dress attire for formal recruitment

[UWO_2007]

OK, so they have posted the dress code for only the first day of formal recruitment... it says casual dress....
call me stupid but casual to me is a pair of nice jeans and a nice shirt.. maybe a pair of casual looking khakis vs. jeans....

I'm scared that all the other girls are going to go in sweats or something and I'm going to look totally over dressed and like I didn't pay attention to the "casual dress" e-mail.

Any good suggestions?

[FSUZeta]

i know nothing about proper recruitment dress in wisconsin, but i hope that pnms are not rushing in sweats!

your best bet will be to check with your greek life office at your campus and see what the normal attire is for recruitment.

have you had an informational meeting about recruitment yet? if not, they may discuss what to wear during that meeting, or there will be a time when pnms can ask questions. also your recruitment counselor(rho gamma, gamma chi, whatever!) should be able to answer you questions.

good luck to you!

[UWO_2007]

Yes we did have informal night, which wasn't terribly informative. I asked about the dress code then and they said business casual... now according to the e-mail it is saying more casual....
I have a job in a business environment so what I see as business casual is dress slacks, nice shirt... khaki pant...
new freshman probably see it as nice jeans, and OK shirt. I did e-mail our greek life advisor earlier in the week to clarify, but I have heard nothing back yet.

[EtaPhiZTA]

I think khakis and a nice shirt or sweater (as the temperatures have dropped this weekend) would be perfect.

[UWO_2007]

I bought a longsleeve pink shirt from the Tommy outlet and a pair of cardory pants that are khaki colored. Not knowing how much walking will be going on, I have a pair of leather timberland-like shoes... does that sound OK??

I think my nerves are getting the best of me today...

I have to run, I'll be back on later!!!

[AlphaFrog]

When you're not sure, it's all about dressing to blend in either direction.

My suggestion would be a jean or khaki skirt with a twinset type top where you can wear just the shell if everyone else is majorly casual or you can wear it as the set if everyone is more formal. If you can bring small tote bags with you (I wouldn't bring a full out weekend bag or anything...) I would suggest also bringing both a fun, casual necklace (maybe something big and chunky) and some pearls or a gold chain, and also a casual pair of shoes (nice leather, NOT PLASTIC flip-flops/sandals [if it's warn enough]) and a pair of ballet flats or something similar.

Either way, if they're casual, you're still in denim/khaki, plain shirt, funkyish necklace and casual shoes...and if they're formal, you're in a skirt, twinset, pearls, and nice shoes. Lots of choices with minimal toting extra stuff around.

ETA: I was still typing when you were posting...what you picked out sounds good, except I think if you've got a good pair of more feminine, ALREADY BROKEN IN shoes, I think that might be better. But, please do not wear new shoes. You'll hate yourself the next day.

Something like this, maybe:


or:

[LPIDelta]

Yes--what AF said. A feminine shoe will help make your outfit go either way. Your outfit sounds fine because its getting cooler, but I almost don't wonder if a skirt would be a better choice (as AF suggested, it was my first thought)? A nice sweater set and skirt is a good balanced outfit.

I am only familiar with recruitment at UWO mid-90's but I would assume its still the same and the dress is more casual than many/most schools--but you still want to make a good impression. Good luck!

[adpiucf]

Even if it is casual, I would suggest you go in dressy casual. Everyone else may be wearing jeans. Why not wear dark jeans or casual black cords. Co-sign on a feminine shoe.

Remember you are dressing for the girls, so your top should be appropriate for meeting with women, not boys. I wouldn't suggest a t-shirt or graphic shirt or hoodie. Maybe a light sweater or twin set.

[LPIDelta]

Originally Posted by adpiucf

I wouldn't suggest a t-shirt or graphic shirt or hoodie.

Ok, I know it's Wisconsin, but we're not that bad!!!

[KSUViolet06]

This of course is just my opinion:

I'd go with a nice sweater, your nicest pair of jeans or khakis, and some sort of heel or really cute flat like others have said. The advice in this thread is pretty good. In general, you want your outfit to say: "I made an effort to look presentable before I came here."

I go to a school in NE Ohio, and alot of times we had recruitment events in cold weather. I can tell you that there are a couple of things that are INAPPROPRIATE if you're trying to make a good impression:

*hoodies
*sweatpants
*sweatshirts

Those things don't say to me "I made an effort to look presentable before I came here."

Hope I helped and good luck!

[UWO_2007]

I have a pair of black suede pumps and a pair of brown ones as well... I had the cutest pair of wedge sandals, but now it's too cold for that. I have a black dress for bid yell night, a creme colored dress for pref night, a pair of black dress slacks and a black and brown dress shirt for round 2, and a khaki colored pencil skirt with a khaki cami (that comes up very high in the chest area) with a purple cardigan sweater that goes over it for round 3. I have my sister's "good luck" pearls from her sorority days, as well as my diamond eternity necklace from my fiance. Do you think wearing the diamond necklace one night is too gaudy?? (it's not big)

Believe it or not, there were girls on information night that wore sweats. When we registered, each girl got a "Go Greek" shirt. I'm worried when they sent the e-mail stating casual that they intended for the girls to wear our shirts... but there was nothing in the e-mail to state that...

[UWO_2007]

melaxid-- so if they give shirts to new members on bid day, maybe I should find an outfit that is pants vs. a dress???
I did contact them earlier this week, but have not heard anything back yet.

[GeekyPenguin]

Recruitment in Wisconsin is laaaaaaid back. Don't wear sweats because that's sloppy, but jeans and a cute top are more than fine. My recollection of Oshkosh is that the houses are fairly close together, but it's been a few years since I was last there. Do you know who your Rho Chi is yet? You could call her if you are worried about clothes. What you have listed sounds fine and maybe even a little extra-dressy, but that's not necessarily bad.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally Posted by LPIDelta

Ok, I know it's Wisconsin, but we're not that bad!!!

People wore that to recruitment all the time at my college.

[LPIDelta]

Originally Posted by GeekyPenguin

People wore that to recruitment all the time at my college.

Ok we are that bad....but we shouldn't be.