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Quote:

Originally Posted by GreekOne (Post 2448561)

The most basic option is under $40.

That's not bad at all! Heck, textbooks go for 5-10x that!

When I joined AEPhi, our only option was a 14k yellow gold badge with pearls. It was $75. You could also get a chapter guard - it had to be yellow gold set with pearls - for an additional fee. There is now a 10k gold option. I'm not sure what the badges are priced at today.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreekOne (Post 2448561)

In the 80s, the cost of our badge was embedded in our initiation fee and it was compulsory. Today, sadly, it is an option. New members are initiated with their big sister's badges and given an order form to get their own. This takes time and some young women with financial difficulties never place that order, and therefore never own a badge. I don't know when this change took place but it saddens me when a young women tells me that she does not own a badge due to the cost. The most basic option is under $40. With the expense of membership, I strongly preferred the days that it was embedded into the initiation fees and every sister had one.

Aww...that's a shame. I had always assumed that all sororities required their members to wear their badges for ritual and formal meetings.

If her chapter is still standing, it may be lovely to donate one as an honor badge to her chapter - we have a badge that members can "borrow" for weddings. I wore my rescued pearl badge over my heart on my wedding day - my husband found it in a thrift shop, and recognized it because of "all those stinking arrows in the house".
I would LOVE to see pictures of those arrows. I love seeing old styles of the badge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreekOne (Post 2448561)

Just thought I'd point out that some fraternities have the same issues. I was an active at a large state university. Our members were from all types of families and from all walks of life and all social-economic backgrounds. Some of our members simply could not afford to buy a pin. As an active, I never even saw an active badge of my fraternity. And we were not offered one to buy, though I suspect some members did have them but never wore them. This local "tradition" had been well established long before I arrived.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bevinpiphi (Post 2448670)

What a lovely idea!

I recently had the opportunity to visit the founding chapter of my sorority (not Pi Phi - although I love your arrow badge) and they had a huge display of badges, including those encrusted with rubies, sapphires, diamonds and opals as well as pearls (which is the traditional stone for my sorority badge) as well as with very embellished engraving. It was such a treat

My chapter of initiation has two special badges: a President's Pin, which had belonged to our chapter founder, and a Sister of the Year Pin, which had been donated to the chapter. I think it's a lovely idea!