As a member of a sorority on campus, one of the biggest reasons I hear from freshmen and the people not in Greek life for not going through recruitment is the “dress code.” After finally leaving an environment where fashion creativity was discouraged, why would anyone join something where everyone looks the same all the time?
The problem with this line of thinking is that we don’t actually have a real dress code. At this level of education, when students in Greek life, or any other student organization wear the same shirts, and you see posts of us all looking the same on Instagram, we’re not doing it because we are forced to (although we often plan the day to wear similar things) but because we want show that we’re a connected group that believes in the same cause and shares a love for our organization.
Note: Not a Dress Code
Unlike high school dress codes, any clothing guidelines we may have in our individual organizations actually help us prepare for the future, regardless of job. An example is that my sorority has a sweatpants rule: simply put, no sweat pants before 9pm. We are, however, allowed to wear yoga pants and leggings.
What we don’t care about is if your thigh is showing or whether someone can see your collar bones, because that doesn’t impact you now. But you can’t show up to a job interview in pants twelve sizes too big and a crop top.
Dress codes in earlier years of education do have an impact of stifling fashion creativity, but at this point in our lives, no one really cares what you wear. Any resemblance of a dress code now pales in comparison to the wonderful experiences that you will get from joining these organizations.
Don’t let us all wearing letters all the time scare you off. You may end up wearing your own all the time, too.