From Style Editor Bobbie Thomas
Cornell sorority members have been playing a cruel game of fashion police. A set of "style guidelines," roughly 6 pages long, was recently leaked onto the web. It insisted members consistently get manicured, pedicured, cut, colored and waxed and boasted austere fashion and beauty rules, including:
- Do not wear satin unless you weigh under 130 pounds
- Leggings must be above a certain price point
- Watches with timers or indiglo are prohibited ("I will have the time to keep you informed," claims the manual's author)
- No chapped lips, dark hue eye makeup or dark lipstick
"I expect everyone to be wearing accessories. This is an important part of every outfit and can make or break any ensemble," quotes one rule on jewelry. "Bangles need to coordinate. I’m not saying you have to wear a Harry Winston wreath, but I am saying I won’t tolerate any gross plastic shizzzz. I love things on wrists and I demand earrings if your ears are pierced."
Many of us probably remember the scene in "Mean Girls" in which Rachel McAdams was kicked out of her clique for wearing slouchy sweat pants on a Monday. The scene may have been intended to garner laughs, but this is real life — not Tina Fey fiction.
And while this may be true, as a woman, I'm disappointed to think such style guidelines could become the norm in the next phase of their lives.
If sorority life is something many young girls strive to be a part of when moving away to school, what sort of messages do "rules" like these send?
Related:Girls severely affected by thin culture
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