Formal Rush uniforms?

[James]

I keep reading thread after thread about what to wear and how some panhells put out guidelines . . .

Why not end that problem completely by being more specific?

Like Khakis and white blouse for Round X and basic black dress for Pref parties?

No problems or dilemnas that way at all. Makes life easy for everyone.

[trisigmaAtl]

If the pnms all dressed the same, it would be really hard to tell them apart!!!!! it's not a matter of judging them on their clothes, but if you're trying to remember 50 plus girls you spent 40 minutes with and all you're mind sees is an ocean of white and khaki......

I think one of the main reasons such detailed guides are given is because the pnms want them. They're told to wear "dressy casual" to a round and then ask "But what about this, or this", so we try to clarify. Rush is a pressureful time and a guide cuts a closet of 10 outfits down to five (and that's a load off for a stressed out girl, there's nothing worse than that nothing to wear feeling). Also, nobody wants the pnms to be uniform, and the girls don't have to follow the guide if they don't want to. Soroities are trying to present our collected individualism, clothes are one way to express that. Having uniforms pulls in that cookie-cutter image nobody wants to be associated with. It's like getting an invitation to a party in the mail that says "black-tie", that doesn't mean that every girl their will wear the same formal dress; it's a catagory for appropriatness. We want the girls to feel comfortable and special, dressing nicely and individualy perpetuates that. I would feel weird and uncomforatable if I had to wear the same thing as everyone around. There are also a whole lot of other social traditions that exist within dressing for any occasion, including rush. It would be kind of like saying: "the dress for any first date must be a blue dress", what if I don't like blue?, what if I don't look good in it? I won't feel comfortable or confident. It gets complicated far beyond the realm of rush. Maybe it's silly or weird, but alot of societal norms are when you analyze them this way. I understand the question, but I think it would be more complicating than simplifying.

[GeekyPenguin]

I think this would just make PNMs compete even more to see who has the nicest clothes. When a general sense of outfit is given, it won't be as easy to tell that her black pants are from Target and hers are Earl, but when everybody has to wear black pants and a white blouse, girls will be trying to stand out by having the most expensive one.

I've never gone through formal, but that's my guess - it's what I would do if there was a uniform, and I don't think I'm the only one.

[33girl]

James,
I think we should just go the John & Yoko route and have everyone in a bag.

[James]

Now there's an idea! lol

It must be a guy thing but you but you won't see a guy running out of a party going "oh My god, there is someone in the same tuxedo!"

Originally posted by 33girl
James,
I think we should just go the John & Yoko route and have everyone in a bag.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

When I rushed, one sorority wrote down my name and my outfit. They were really obvious about it. Cream wearing a blue brand name shirt and navy pants. I didn't like it. I felt like they were judging me based on my clothes. I went to rush not a fashion show. I didn't return to their next party.

[AZpinkkittie]

I would like to think that part of the rush experience is for the sisters to get to know your personality. If all the pnm's were wearing the same outfit, wouldn't that detract from finding out who they are?? If someone who is generally fun and outgoing and likes to express that by wearing bright prints or colors, is told to wear the exact same thing as her serious reserved fellow rushee, I would think she would either be a little more outlandish with her personality, and possibly ruin her chances, or would feel that the system obviously didn't care about individuality and would quit rush before it even started.

[aephi alum]

Having PNMs all wear the same thing would make it tough for sisters to remember who was who, especially if you happen to meet several PNMs with the same first name. Being made to conform would also turn a lot of PNMs off, and would make it difficult for them to express their personalities through their outfits.

Of course, you notice how this doesn't apply to sisters. I remember going shopping with a bunch of my sisters for identical khakis and Keds (because heaven forbid we should have different shoes on!). One of the little things I enjoyed about being a rho chi was being able to wear whatever I wanted during rush

[kateshort]

Originally posted by Cream
When I rushed, one sorority wrote down my name and my outfit. They were really obvious about it. Cream wearing a blue brand name shirt and navy pants. I didn't like it. I felt like they were judging me based on my clothes. I went to rush not a fashion show. I didn't return to their next party.

Are you sure it wasn't just to help them remember who you were? When I was in grad school, I'd often write down classmate's names and what they looked like / were wearing to make sure I remembered who was who. "Was she the Jenny with glasses with the blue shirt and khakis, or the Jen with glasses with the white shirt and tan jeans?" That kind of thing.

Not that I wouldn't put it past some chapters to judge what you were wearing, either!

Of course, when I read the first post of this thread, I thought they meant that all of the sorority members doing the recruitment would all have to wear X and jeans for first round, Y and khakis for second round, black dresses for final party, etc.

[Betarulz!]

Originally posted by James

It must be a guy thing but you but you won't see a guy running out of a party going "oh My god, there is someone in the same tuxedo!"

Yeah, you go to a party and see someone wearing the same shirt as you and you might just have found a new best friend...

[LeslieAGD]

Originally posted by Betarulz!
Yeah, you go to a party and see someone wearing the same shirt as you and you might just have found a new best friend...

I don't think this would ever happen with women.