Four Outfits for Your Sorority Monday Night Dinner

Monday Night Dinner is a weekly tradition between IFC fraternities and Panhellenic sororities During MND, everyone wears cute dresses or skirts with nice blouses and eats dinner together in the house. Each sorority visits all of the fraternities to make deliveries of candy, snacks and other small gifts to members of the houses and the boys do the same for the sororities. Picking out outfits each week for these dinners can be a little stressful, but hopefully this post will inspire you and make your outfit picking a little bit easier.

1. Neutral with a pop of color
One of my favorite ways to dress is wearing neutrals with a few pops of color. For this outfit, all you need is a simple dark colored t-shirt dress, a pair of neutral heels and some colorful accessories like a purse or jewelry. I chose to keep the color the same with the necklace and bag, but it isn’t necessary if you’d rather show off a few different colors. Layering a long necklace with an otherwise plain dress elongates your torso, creating the illusion that you’re a little bit taller than you actually are and making the outfit a lot more flattering. You could also opt for a brightly colored lip when doing your makeup and curl your hair to really step up the outfit.

2. Patterned Sundress
Even though it’s officially fall, in sunny Southern California it doesn’t really get cold enough to ditch sundresses until November at the earliest. A cute patterned sundress is perfect for Monday Night Dinner — slightly dressy, but not over the top. Pair it with neutral sandals (or heels if that’s your thing), throw on a metallic crossbody or clutch, and you are good to go. If you’re not in too big of a hurry to get to the Row after class, you could either straighten or curl your hair and apply simple makeup to match the “not overdone” aesthetic that this outfit conveys.

3. Sleeves for cold weather
Once it starts cooling down, sleeved dresses will be more acceptable and probably a lot more desirable. It may be winter at this point, but I can never turn down an adorable white dress and brightly colored clutch. As Lilly Pulitzer once said,  “Not always sunny, but always in a sunny state of mind!” In Southern California I’m pretty sure we stay in a sunny state of mind all year long — unless there’s rain. When it rains, nobody leaves the protection of his or her house. Whether you opt for a white dress or one in a darker color, you can never go wrong with metallic sandals, flats or heels. You can straighten or curl your hair with this dress, but a neat high ponytail is definitely acceptable with this outfit as well.

4. Patterned skirt with a simple blouse
For days when putting on a dress is just out of the question, opting for a more business casual outfit is totally acceptable. Wearing a skirt that’s patterned rather than a solid color, elevates the outfit, making it look dressier while still letting you feel casual. Pairing the outfit with metallic accessories allows the focus of the outfit to be the pattern on the skirt. This steps the outfit up even one notch higher. You could straighten or curl your hair depending on your mood, but I’d recommend wearing a lipstick that matches one of the colors in the skirt to tie it all together.