My Alpha Chi Omega National Convention: What I Wore

From July 13th to July 16th, 2012 I attended the Alpha Chi Omega National Convention in St. Louis, MO

This is My Convention.

What I Wore.

One of the biggest logistical worries I had was packing! We're sorority girls, wardrobe is important! (I know, I know... stereotype, but being appropriately dressed can make your day so much easier!) There was a breakdown on the national website about what to wear, but it wasn't very detailed. I asked around to my fellow advisors who have been in the past and they helped with suggestions so I didn't feel so unprepared.

Here's what HQ had on their website (my notes in green):

What should I wear? (The most popular question!) For all meals and activities, with the exception of the Domestic Violence Awareness Walk, jeans or shorts are not permitted. (Realistically, NICE jeans were ok, but I wore them at the first night dinner since it was the most casual.)

• Welcome Dinner: "Dressy casual" or "snappy casual” clothing for our first dinner together. (Some sisters were in casual wardrobe, but everything was put together, nothing was sloppy.)
• National Chapter Meeting, Session 1: All attendees are required to wear all white for our formal opening. This can be a simple white blouse and a skirt or slacks. After the meeting is over, you can change into business attire (dress, suit, skirt and blouse, pantsuit and/or cardigan). (Wear white! But, some ladies had accent colors in their clothing or colored accessories especially if they wore the outfit for the remainder of the day)
• Foundation Luncheon: Your white outfit from the morning session or business attire (dress, suit, skirt and blouse, pantsuit and/or cardigan).
• Educational Sessions: Business attire (dress, suit, skirt and blouse, pantsuit and/or cardigan).
• Reunion Night: "Dressy casual" or "snappy casual” clothing. This is a chance to dress fun to have dinner with sisters from your own chapter. If you prefer to stay in your white outfit from our first chapter meeting, that is acceptable as well.
• Housing Luncheon: Business attire (dress, suit, skirt and blouse, pantsuit and/or cardigan).
• Domestic Violence Awareness Walk: This event is casual. Shorts or exercise attire are acceptable. (The shirt was provided.)
• Final Night Banquet: Semi-formal or formal dress for our final celebration of Convention! (Younger ladies were in shorter dresses and most 30+ ladies were in longer dresses. Some people wore more business type dresses and some had very formal gowns (but nothing huge/Miss America-ish!)
• Despite the heat of July, hotel temperatures vary greatly. You will be happiest if you have a layer or two with you. (THE MOST VALUABLE ITEM I BROUGHT WITH ME WAS MY WHITE PASHMINA WRAP. LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN...THE MOST VALUABLE ITEM I BROUGHT WITH ME WAS MY WHITE PASHMINA WRAP. You will get cold! You will want to cover up!!! Bring layers for every outfit that is not long sleeves and pants!)

I may not always be the snappiest dresser AND I'm in flux (having recently lost just about 20lbs.), but this is what worked for me. I tried to take pictures of what I wore, but I ended up forgetting when I was around someone who could take my picture. Oh well! In the end I packed 3 outfits of professional clothing (in addition to my white outfit) and ended up only changing into casual wardrobe two times. Practically, there was just no time to go back to the room and change in the evening or for a bit during the day.

This is what I wore.

Day One: after changing out of my more comfortable traveling clothing, I put on nice jeans, a white striped blouse with a black belt. Most importantly, flats - I wore a pair of comfortable flats most of the trip. You do lots of walking just inside of the hotel and the one thing I didn't want to worry about was my feet getting tired when I wasn't! The sleeves were rolled in the beginning of the evening, but it was darn COLD in the ballrooms and I gave in to rolling my sleeves down to stop shivering! This worked for all of dinner and to watch the initiation ceremony and Pi Sigma Pi installation. It was a LONG day and I wanted to be comfortable!

Day Two: This was the white outfit day. (Yay?) It wasn't as bad as everyone talked about it being. I Found a white pencil skirt and a nice jersey top with decorative layers on the front and it worked well. Brooke (who's also in the picture, so I might as well talk about her!) had a cute white dress. After the National Chapter Meeting I kept the top on and just changed into some grey slacks and some more comfortable shoes.

Day 3: I wore a sweater that I had purchased at the convention that had AXO woven into the front of it with some dark brown slacks. Of course brought clothing that I didn't wear, and I ended up not wearing 2 of my business looks. Most of day 3 was spent in more casual clothing. I had shorts and an AXO shirt for our jaunt up to the top of the arch and later in the day I was back into comfy clothing with jeans and another AXO shirt for our trip to the movies.

Day 4: I knew I was going to be involved somehow during the My Journey information session, so I saved my suit for this day. It was a grey suit with a navy blue shell... and comfortable shoes. Some ladies walked in heels for the whole convention! I have NO idea how they are able to get around all day without being a big ol' grump! (But they're apparently fine!) Day 4 was our last night with the formal banquet. I wore a purple dress that was just a tad shorter than knee length. I'm 31 right on the cusp of being too old for shorter dresses, but I think I pulled it off. I also brought some flats to go along with my cute heels. If you know me at all, you know that the heels promptly came off as soon as we started dinner. I was VERY glad I brought flats.

I hope this helped! Like I mentioned above, I brought WAY more pieces than I needed. I had too many casual outfits. I brought them to wear in the evening, but I only wore 2 and I brought over 6 just in case. I also am a big fan of cute and comfortable shoes. You will walk A LOT and you want to be able to do 4 convention days... so comfortable shoes are a must.

Below was my working packing list. It may seem a bit excessive, but it really helped with packing to make sure I didn't miss anything! It may be a little different from what I actually wore, but this was the plan.

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Convention Clothing   
   
Friday, July 13   
   
Travel Clothing    Comfy + sweater
Delegate Meeting   NOT ATTENDING
Welcome Dinner    Dressy casual
Casual Clothing for evening    Jeans and AXO t-shirt
   
Saturday, July 14   
National Chapter Meeting, Session 1    White Outfit - skirt and top. Nude Heels, slip, undershirt.
Foundation Luncheon    Business attire #1
Afternoon Educational Sessions and General Session    Business attire #1
Official Convention Photo Business attire #1
Reunion Night Dinner    Nice Jeans with letters/school colors
Chapter Installation (for Stars and Stripes)    Same Jeans, nicer top
Casual Clothing for evening    Jeans and AXO t-shirt
   
Sunday, July 15   
   
National Chapter Meeting, Session 2    Business attire #2
Housing Luncheon    Business attire #2
Afternoon Educational Sessions and General Session    Business attire #2
Domestic Violence Awareness Walk    T-Shirt provided, shorts, sports bra, undershirt, sneakers
Casual Clothing for evening    Jeans and AXO t-shirt
   
Monday, July 16   
   
Morning Educational Sessions and General Session    Business attire #3
Olympian Luncheon    Business attire #3
Afternoon Educational Sessions and General Session    Business attire #3
***ABOUT 90 MIN BREAK - be down at 7pm***   
Final Night Banquet    Purple formal dress, nude heels
Casual Clothing for evening    Jeans and AXO t-shirt
   
Tuesday, July 17   
Travel Clothing   
   
WHAT ELSE TO PACK?   
   
Badge and Jewerly (lots)   
Makeup   
Hair Stuff - bobby pins, headband, ties, clips, hairspray
Blowdrier   
Shap/Cond   
AXO notecards   
Healthy Purse Snacks   
Formal Purse   
Cash and checks for the boutique   
AXO Pins/Doo-dads   
PJ's!