Outfit Guide: Sorority Recruitment Edition
Sorority recruitment comes with an entirely new dress code that might confuse someone who has not been exposed to this process before. Do not be worried! I have tons of tips for fun, memorable outfits without totally splurging on a new wardrobe!
Just to offer a slight disclaimer, I am a person who enjoys leaning toward over-dressed instead of under. It is by no means mandatory to do that for Formal Recruitment; I simply feel more comfortable when I am confident!
DAY 1 & 2: OPEN HOUSE As sorority recruitment begins, it kickstarts with the most casual days. For the open house, all PNM’s are given a shirt by Panhellenic, an organization that conducts recruitment at every college with Greek Life.
You can style your T-shirt. However, you feel most comfortable!
- Going through recruitment last year, I tied my Open House T-shirt into a knot at the bottom to give it a tighter fit, and I cuffed the sleeves to make it more feminine.
- On Day 1, I paired the shirt with tight-fitting light-wash distressed jeans, white platform Supergas, and big, loose curls in my hair.
- On Day 2, I paired the t-shirt with a light-wash overall dress (Forever 21), keeping the Supergas & loose curls to maintain the casual vibe.
DAY 3 & 4: PHILANTHROPY As the week continues, the dress “code” for each day progressively gets nicer. I say code in quotes because the most important part of recruitment is being authentic to yourself, so you must dress the way that makes you feel most confident. Don’t wear things just to impress other people!
- On Day 3, I wore a white minidress with navy blue flowers (Princess Polly), with a pair of platform white sandals (Lulus).
- On Day 4, I wore a navy blue 2-piece set (Princess Polly) with a couple of platform brown sandals (Steve Madden).
- All week, I kept my hair in big, loose curls because it makes me feel most confident!
DAY 5: HOUSE TOURS House tours are a day of recruitment to dress up! While it is not as fancy as preference round, the recruiters will likely be wearing dresses or jumpsuits, so it can be fun to match their energy. I recommend wearing comfy shoes for House Tours because we are walking from house to house bright and early from 8am until 10pm. I made the mistake of wearing brand new heels, and I was met with tons of blisters the next day. Ouch!
- On Day 5, I wore a beige minidress decorated with white flowers (Princess Polly), with white stiletto heels (Lulus).
DAY 6: PREFERENCE Preference is the most formal round of recruitment. The PNM only visits two houses on this day, so comfort is not the main priority! I wanted to wear something fun for preference, so I went with a jumpsuit. Girls wear short dresses, long dresses, or jumpsuits most commonly!
- On Day 6, I wore a light blue, strapless jumpsuit with a tie in the middle of my waist (Princess Polly). I paired it with suede nude heels on my feet (Lulus)!
I want you to take away from this blog post the importance of dressing authentically to YOU! Recruitment is all about meeting women and exploring different sororities to find a house where you can appreciate who you are. By dressing for only yourself, you will embody confidence, and it will set you up to join a perfect house for you.
Princess Polly is a great place to look for comfortable, one-item outfits that work during recruitment. I love their clothes because they are easy to wear multiple times, so I don’t feel like I’m wasting money. Lulus is one of my favorite sites for cheap shoes. Each pair of heels I bought were under $20, and I will wear them over and over!