Separates for Rush

[carnation]

Fashion advice needed!

BlazerCheer rushes in the first part of August and has her 2 dresses for the last 2 days of rush. However, she's looking for bright-colored tops to go with black capris the first day and with black pants the second day. (Her hair is jet black and we think the brights would look best.)

Any suggestions? None of the stores in Atlanta have any bright tops yet--they're all neutral--but she's waiting for the fall stuff to come in. T-shirts would be a little too casual.

[AZpinkkittie]

I always go to Express when I'm looking for something like that. They usually have several different styles of tops and those always come in a bunch of color choices, a couple shades of blue, red, purple, green, you name it.

[33girl]

Do you mean what colors? If it works with her coloring, chartreuse is awesome (and it isn't a sorority color, LOL). However if it doesn't work w/ her coloring, run fast run far! French blue (a clear bright blue) and a rosy red are good too, if they aren't assoicated with the sororities too much.

[MTSUGURL]

carnation - do you have a Casual Corner close by? They tend to have a lot of separates in different styles that go well together. It can get pricey, but you can also find some pretty good sales. Most of their stuff is really versatile too so you can wear it nearly anywhere. It's a really good place to go to find simple, elegant styles that aren't mega-trendy like a lot of mall stores. I stay on the conservative side, so I love their clothes, whenever Mom is willing to pick up the tab! If I'm paying, I stick to Old Navy and Cato.

Edited to add: I picked an outfit to wear that I bought for my brother's wedding without thinking too much about the colors. it's the outfit I will be wearing for Pref (if I get that far) is light blue and sleevelss, with a cute white cardigan. The outfit is in one of the sororities' colors, but it's not overkill. I hope it doesn't scream "ABC PICK ME because I'm wearing your colors!!!" I don't think it will, but any thoughts on this?

[trisigmaAtl]

Have you tried Anthropologie at Lenox? I was there yesterday and they got a ton of new stuff in. All of their stuff is always pretty colorful and unique. My sister got a beautiful turquoise lace shell top at Cache that she wore to a pagent she was in and looked beautiful. July's Lucky magazine has a bunch of bright summery stuff with contact numbers and store locations as well as a style section on Atl, maybe that would help. Wow...I sound like an ad. Anyway, good luck on finding the right top!!!

[carnation]

We've been to Express a bunch but I suppose the tops with more to them will come into the stores after the Fourth. It seems like right now, all they're carrying are spaghetti-strap T's! Then there were some sleeveless tops in the front but they were all black, white, beige, or this dull lilac.

As for colors, just about any bright would work--French blue, rose red would be great *if* we could get them! She's a winter if you know what "color seasons" are. The problem is that this must be The Year of the Neutrals.

[RedFox]

If she is looking for some cute, durable and inexpensive tops to wear, try Delias.com or a Delia's store (if she has one in her area) They have some adorable tank tops, tees and long sleeve shirts in just about every color you can imagine. Tell her that I wish her the best of luck!!

[FuzzieAlum]

I would advise against Anthropologie. Their clothes are very poor quality for their price - they're about as well-made as the stuff at Rave, except not so much in polyester. Much of their cotton is very thin and will not hold up well during a hot summer day of rushing.

Cache or Casual Corner are great choices. I would usually recommed Express, but Carnation is right, their palette is dull now.

[texas*princess]

Originally posted by MTSUGURL
I hope it doesn't scream "ABC PICK ME because I'm wearing your colors!!!" I don't think it will, but any thoughts on this?

In my opinion, I don't think it would However, I haven't been through formal recruitment on either side yet, but I can't imagine a sorority analyzing every single thing down to the color a pnm is wearing?

best of luck finding BlazerCheer some cute colorful tops!

[FAB*SpiceySpice]

Originally posted by MTSUGURL

I hope it doesn't scream "ABC PICK ME because I'm wearing your colors!!!" I don't think it will, but any thoughts on this?

I've been through recruitment on both sides. As a PNM I didn't really pay attention to the colors I was wearing being a certain sorority's colors. But I noticed when girls went through if they were wearing pink, but that's only b/c it's my favorite color not because I thought they were trying to subliminally tell me that they wanted to be a DG or Phi Mu since they were sporting the pink! So yea I wouldn't worry about all that too much, my school has a huge competitive rush too, so I'm pretty sure it's safe to say most school's rushes won't really take that kind of thing into consideration. No worries.

[kddani]

As much as I love Express, I'd try to find something UNIQUE that will make her stand out. Any piece at Express you can almost guarantee someone else will be wearing or has, etc.
Rush is about standing out..... Have you checked out any vintage stores or smaller boutiques? Not places that I usually go to to find things, but for a competitive rush, she wants to stand out. Finding some funky vintage piece that's something no one else would have would make her more memorable.
Just an idea!

[momoftwo]

My daughter has this plain coral top that looks striking with her black capris. I think she got it at J. Crew, but I could be wrong. Anyway, the coral looked great with black. She usually puts some thought into what she wears, so she always looks nice, but when she put that outfit together I really noticed it. If she decides to go through recruitment, I think I'll suggest she wear that outfit for one of the first two days. (As I was writing this I wondered if it was too Halloween-like, but I didn't think that when I saw her wear it.)

[shadokat]

Do you have H&M down there carnation? I LOVE that store, and you can always get colors there. If not, try the Gap. I just bought three VERY cute half sleeve button-downs there. Or was that the Gap Outlet? In any case, it was one of those. Or J Crew always has cute things like that. I'm a hair on the conservative side though...

[trisigmaAtl]

In defense of Anthropologie, not ALL of their stuff is poorly made.
they buy from alot of different brands, so you have to pick and choose. I do agree that most of their cotton options are very thin and flimsy and too much so for rush, but they have knits and other thicker materials that I think hold up really well. I am not a fan of (and do not buy) tanks and tees and funky shirts that cost 68$ and are about as quality as a ten dollar Target shirt, but if you look you can find some good stuff there. (I say this partly because a few of my favorite things come from anthro, but I do agree you have to be selective)

[pinkyphimu]

ooh ohh, i am a winter too! i haven't purchased one single thing from the mall this season! i found a bunch of great things at some outlets nearby. i don't know if this would be taboo in the south, but you can give it a try. in the outlets near me, we have a banana republic, anne klein, casual corner, gap, eddie bauer, etc. not all of the stores are at outlet prices, but they do have clothes that don't make us "winters" look like we died last week!