Sigma Alpha Iota
 

In SAI, we wear every color and pattern combo under the sun! For instance, I have a red t-shirt with block letters made from fabric that has sheet music and red roses on it(our flower), but I ALSO have a navy blue shirt with stars, a bright blue shirt with pink block letters that has multicolored flowers, a tote bag that is black with block letters that have instruments all over them, etc etc. We have no rule about it, and in fact we prefer to wear different varieties of letters because we feel it shows how diverse we are. And while the letters may not be in our colors, they represent who WE are.

#1, that doesn't make you gay.

#2, so what if they ARE gay?

Honestly, I think a lot depends on what your campus does. Our whole sorority has a t-shirt that is white with purple and gold letters. We wear them for recruitment, we wear them during greek week, etc., when we want to look unified. But wearing different patterns and colors is all personal preference, as we have that freedom. BUT, we would never get a shirt that the other sororities had as their "unified shirt", for instance, ASA's red t-shirts with red and white letters or Tri Sigmas white t-shirts with violet and white letters. I had the coolest sweatshirt, that was navy blue with kelly green and white letters, and it was awesome!!! We didn't have KD though :)

Really? I know that wasn't the case at Valparaiso-- brothers there wore basically any color combo they wanted. :) As did their lavaliered girlfriends. For example, my now-husband and I picked out letters for each other when he lavaliered me, and his are a blue and old-gold/olive paisley on old-gold border on a blue sweatshirt, and mine are a purple/green/gold/black plaid on black border on a purple sweatshirt. (Which I didn't really know were LXA colors until my roommate whipped out her own set of that plaid on a green border on black sweatshirt!) Other Sinfonians were also comfortable with other color combos, either in plain dark colors (like old gold, maroon, navy, sometimes white) or plaids of some sort.

I *do* like my husband's traditional set-- black sweatshirt, and bigs/littles alternated red on yellow-gold or yellow-gold on red. Very classy. (He does not have one of the "official" sets of red on gold t-shirt, though.)

The store that we usually bought those letters from went out of business years ago, and now does large-order traditional clothing. It's a shame. Many sisters either order gear from the official ADPi/etc. site, or hand-sew the letters (with varying results).

As for me, most of my shirts/sweaters are the SGR colors of royal blue and gold /yellow. I have one sweater that I call my 'X-mas' sweater because the anchor color is a dark hunter green and the 'ouline' letters are navy blue and the 'inside' letters are dark red/blue/white/green plaid. I also have a t-shirt where the anchor color is gray and the 'outline' color is blue and the 'inside' colors are split in red and white (for the gamma and the rho), but the sigma is blue with a white star, it is suppose to represent the Texas flag. I love Texana. So, for me I guess you can have colors and / or a combo of colors as long as it is not obviously another NPHC orgs colors. Like, I would not get a shirt with any AKA -pink/green, DST-red/white and ZPB-blue/white combo.

Like most NPHC groups I stick with my colors. Especially if I am wearing royal blue then I make sure I have a gold accent, wear one of my many poodle pins or I wear my SGR lavalier.

At my school also the Sinfonians have whatever color they want.

kateshort and AlphaFrog, I stand corrected. Let me modify everything I've said by saying that, in my experience, Sinfonians tend to stick to red, black and gold. But obviously, my experience isn't nationwide, so it very well may not be representative of everywhere. And given what I know of the strength of our Kappa Sigma chapter at Valpo, I wouldn't for a minute question or criticize how they do things there.

Thanks for teaching me something.

For the BGLO's...Are school colors out too? I know that I have a ton of orange and blue Phi Mu stuff.

Also, for the girls...what if you buy someone else your letters? For example, I would never get a guy pink and white clothing. I was going to buy maroon and white shorts for a pledge son, but I thought it would look too "Alpha Phi," so I just defaulted to buying my letters in his colors.

Well, I do have a maroon sweater with black outline letters and a paisley (?sp) inside letters where the background color is white - these are my school colors, maroon and white, Texas A&M.

There are four NPHC sororities and they are very well known, at least in the Black community, so someone in the Black community should not make that mistake. For someone who does not know the colors and they give a shirt in the wrong color combo, then I would think that the item may be accepted and never worn, or politely returned. I think a good rule of thumb is to find out the org's colors and get a shirt made in those colors.

(Print, clip and save info below. ;))

NPHC Sororities - colors:

Sigma Gamma Rho - royal blue and antique gold
Delta Sigma Theta - crimson and creme
Zeta Phi Beta - royal blue and white
Alpha Kappa Alpha - salmon pink and apple green

I don't believe Pi Phi has any rules against what colors we are allowed to get letter shirts in. I have them in all kinds of combinations. I think for my chapter it's more about the letters themselves than the colors. I of course have a set in Wine and Silver Blue that I picked up from the Pi Phi Marketplace, but I like having the option to have letters in all kinds of colors. My favorite set of letters is a black hooded sweatshirt with white and baby pink letters. I got a black sweatshirt with white and baby pink gingham letters for my little sis as a family set almost!

Jess

it's just the way we're taught
 

ditto what sigmadiva said. :)
the only "someone else" that I would ever buy my letters for is another member of Delta. just as a bit of insight as to where I'm coming from, one of the activites in our process calls for gifts to be exchanged. in the directives for this part, which comes from National, it reads, in part that gifts bearing the symbols or the words "Delta Sigma Theta" are not appropriate because the recipients aren't members.

When i buy 'nalia for myself or as a gift, the garment is crimson, cream, red, white, black or khaki, and the letters will be crimson and/or cream or red and/or white. I've seen sorors that have patterned letters BUT the fabric for the pattern is red and/or white. The only exception I've seen is Kente cloth. :)

ITA, Soror 12!

Yeah, the BGLO's that "I" know do NOT wear other colors, from their officials other than khaki, white, black.

See, being a member of Sigma Gamma Rho, our colors are royal blue and antique gold. If I had letters in pink, then the pink would imply Alpha Kappa Alpha and that is just not 'right'. I could do it if I wanted to, but it is not acceptable in my org and the NPHC community.

I think the thing is that since the colors of the Divine 9 are more well known, ( I doubt many people could name the colors of all NPC sororities) and don't repeat colors of the other organizations that it is a little more like "stepping on toes" to wear colors of a different sorority/fraternity in NPHC.
In Phi Sig when we are doing things for the whole chapter they are generally in Phi Sig Colors (King Blue and Gold) but if it is something that JUST you are going to wear.. then it doesn't really matter what color it is. Most of the things that I have in non "phi sig" colors is patterned anyway.. I don't think ANY organization has delclared that purple leopard is their color... so I'm pretty safe wearing my purple leopard letters on a black t shirt. :D

Kent State University
 

I believe only members of the Divine Nine wear letters in only their colors. NPC and NIC ground at Kent are pretty liberal about what color the fabric is for their letters. Also, if you think about it, coral is a pretty hard color to wear and rare as well.