Wearing Letters
 

I just graduated, so I am a recent Alum. I am also one of the first Alumna from my chapter, as I was one of its founders. I just had a question about letters. Do any of you still wear your letters? Ie Lavilers, charms, or jackets?

I wore my lavalier for about 5 years until the chain broke. I wore letters for about that long too. Now I mostly just have a magnet on my car, although I do have a ton of shirts as I was a recruitment adviser for years and got them all for free!

I wear my jacket frequently when it is chilly and/or rainy weather and wear my letters as well (though obviously not as often as I did as a collegiate member). I also still wear my party shirts. I wear my lavalieres occassionally, but not 24/7 like I once did :) It's perfectly acceptable for alums to wear their lettered items as well as keep them instead of giving them away when they graduate.

Most of lettered shirts and tank tops were given away to the chapter for their scholarship auction (they get Alpha Gam bucks throughout the semester when they get A's and B's and have an auction with stuff donated by the alums). Collegians (especially the freshmen) enjoyed my "vintage" stuff. :D

I still wear my lettered gray sweater (and matching lounge pants) from time to time. A lot of my post-college friends were surprised to find out I'm in a sorority. I kept my recruitment shirts (the ones with the year printed on them) and wear those to sleep often.

My Honda Civic still sports the decal as well.

The majority of my shirts were made into a queen-sized quilt with the exception of my jersey. I took my letters off my car just because I tend to have road rage and didn't want ZTA to be associated with it. :o I haven't worn my lavalier since the day I graduated from college. I have a jacket that I'll wear sometimes when it's cold and rainy since it's the only windbreaker I own but I try to avoid wearing it if possible. I feel like even though I live in the South where Greek Life is big that if you wear your letters after college that people will look at you as though you're the alumni that can't let go of your college days. The only time I'll wear my letters is to the gym where I'll put on a beat-up sorority formal tee. That seems like a common thing in Atlanta - you see a lot of the younger alum wearing their way old fraternity/sorority shirts to the gym that say, "Kappa Alpha Old South - 1995" or "Phi Mu Bid Day - 2000."

Do I afer being an Alum for 40 years, yes I do when I can. I wear a sweat shrit during the winter and polo shirts in the summer.

One reason being not to live the old days, but to meet any Greeks who come in the store. I always enjoy talking with Greeks from other organizations. Some that I have had in the store are:

LXA, STG, DDD, XO, AXO, AKA, KAT, BTPi, OPsiPhi, PKA, and KS. Maybe this is because there are so many Colleges in the area!

I am proud of what I did, and what it took to get there. So, I still wear my letters proudly.

Amazing how many you meet, find out where they went to school, where they are from, and what they do for a living. They seem to open up more to a fellow Greek!:)

I meet more greeks and Theta alums now wearing my letters after college than I did when I was in college! The letters are a good conversation starter. I would not have met many Theta alums that I've met after college had I not been wearing letters at the time. I still buy lettered sweatshirts and t-shirts occassionally. My black & gold letter decal is still on my vehicle as well.

Many of my event shirts fell apart soon after graduation. We didn't have bid-day shirts that were memorable, but I think I have one in the bottom of my T Shirt drawer. I guess that means I don't wear it.

I have one sweatshirt left that I would wear around the house, but I think I'm too old to wear it in public. The only car I had my letters on is long gone.

I still wear my lettered hoodie all the time and occasionally wear lettered t-shirts. And ZTAngel is right, you see a lot of "vintage" party shirts out and about - saw a Chi-O bid day shirt from 1999 in my real estate class a few months ago, for example. My boyfriend just bought me a lavalier since I had given mine away to my second little and it's kind of a family tradtion in my chapter to not wear lavaliers after graduation so we're thinking I'll attach it to my Tiffany's bracelet instead :) Still have the small gold/black letters on my car just because I think it's neat to see others as well. I agree a little bit that it looks odd to see an older woman in letters but Greek Life is big down here in the South and if I saw an older woman in letters out and about I would assume she was just really involved in alumnae stuff, and that's a good thing :) I feel like there's this taboo about wearing stuff like that as an alumni but I do it anyway because I'm proud to be a member of my org!

I almost always wear a crown, either a necklace, bracelet or ring, plus I have a ZTA watch that I wear quite often. My letters are on my car, too, which forces me to NOT have road rage. ;) I don't wear letter shirts too often because they are dated but I do have a ZTA windbreaker that I wear occasionally. I've lost a lot of weight recently so I need to buy some new shirts, maybe at Texas Zeta days or Convention. :D

I wear my shirts/sweatshirts for homecoming, District Day, travelling, sleeping. I have them, why not?

I pull out my lavalier for special sorority occassions and my pin for Founders' Day, initiations, etc.

I wear my badge a couple of dozen times a year to work. It's on a pendant, on a gold chain. I frequently am asked about it.

I wear my self made Alpha Gam Italian charm watch almost every day. I found an Italian charm watch and have made all the links Alpha Gam related in some way.. red roses, buff roses, squirrels and of course, greek letters. I love it. The face of the watch is red too :) But sure, I have an Alpha Gam t-shirt that I wear sometimes. Why not? I'm a member for life.

ETA: I also use Alpha Gam tote bags all the time. We get a new one each Convention and the one we got last time is really useful.

Since I'm a recent honor initiate and still on camps I have a block letter sweatshirt that I'll wear from time to time. :) I have a trident charm with letters that I wear as a necklace practically ever day.

I have a couple of Theta tote bags that I take with me when I go grocery shopping, to work out, to Junior League, etc. I also have a silver keychain with letters on it that I use everyday.

Otherwise, I willed a lot of things away my senior year...though I do still have a sweatshirt and one letter shirt that I'll wear around the house.

i still wear my sweat shirts because they are so nice, warm and comfy. every once in a while i wear my lavalier, usually during alumni events, and every once in a while i wear my quill to church. i don't wear my other lettered shirts nearly as much as i used. this is making me kind of nostalgic for my undergrad days! and i've only been out of school two years!

One person mentioned about turning all their event/bid day/ formal etc. shirts into a big quilt. Does anyone have any info as to how to get that started? Or if theres somewhere that does it for you, or a pattern you can get somewhere to do it yourself????
Thanks =)

My car . . .
 

http://i12.tinypic.com/6lil1tt.png

and my rings . . .

http://i12.tinypic.com/4kxc4yb.png

LOVE your car SWTXBelle!

I'm an advisor, so I wear my pin when applicable. I also wear party shirts to the gym. Other than that, I don't really wear letters anymore.

i will be alum soon and i plan on wearing date function shirts still!!!:)

Thanks, Twinkle. It keeps me driving very politely - there are so many teams I could let down with "road rage"!

I remember my Mom making patch work quilts and did not seem that hard.

Get your items ready and laid out. It will of course depend on the size you want!:) Set them the way you want it to look. Sew them on a thin cloth the size you want.

Add a layer of batting under it and then sew to say a flannel base of the size, sew all of the layers together sewing with pattern so that all will stay together and place a edging around the perimiter with a solid color of GPhiB to give a clean look.

Say using letters, crest, shirts, copy of Badge and pin.

It will be one of a kind and yours!:cool:

Awesome and agree when driving with letters on the car. I have lettered vanity tag and I just shake my head now instead of screaming my rear off!:)

Fantastic pictures. Rockin' the newer logo and everything. I'll have to show those to my girlfriend.

I'm wearing a rush shirt now. I wore a different one to the gym several hours ago. Over half my t-shirts have Phi Sigma Kappa, IFC, Greek Life, or Gamma Phi Beta on them. I also have a novelty "My Frat Is Better Than Your Frat" one that usually gets a few laughs.

I still where my lavaliere almost daily and I've been an alumna for almost 12 years now. I still wear my pin on special occasions and when I am doing work for the sorority since I'm a District President now. I also have my letters on my college ring so in a way, I wear them everyday.

Hate to tell you this, but AOQTII is not a Gamma Phi Beta. . . . . .

Kappa has an article on their website about making a t-shirt quilt How To Make A Kappa Quilt

I do them on commission. For any of you wanting to do it yourself, these are easy instructions from The Key. My own way is in CAPS.

Directions:
Select 30 T-shirts. Using a 14" square piece of glass (available at a lumbar yard) as a template, cut the fronts from the T-shirts using a rotary cutter. The glass is heavy enough to hold the shirt while cutting and transparent so you can see if the shirt is centered. Cut a 14" square of light-weight muslin and stitch to the back of each block to stabilize it.
I USE A CLEAR OMNIGRID 15 X 15 QUILTING RULER INSTEAD OF GLASS. I USE GRIDDED (MARKED IN 1 INCH SQUARES) FUSIBLE INTERFACING INSTEAD OF STITCHING LIGHTWEIGHT MUSLIN. IT STABILIZES THE STRETCHY T-SHIRT FABRIC BETTER. BE CAREFUL WHEN IRONING! SOMETIMES THE DESIGN MIGHT MELT IF IT'S NOT SILKSCREENED.


Sew T-shirt blocks together, matching corners. Or, for a different look, sew a strip on each side of the square, then sew the strips together. Alberta first used a 3 ½" wide black strip, taking ½" seams. On another, she accented the black strip with a 3 ½" gold square at the corners – using Missouri school colors.
DITTO, I USE 3.5" SASHING.

To finish the top, lay the quilt and backing on the floor, right sides together. Pin, then stitch all around, leaving a 24" opening in one of the long sides. Return the quilt to the floor. Cut the batting to the exact size and lay it on top of the quilt. (Alberta used extra loft.) With a friend, roll the quilt backing and batting from corners as tightly as possible – rolling toward the opening. Stretch the opening over the huge roll of cotton and fabric and turn your quilt right side out. Unroll it carefully, working out any bumps or wrinkles. Stitch closed.
I SAFETY-PIN THE QUILT SANDWICH (BACKING, BATTING, TOP) TOGETHER, QUILT IT, BIND IT AFTER RATHER THAN MAKING A QUILT PILLOW. IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO GET ALL THE WRINKLES OUT FROM THE TURN-RIGHTSIDE-OUT METHOD.

For tying you can use yarn, all six strands of embroidery floss, pearl cotton, or heavy crochet thread. The quilt should be tied about every four inches in a square or surgeon's knot. Alberta tied her quilts on the wrong side, but says that tying on either side would work.
I MACHINE QUILT IT, USUALLY BY HIGHLIGHTING THE SHIRT DESIGNS AND STIPPLING THE SASHING.



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In terms of selecting a fabric that will coordinate yet contrast with the tshirts' vibrant, bold, LARGE designs, I tend to go with a batik. Batiks are wax-resist dyed fabrics that are stunning. The colors are subtle and unique, yet blend together in an eyepleasing way.

If your shirts have a theme and you can find fabric with a similar theme, you could go with that. When my oldest graduated from hs, we didn't realize how many tshirts she had from clubs, sports, Scouts and other ECs. We ended up making 2 quilts. The first quilt had 16 shirts that were purchased at specific competitions of her sport. A couple of months before, I happened to find a novelty fabric depicting women competing in her sport and luckily I had bought enough. The much larger quilt had 30 shirts and used a batik that incorporated slightly paler shades of her high school colors.

Awesome thank you Beryana for that link and alum for the directions!! I really appreciate it!!!

I have a Question about letters, this guy that I really like never got any letters from his big bro when he was initiated. I wanted to make him some letters and send them to him for valentines day since he lives in another state, but i wanted to put my letters on there too, or half letters. But i don't want to get in any trouble or get him in trouble. My big sis told me that there are "sweetheart" letters that people used to give to their boyfriend/ girlfriend. Does anyone know about them, because I don't think he'd lavelier me, and i just want to give him some letters.

Don't put your letters on a gift for him. He won't wear them. They aren't his letters. If you really want HIM to have a set of HIS letters, then do just that. He'll know where he got them so you don't have to put your letters on him to remind him! It sounds like you're trying to mark him to keep the other women off, and that sounds desperate.

That right there worries me a little. I don't think he'd wear your letters either and I also agree it would smack of desperation. Make him some letters for his org but don't think that they mean anything more than a nice gift you made/bought him - you giving him letters for his own org won't be like lavaliering, in that, it means some big commitment. Nice idea for a gift, but it's just that, a nice gift.