<p>busymom3 is correct but I remind her that she REALLY had the Lilly fever last year…right good friend?? Almost had to do an intervention…LOL!!! You will see losts of dresses at Preview and recruitment. My biggest suggestion is that your daughter be comfortable and confident in what she wears. If she’s worried that it’s too short or shows too much skin or the big one…is strapless and she’s worried about it staying up it’s going to make it hard for her to relax and have great conversations.<br>
I helped the cutest little girl last year that had a VERY limited income. No Lilyy or anything litke that for her. She found some really cute dresses that were Lilly look a likes at TJ Maxx and Marshalls…she accessorized them with cute jewelry. She had a great recruitment and got her firs choice.<br>
Yes…you will see girls in name brands but you will also see girls in just regular dresses as well. If you want to pick up a Lilly or some Kate Spade or Tory Burch great but labels will be a deal breaker nor will they seal the bid deal.</p>
<p>^^^LOL Aphimommy! HAD Lilly Fever??? D just ordered 2 dresses and a top from Pink Door. We Northerner’s have a lot of Lilly to catch up on!</p>
<p>Oh and don’t forget Belk’s in T-town! They have a really nice selection of Lilly if you are there during Preview Weekend.</p>
<p>I am confused!! I may be reading too much sorority information and everything is blending together. I was told that this years Pan Preview was going to be very casual (no Lilly dress) and rec’s were not necessary at this point because there are no parties to attend. The parties will be held in March and will be invite only. Should my D being sending rec letters??? I was told NO but after reading these posts I feel I should. Please help!</p>
<p>No recs now you are ok. Panhellenic Preview was changed recently (in the last month) to be “no contact” except for house tours. Recs are never sent for Preview but personal emails and contact with sororities are usually sent/made by alums who are writing your daughter’s recs, to get her added to the mailings sent out and invite lists. Quite frankly these lists are made much earlier but sometimes if an alum makes contact with the chapter the potential PNM will get added. Recs should be sent mid to late April or beginning of May but no later than July.
As far as dress you will see a variety of clothing choices. The weather could be cool (50’s) or it could be in the 60’s…just depends on Mother Nature. A Lilly is not a choice since it will be too cool (unless you choose a long sleeved one!). I know the the Panhellenic Preview Pamphlet said jeans but I would be surprised if you see girls in them (I would not expect jean casual attire at all but hey I have been wrong before).) I would expect to see girls in nice casual cool weather dresses, skirts and tops or pants like J Crew Minis , riding boots, blazers and scarfs or cute jewelry. Comfortable shoes are a must as you’ll be walking from house to house.
Remember your D doesn’t sent the rec forms…no should she ever send anything to the particular sororities, correspondence of recs, resumes, pics ect is all done through the alum who is writing them for you!</p>
<p>Ahpimommy, my D shared with me, yesterday, that the Spring Preview is going to be run more like Ice Water Tea days, this year. That would mean that the girls get a longer time at each house and get to chat and have recruitment-type conversations (her house is planning on actually pairing up PNMs with actives, just like recruitment).</p>
<p>Any word on this change? If it’s true, then I think that this would be a VERY valuable thing to attend (especially OOS).</p>
<p>Wow! That would be exciting!!! Sure would make for fun debrief and conversation on the long drive home, lol !!!</p>
<p>And, btw, what is the dress code for the Moms at the parents’ function? St. John’s suit? Nice dress? Panted suit??? Will we walk a lot???</p>
<p>And…suits for Dad? Sports coat and slacks???</p>
<p>Yep…I have suspected this since the change of no invite parties…actually told this to a mom this morning. Makes sense since the time frame for house visits are longer. I know that as of last week the number of members you could have in the house during Preview had changed. In the past it had been a set number. This year there is not…houses can have as many as they want. So yes it makes sense that Preview will be run a la Ice Water Tea. Makes it easier to then have just invites come back in March. I have told all the girls who have contacted me…GO TO PREVIEW!!! If they have to pick one pick Preview…thanks so much for sharing!!!</p>
<p>Clothes for parents…I would say a nice pants suit or dress…even a skirt and top for mom. Dad’s will be in slacks or khakis with a button down shirt. The dads all like to wear Alabama stuff :). You may see some sport coats but a long sleeved shirt is ok. Remember the same goes for parents as girls…comfortable shoes and dress so that you are comfortable. It will be a LONGGGGG day!!</p>
<p>Ours was in March, so I think I wore nice crop pants and a dressy-ish top with wedges. I would say the dress was “resort casual” haha! Moms were in anything from cute sundresses to cute jeans and heels. The important thing is for your D to be prepared for large crowds and a long day. Another mom and I witnessed a girl, during sign in, talking to her mom on the phone and literally having a meltdown about how overwhelming the process was (before it even started). Don’t let your D get stressed, it should be a fun event, not a stressful one. Have her take a couple of outfit options just in case there is last minute rain or a cold snap. Nothing more miserable than being cold all day or wearing the wrong shoes.</p>
<p>Also, the parent meeting was pretty short and covered just the basics. Make sure you have something fun planned for yourself to fill those hours that your D is touring!</p>
<p>^^^^ Oooooh! ^^^^</p>
<p>Shall we plan a CC parents’ meeting somewhere with big tables and adult beverages? That sounds like fun!!!</p>
<p>So being the organized person I am I spent over an hour on the phone with my sorority’s regional adviser who is also the Alabama adviser. I really need clarification on a few things and so I thought I would pass onto you what I learned about Preview ect. First of all it was confirmed that I am not insane but that changes were made from original plans and in a short period of time. So…yep Preview was supposed to have 1 invite event per sorority in addition to Panhellenics Saturday event. That change came just a little less than 2 weeks ago. Yes…house visits will be longer and will be run like Ice Water Teas. Sororities are now allowed to have as many members in the house as they want (as I said in the past they were only allotted a minimal number 20 to 25). Yes…some sororities will “bump” while others will pair several members with a PNM. So far appx a little less than 600 girls have signed up for Preview. Last year we had well over 1000! It’s felt that the smaller number is due to the fact it’s been moved up a month. We talked about how some schools have yet to send out acceptances and this many be a factor as well.<br>
Moms…what I call the “show and tell” tables will be part of the parent program. There will be 2-3 members at each table along with pictures, t-shirts, philanthropy information about their sorority. There will not be pamphlets! I really hate this!!! The pamphlets were a wealth of information as well as they gave a financial breakdown of expenses. I am going to blog post in the next day or so about sorority costs…we had a long conversation about it and I am not sure this is the place to take the subject up but the blog probably is. I have a crazy weekend but look for it by Monday.
As far as dress goes the members will be in pin attire, which means dresses, skirts, Sunday best. I do know that a sorority has the ability to “theme” but the chapters I have been in contact with are not.
Does this help?? The bottom line is don’t wait for invite weekend to go. Those invites are not guaranteed! Since the house tours are now “ice water tea” patterned my opinion is that if you are able you should attend.</p>
<p>D2 received the mailing yesterday for Panhellenic Preview. Since I remembered attending with D1, I thought the time frame given for visiting the houses seemed awfully long this year. That’s going to be a LONG day for all those girls.</p>
<p>RobD, was this “mailing” in the regular mail or email? I did not see anything in yesterdays mail but will look today when I get home. Will be running home pronto anyway as our BCS Champ spiritwear is to be deliverd today as well :)</p>
<p>TXArchitect, I shall say that is a YES! That would be awesome. I’ll be there by myself, which I don’t mind as I’d probably walk and drive around to get a feel for things. However, it would be nice to meet some other parents and enjoy some down time with other adults.</p>
<p>TXNewCollegeMom: it was a glossy brochure that came in the mail yesterday; we’re in TN and a USPS package gets to the UA campus in 1 day from here, so it probably got here quickly.</p>
<p>I’ll check todays mail soon. Thanks!</p>
<p>One more piece of advice for those of you going to Preview this year. D had preview last year and when I attended the ‘Show & Tell’ for parents, I made it a point to stay until the crowd thinned out. I was able to have really great conversations with current members about some of my concerns (Northerner rushing, time committment, etc) without there being a long line of parents competing for their attention.</p>
<p>It was the highlight of my time that weekend meeting such amazing girls who had accommplished so much and were very articulate. D was on the fence about recruitment and attending this weekend really impressed her.</p>
<p>Also I reached out to a couple of moms that I met here on CC and we went to dinner together w/ our girls on Friday night and hung together on Saturday. We also walked around campus and went and visited the display dorm in RCS. We measured windows, closets, etc and took pics of the dorms so that we would remember room set ups when it came time for Room Selection. Also dropped some $ in the SupeStore. lol</p>
<p>Ooops one more thing…I know this sounds crazy. But I took pictures of the displays at the ‘Show and Tell’. That way we could remember the costs, the Philanthropy and other important facts about each house. Trust me by the end of the day every name sounded the same and they all blended together…</p>
<p>It will be a long day so be sure that they wear really comfy shoes. D said that some girls had crazy high heels on and ended taking them off and walking around.</p>
<p>This is what the Panhellenic info sheet says concenring attire:</p>
<p>What Should I Wear?
The attire for Panhellenic Preview Day is casual. Jeans or a skirt, a nice top,
and closed toed shoes or boots are appropriated. It will be cold, so
participants may want to consider bringing a coat or jacket. Please keep in
mind that during the house tour portion of the program, participants will be
walking outside and will be responsible for carrying all personal items. An
umbrella is also suggested in case of inclement weather.</p>
<p>So, D seems to think nice jeans are perfectly fine even though I’ve read her every other post about nice dress and such. She did read the “DO NOT” list did say no cowboy boots.</p>
<p>Y’all listen to busymom3…she is great at “doing her homework :)”!!! It’s just an opinion but if any DD’s want to wear nice jeans then I would let them wear what they want. I am sure you will see girls in that attire as well as a variety of other clothing options. I think the word “casual” is the key. I went back and looked at the pamphlet from our year and it said “dressy-casual”…DD wore sundresses all weekend but remember it was in late March and so much warmer. If your D wants to wear jeans then have her wear a cute blazer, a great shirt (wouldn’t wear a t-shirt…maybe something tailored), a statement piece of jewelry and riding boots or cute booties. I am surprised of “no cowboy boots” but then that speaks to how “causal” is being perceived…cowboy boots equals too casual. I have been getting pics of several girls outfits and all have chose cute dresses with a sweater or blazer…I made a few suggestions for shoes ect.
One thing about financials…not all houses cost the same. Several sororities have/are building new houses…many of which cost over 10 million dollars. As a new member you can bet that house bills will go up due to this. I know in several cases houses have made a commitment to only increase “in house” bills but that is not true for all. Taking pics is a great idea!!! As I mentioned previously we were lucky enough to have brochures and pamphlets to bring home. I agree it can be over whelming and so the pic idea is a good one. I also agree…hang around and ask questions.</p>