Nope. Never heard of it and we’re in the south where SEC college sororities are a pretty big deal. This, however, was what my DGD and her sororoty besties decided to do to celebrate their recent graduation.

And of course they made some individual ones too.

I don't see that line making it. As the gals in white show the girls can find much cuter wear and still be dressed close enough!

Our daughter was in a sorority at the University of Oklahoma (another campus very big on fraternities and sororities) and in all her four years there I never saw a dress alike event. Hmmmm! DH was in a fraternity during his time at OU way back when. I’ll have to ask him if it was ”a thing” back then. Frankly, it sounds a bit strange to me (LOL)!

This is who the Divine Nine are. https://www.phillytrib.com/divine_nine/who-are-the-divine-nine/article_aa0c44e7-4833-57ce-8d6e-de4f251ecdc9.html

Several but not all of the sororities are represented in the new Macy's collection. Alpha Kappa Alpha is pink and green, Kappa Alpha Psi and Delta Sigma Theta is crimson and cream, Zeta Phi Beta is royal blue and white, and Sigma Gamma Rho is royal blue and gold. The ladies have strolled about in matching colors before.

Yes Bees, but it doesn't explain why the outfits?

Easy to just pick a color and go with that.

Bookwoman, I believe the "legs crossed" stance is to make them appear more slender. I often see this when clicking on Entertainment Tonight, where the male host is comfortably standing and fully dressed, compared with the female host often wearing clothing that appears skimpy or uncomfortable, and standing with legs crossed.

I thought the Bloomberg article the pic and headline are from explained it. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-16/divine-nine-black-sororities-macy-s-sells-dresses-to-alpha-kappa-alpha-others

"Holding up her phone’s video camera in the Charlotte, North Carolina, store, the 32-year-old showed fellow members of Zeta Phi Beta, a historically Black organization, racks of $90 dresses in unmistakable color combos that she knew were designed specifically for them.

Baker-Woods was right, having stumbled across a new strategy by Macy’s to win over Black sororities in a partnership with clothing maker Kasper Group. Members of these organizations maintain strong ties well after college through conventions and chapter events and have a consistent need for dressier attire in their group’s colors. But finding a frock in a pattern like royal blue and white (Zeta Phi Beta’s colors) can be difficult.

“We know when we see our stuff,” said Baker-Woods, who at one point resorted to painting t-shirts in hard-to-find hues for sorority events. “I know now where to look.”

Macy’s expects this business to hit $10 million in sales this year, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette said in a recent interview. While that’s tiny compared to the $25 billion in revenue America’s largest department store chain generated last year, it’s helping it connect with middle-aged women — a core demographic for the retailer. Zeta Phi Beta says it has more than 125,000 members.

The collection is available online and in more than 200 of the company’s roughly 500 Macy’s locations. The sororities (Zeta Phi Beta, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta and Sigma Gamma Rho) will have at least five pieces per launch and women’s suits will debut next month. The retailer is also donating $1 million to the education and research foundations of the sororities.

This strategy comes as Macy’s aims to bolster its racial diversity within the highest ranks of the organization and carry more items from Black-owned brands......"

Most Greek houses have colors associated with them. Like the Tri-Delta in the pic above with the ladies in white, Tri-Deltas colors are silver, gold, and blue. All the houses of the Divine Nine also have colors associated with them. And yes, being matching in colors and/or outfits means a lot to them.

These ladies came to light a bit in 2020 for showing their colors while strolling the vote: https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/atlanta-stroll-to-the-polls-video-images-go-viral/85-b8541896-40d5-40c3-8a32-81d3982b6324

Bookwoman, I believe the "legs crossed" stance is to make them appear more slender.

Thanks, although I don't see how that works. It seems to be ubiquitous, though.

Hahaha -Thanks Bookwoman - I just choked on my toast.

beesneeds - thanks for the reminder about the ladies showing their colours while voting - I knew I saw a story about dressing in the same colours for an event somewhere.

I usually put one foot forward. You don't have to entirely cross it. It looks nicer in photos.

Maybe some people have never known about this because they're not alumni of HBCs, or members of those sororities?

I am neither, but I learned about some years back it through listening to podcasts. I understand our current VP Harris is a member of one of those sororities. A number of prominent women of color are.

I live in a college town and there are lots of "dress alike" events during rush.

I get wearing the colors, but the OP photo just looks to 60s airline stewardess to me...

Annie, I agree.

This makes the case for hiring diverse teams, doesn't it? I am not a fan if the look, but since my sorrority would not do this, I would not have seen the market opportuniy. I hope an alumna of one of these black sorrorities was the driving force for his successful new marketing niche.

I know some will think this is exploitive, but clearly to me, this is aimed at adults with disposable income.