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Lauren McLaughlin is a self-proclaimed sorority fashion expert.
In her years as a member of the Alpha Phi sorority, she has created a mental checklist of pieces of clothing and accessories that are telltale signs that someone is a sister. While it may not be hard to pick out a girl with a Zeta T-shirt and a pair of gym shorts from a crowd, there are a number of subtle clues that mark members of the Panhellenic sisterhood. Some markers include: Seven jeans, New Balance tennis shoes, a T-shirt displaying Greek letters and anything from Tiffany jewelry to the classic Louis Vuitton logo bag.
"I'll go to a bar like Cain and Abel's, which is a big Greek bar, and I'll look at what people are wearing," said McLaughlin, a social work senior. "Ninety percent of the girls will be wearing Seven Jeans. I notice these things because I love fashion. I'll stare at all the girls, and they all look the same. When I'm on campus, I can spot a sorority girl from 50 miles away because I know what to look for. There are really specific things that are common to most sorority girls."
McLaughlin's ability to pick out a sorority girl comes from years of experience. However, it doesn't take an expert to spot a sister during Rush Week.
During the decision-making week, the girls are expected to wear a kind of uniform as dictated by the Panhellenic Council. Months before Rush begins, the Panhellenic council posts a calendar of the week's events and suggested attire for each period on its Web site for potential members.
"Shopping for clothes for Rush is a big deal, but some girls are more scared than they should be. They really freak out, " McLaughlin said. "When I was going through it, girls told me that a lot of people start shopping for it at the beginning of the summer."
According to the most recent Rush schedule posted on the Greek Life Web site, there are a number of different events for the girls to dress for. On the first day, potential members attend an open house, where they are given a white recruitment T-shirt and are expected to wear either khaki or navy shorts and tennis shoes. During the first period, which lasts two days, wardrobe suggestions are "comfortable shorts, skirts or pants; simple knit or camp shirts; and sandals or flats." During the second period, the schedule stipulates that rushees are to "dress appropriately for a luncheon, tea or ceremony." This suggestion is repeated for the final period, known as Bid Day, where the girls find out which sorority they will be joining.
While there is no one there to monitor the girl's adherence to the rules, McLaughlin said it's very uncommon to see a girl who doesn't follow the written and spoken rules of dressing for Rush events.
"One of the nights, you're supposed to wear formal attire, and everyone always wears black," McLaughlin said. "I remember being horrified. When I walked in, every single girl was wearing black, and I was the only one wearing pink, and it wasn't just pink, it was pink and a checkered print - I stuck out like a sore thumb."
After Rush, the girls have a number of other engagements that require them to look their best. Mixers, community service, formals and other events make shopping a routine affair for sorority sisters. McLaughlin said shopping for all of these events can be expensive and time-consuming.
"They do a lot," said Sarah Garet, a public relations coordinator for Ruby Pearl, a local boutique. "They are some of the most socially active groups on campus. To be that socially active, you have to have a lot of different outfits. This is true of anyone who is going out; they just happen to go out a lot."
Because of their rigorous social schedule, sorority girls make up a faithful customer base for some area boutiques. In order to keep them coming back, stores like Ruby Pearl and By George coordinate events for and with the sororities.
Sunny Haralson, owner of Ruby Pearl, has been working with sororities on campus since the store's opening earlier this year. Along with open houses during which the store stays open late and provides entertainment and refreshments for sisters, Haralson and Garet have coordinated trunk shows with a few campus sororities.
"We have a lot of customers who are in sororities, and they seemed really excited about the clothes, so we brought the clothes to them," Haralson said. "We go in during their meetings with some of our favorite pieces from the store and set up their living room like our store so that when they get out of the meeting, they can come in and shop around. This way they can go shopping without ever leaving their house."
Haralson said these events have brought quite a few sorority girls to her store, and she is taking steps to keep them around. In the months to come, Ruby Pearl's merchandise will expand from vintage slip dresses and skirts, made by Haralson, to include Big Star Jeans, winter wear, personalized leather hand bags and items from Ella Moss. She said the clothes she carries appeal to the sorority crowd because they allow the girls a sort of personal expression.
"Everything I have is one-of-a-kind, so it's great for them," Haralson said. "They can go out and know that no one will be wearing the same dress as them. Our clothes are more of a way to express their individuality without going too far outside the limits. They get excited about it because it's different."
While shopping and fashion may be an important part of being a member of some sororities, Shamaya Teate, a member of Delta Sigma Tau, said aside from wearing their letters, there is little emphasis on attire in her sorority. However, she said some girls definitely go out of their way to display their membership.
"When you've been accepted, and you're all excited about wearing your colors and letters, you're happy to be able to support the organization and show your pride," said Teate, a kinesiology senior. "But from personal experience, I don't get up in the morning thinking about wearing crimson and cream. After you've been in for a while you usually only wear them when we're doing things on campus for the organization."
Delta Sigma Tau is part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, a historically African-American sorority system. Unlike the Panhellenic Council, the National Pan-Hellenic Council does not have attire requirements for their Rush Week. However, Teate does not deny that appearance plays a role in first impressions for potential members.
"The way that they appear is a factor in our decision, but we're not going to turn someone down because they don't dress a certain way," she said. "It's more about their community service hours, their GPA and classification."
Teate said her sorority doesn't have a certain brand or style that makes them distinguishable from anyone else. She said the only way to know someone is a sister is to look for their letters, which can be displayed on a necklace called a drop, a shirt, sweater or even tennis shoes.
Whether it's a certain brand of jeans or a small silver necklace with Greek letters on it, there are certain signs that are typical in sorority fashion. While McLaughlin admits that sorority girls tend to dress with the pack, she is quick to point out that they are not the only group that identifies through clothing.
"A lot of people aren't willing to pay $100 for a pair of jeans," she said. "But, one thing you'll find in the Greek community is people are willing to pay a lot of money for clothes. It's a way of associating yourself with the group. With every group, there's a fashion that goes along with being a part of it. You're associated with a group based on what you're wearing. Every group is specific; that's why you can make caricatures of people."
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