I was able to select the badge of my choice after I was initiated in 1979. My Big Sis pinned her badge on me at the ceremony. Of the many options available to me, I ended up selecting sapphires for my added bling because it is my birthstone. My daughter, who attended a large public university did not have an option. Every member automatically gets the basic gold badge. It is very plain, but lovely in it's simplicity. And, none of the girls ever seem to mind. I think that they just go with the basic badge to avoid having great disparities within the house due to the fact that some of the members could afford to buy the "crown jewels" version of the badge, while many can afford only the most basic. Many of the members pay for their sorority expenses on their own (not from the "bank of mom and dad").

Unfortunately, the short trident is no longer made, and I believe it's becoming fairly rare to find. Most of them are attached to vintage badges, and we're not really supposed to rescue and wear older badges. In fact, EO has said that our badges are to be returned to them upon our death.

I guess it depends on what you mean by bling. Phi Mu allows for pearls and other jewels--at least at my alma mater we all pretty much had something "bling-worthy" for our badges. I still wear my badge to this day from initiation and it is surrounded by pearls. I love it and I'm glad I went with the pearls because it wasn't "too expensive" and it was just blingy enough for me. You can't go wrong with pearls--in my eyes.

Hm, either this has changed since I was a collegian, or I misunderstood it at the time.

Or could it have been a chapter or regional thing?

We have two options -- gold plate or 10 carot gold. Jewels are the same in either (6 garnets, 12 pearls) there is no choice there. While I love seeing the blinged-out badges of other groups, I have to admit that I like that we all wear the same badge.

I'm glad that we have always had many options about what type of jewels to put in the Pi Phi arrow. We even had a limited edition turquoise pin about 2 years back. The legacy pin (one single raised large pearl on a different style arrow; the kind used for the standard initiation badge) is one of my favorites. So is the garnet/aquamarine pin; which comes closest to our wine and silver blue colors. The choice of what type of bling to get on your pin is a very personal decision. When I initiated, I knew exactly what I wanted- alternating pearls & sapphires. I laughed when I found out that this was standard for a "blinged-out" Kappa. I also have the plain gold initiation pin that I believe every Pi Phi still gets upon initiation, and a small "recognition pin" arrow that has one tiny pearl. I wore the first gold arrow that I ever got, the arrow lavaliere, the most, and sadly lost it a few years ago. It's nice to have a plain pin & a jeweled one so that you have a choice. I think that some people buy several pins at different times (one in undergrad; one when you are older & can afford it, etc.). It's all just a matter of personal taste.

I wouldn't be surprised. I work with a lot of chapters that are not my own, and they often SWEAR something is a rule either in their chapter bylaws or Delta Chi Law when it is in neither.

DBB - not to say this wasn't a rule when you were a collegian, it may have been, just that a lot of members I work with believe traditions are rules.

Okay, I'm thinking it may have been this: You had to pay the badge fee as part of your initiation fee, and then you got a plain badge. So it may be that you could go get yourself a nicer badge, but you couldn't decline the plain one.

In any case, I kinda wish it were a rule :-)

I definitely think badges vary by region and school. The women in my chapter had at least the scroll edge badge with pearls, in fact I didn't know you could get the plain scroll badge. Most had either alternating pearl/garnet or pearl with garnet points. When I advised a small chapter, they all had the plain scroll edge. It was rare when a new initiate ordered the pearl point scroll badge. They always liked my original badge (gold, pearls with garnet points). I wore my white gold badge with alternating amethysts and pearls when I volunteered during recruitment at another chapter and several of the chapter women said they wished they had gotten a "blingier" badge for initiation. So basically, I think you buy what you know.

Had to google this since I couldn't picture it. NO WONDER carnation wants a little legacy. This pin is precious!

I initiated in 2004. I didn't even realize that the plain badge was part of the initiation cost. I can say that most of my pledge class got jewels and I remember getting just pearls because I just couldn't make up my mind. Now, if I could have gotten one with opals--I'd be in Heaven. That's why I continuously check out "that site" to see if I can find something with opals in my price range.

For us, you pay the badge fee as part of the initiation fee, but if you want a different (blinged out) badge, you have to pay the difference in cost (i.e. you don't end up with two).

Well don't just tease us- share a picture!

ETA- okay, I'm obviously not patient today. Is this it?

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/1...ilegacypin.jpg

Nope. It's this one.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...ae15/pbphi.jpg