,al., but i have never been in it. i should, the next time i am in birmingham.

anchoralum-i am about ten years behind you. the dorm rooms were still not air conditioned my freshman year-only the common rooms, but the sorority houses all were-thank goodness!

Ha...in 1993, LSU still had some non-airconditioned dorms. I remember going to Tiger day my senior year and coming home all excited to live in this beautiful dorm with 10 foot tall wooden doors and wooden furniture in huge rooms....but no air conditioning. My mom laughed at me when I insisted that it was not hot. She reminded me that it was just April. August in Baton Rouge would be a completely different story! I didn't end up going to LSU after all, but she broke my heart.

[AUAZD2001]

Reading this thread has got me thinking about what I wore in 2001 at Auburn. I wasn't much in to fasion (still not, really), so I just wore what I already had in my closet.

Round 1, Ice Water Teas. 15 chapters over 2 days.
Day 1 (8 parties)

Lavender and baby blue striped sleeveless sweater and white capris pants.

Day 2 (7 parties)

Hot pink, short sleeved, fitted cotton shirt and black capris pants.

I can't remember what shoes I wore. But I remember they were cute, but uncomfortable, so I wore comfy flip-flops between parties. I don't remember any other PNMs doing this. My roomate didn't either, and she had the NASIEST blisters by skit day!

Round 2, Philanthropy
Day 3 (10? parties)

Panhellenic T-shirt (Navy Blue) and khaki shorts and runing shoes and tube socks.

Round 3, Skit
Day 4 (5 parties)

Pink print chiffon sundress cut on the bias with diagonal hem and spagetti straps. 2 inch, off-white, satin strappy sandals.

Round 5, Pref
Day 5 (3 parties)

This one, looking back, probably wan't a very good choice. I think I may have committed a HUGH fasion faux pas. You know those mix-and-match evening gowns where you buy the top and bottom seperately? I found this black satin top with a 3 inch white satin border at the top and white spagetti straps. The top was ok, and fit really nicely on me. But I wore it with a black cotton-blend stretch pencil skirt. Looking back I probably shouldn't have mixed fabrics like that! The good news is it was pref, so the lights were dimmed. I'm sure my hostess didn't notice.

[myopicsunflower]

Originally Posted by carnation

Did you guys wait eagerly for the August issue of Seventeen, which was double-thick and had the latest styles in it?

YES!!

I loved Sassy too.

I don't remember what I wore each night of rush, but I do remember spending a lot of time on my hair, curling it and arranging my fringe just right. Big hair lasted well into the 90s -- it just wasn't as big as it was in the late 80s.

I still have one babydoll dress leftover from 1991 -- the only article of clothing I kept (besides a couple of lettered sweatshirts) from that time. I actually tried it on for fun earlier this year, and by some act of God, it still fits. Not that I'm going to wear it out of the house or anything!