You might be thinking, Carolina Cup? That’s ages away! But if you say you haven’t already started planning your outfit, you’re behind or lying. I mean, most of us had our rush outfits planned and laid out weeks in advance, and Carolina Cup is the crème de la crème of Southern sorority fashion. But if it’s true and you don’t have it pressed and ready, you have Spring Break to catch up and go shopping. For those of you non-Greeks out there, Carolina Cup is the derby in Camden, South Carolina and essentially the Greek Mecca of the spring. There will be Lilly Pulitzer and sun hats as far as the eye can see. But if you aren’t used to monogramming everything in sight and need a little help dressing for the Southern sorority event of the year, no worries, I’ll be your guide through the must-haves.
1. Lilly Pulitzer: I don’t care how you feel about girly prints, Lilly and sorority go together like fine wine and cheese. In fact, Lilly has a whole line of sorority prints that if you haven’t already perused, you should immediately. Now, what is Lilly Pulitzer you might ask? Well lovelies I will educate you. Lilly is the epitome of Southern, girly, preppy style. Flashy prints and modest hemlines make this brand a must-have, and if you’re going to Carolina Cup, it’s basically the uniform. Now, if you need a new Lilly, be it your first or one-millionth, you have a couple of options. First, you have their website where their new arrivals are ready for spring. Here dresses can range anywhere from $150-$500. But if you’re looking for a bargain, don’t worry, you have a multitude of options. Sale is your friend and while the online store doesn’t have a sale section, any physical store will. The closest one to campus is at The Streets at Southpoint. Your other option is to shop secondhand. Most consignment shops will have some Lilly but a limited supply. You’re probably better off hitting up ebay and searching for “lilly pulitzer dress size –“. My ebay app sends me notifications when there are new listings in my size… Just saying…
2. A Sun Hat: The bigger the better. Probably with a ribbon. And monogrammed to match. Here it doesn’t really matter brand, cost, blah blah blah. You just have to have one and it has to match. Look for ribbons or liners that are the same color as one of the colors in your Lilly dress. If you go monogrammed (who are we kidding, you will) get a thread closest to the first color you picked or as accent color in the dress. There are loads of places online to get anything monogrammed but plan ahead so you don’t ship off to SC with your hat still in the mail. If you’re looking for the hat, check Belk’s – the Southern style department store. Rock your Gone With the Wind/Steel Magnolias self.
3. Pearls: Fake or real, again, doesn’t really matter. But if there were ever a time to trot out your grandmama’s string of pearls, it’s now. Don’t forget the studs as well! But, important, make sure that if you do go fake, you can’t tell. Ninety percent of my pearls are fake but if you can’t tell, frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.
Now if you’re sitting the derby out this year (like moi) there’s no shame in rockin the southern style here in the Gothic wonderland. But if you’re headed to Camden, pull on your Lilly, curl your hair, snap on those pearls and get ready for some good old southern fun. I can’t wait to see some of y’all New Jersey girls embracing some seersucker and lace. Keep it classy ladies, only every Greek in the south will be there, no pressure.