Some days, brushing your hair and picking out an outfit can feel like a battle. Especially when you feel like you’re going to be judged the second you walk through the door. This is the familiar feeling many women have when walking into sorority recruitment week and it can be stressful, especially when every sorority recruitment outfit you see on Pinterest involves some kind of Lily Pulitzer or designer sandals.
Here are some tips on how to stay true to your personal style during recruitment week.
Day 1: Sisterhood Round
Here at DePaul, The Panhellenic Council and your Recruitment Counselor will provide you with a t-shirt on your first day of recruitment (yay free stuff!!) This is to relieve a little bit of that first day “what do I wear?” and also to show you how sorority recruitment is not about what you wear or snap judgements based on what designer outfit you’re wearing, but the girl behind the outfit.
Show a little of your personal style with this t-shirt by pairing it with a funky pair of jeans, printed pants, accessories etc. We can’t wait to see how you rock it!
Day 2: Philanthropy Round
With each round, the sorority becomes more personal with you, and introducing their philanthropic affiliations is a perfect example of that. Each sorority has a cause they support; they often hold events on campus to get the community involved and raise money to support their unique causes. This is the day where hopefully you’ll feel some connection to the cause the women around you are supporting. The women around the room will probably dress up a little more on this day, maybe in a way that showcases their Philanthropy (for example: Alpha Phi’s primary philanthropy event is the “Red Dress Gala”, so usually that chapter will wear red dresses on this night)
This day is a little more dressy, but still pretty casual. Think a family BBQ or a trendy brunch. Pair some fun heels with a cool pair of pants and a blouse or a jumpsuit and statement earrings.
Day 3: Chapter Round
As the days progress, hopefully your conversations will be a little longer, a little deeper and you’ll start to form a connection with some of the women in each chapter.
As the conversations get longer, the outfits usually get dressier but you’ll be fine wearing an outfit similar to the one you wore on Day 2. Still think dressy but casual.
Day 4: Preference Tea
During this day, the women at the chapter you are invited back to will share with you a special ceremony related to their chapter and their sisterhood. It’s often a very important ritual (don’t worry no blood sacrifices) and along with that comes a dressier occassion. This is the day that the women you speak to will be wearing their most formal outfits of recrutiment and usually they will all be matching in white or black.
Don’t be intimitdated by the word “formal”, a cocktail dress or dressy jumpsuit or romper. Think, what you would wear to graduation or as a wedding guest. If you’re comfortable, feel free to wear heels on this day.
IN CONCLUSION…
Wear whatever you’re most comfortable in! Don’t pick the dress that you’ll be worrying about your boobs falling out in or a dress that might be see through in a certain kind of light. You want to be present in your conversations and not worrying about if your strap is falling down.
We’re not here to judge you. First impressions are important sure, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to get invited back based on what you’re wearing. Think of the clothes you wear this week to simply be an extension of yourself and your personality, we’re here for the whole package.
- Be Yourself! This is one of the most annoying pieces of advice but is actually very true in this case.