Meaning of the a Pearl?
 

Hey Ladies,

Got a question for you...is there a universal meaning to the pearl? or is it change depending on the house?

I am about to propose to a Gamma Phi Beta alum and I vaguely remember her telling me about girls while in college would get a pearl in some form or another from the guy they were with and it was treated like a "promise ring".

Am I remember this correctly at all? I kind of want to bring this into play, since my girl was never actually given a pearl while in school, but saw many of her friends receive them.

Thanks!

My chapter didn't do this - would love to hear if others did.

There are some schools where "pearling" is done instead of lavaliering. It's been mentioned before on here if you want to search. It isn't G Phi B exclusive.

Giggity.

Pearls are not just a Greek phenomenon. DD#1 told me a couple of weeks ago about a friend of hers that received a string of pearls from her boyfriend. She said, "Well Mom, you know what THAT means-they are practically engaged- they just have to save up money for the ring and the wedding and stuff." And yes, the boyfriend was aware of the significance of his gift. New one to me, but I guess it is somewhat SOP with the 20somethings. Now back in the dark ages when I was young, it was common for a man to give his fiance a string of pearls as a bridal gift so that she could wear it with her wedding gown. (Don't know how that would fly with some of the gowns on Say Yes to the Dress, but hey...)

Goo.

i've never heard of that, as a 20something. regional/culturally specific?

Could be, I had not heard if it before my daughter told me-could be a mid-atlantic or southern thing, IDK. But she was quite familiar with the concept. Besides, I'm just the mom. :rolleyes:

I've never heard of it

I've never heard of it as a 20-something mid-Atlantic-er, but I'm a New England transplant! :p

Yeah, at Ohio University if the boyfriend wasn't greek, he would "pearl" his girlfriend. Usually a single pearl drop that was worn with the sorority lavalier. It was the same round of candle pass- which was usually announced as "lavalier or pearl". I always thought it was a universal greek thing until I found GC.

Im an ADPi from kentucky. Last night we had a candlelight and found out that one of my sisters was pearled by her boyfriend, who is in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. I just joined ADPi in the fall and dont know much about the traditions of lavaliering or pearling anyway, but my boyfriend is also in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia so it made me curious. I know that Phi Mu Alpha letters are very, very sacred and i found a few websites that said that they are not to be given to girlfriends, that girlfriends may only wear the words spelled out or something that says "sinfonia sweetheart" or w/e. Is this true? What are the rules about Phi Mu Alpha lavaliering? Or since it is a music fraternity, not a social fraternity, can they only pearl their girlfriends? Any information anyone can give me would be great.


By the way, sorry for kind of crashing the thread. Im new to GC and i cant figure out how to start a topic or thread of my own, so if someone could explain that do, that would be awesome :)

Hi, ADPi_girl09! Yes, per our national laws only initiated brothers may wear the Greek letters Phi Mu Alpha, and brothers may not authorize or encourage non-brothers to wear our letters. That rules out traditional lavaliers.

Our HQ does sell some things with "Sinfonia Sweetheart" on them, but I've always understood those to be more geared toward a chapter sweetheart than a brother's girlfriend. Since the formal ban on giving letters/lavaliers to girlfriends is relatively recent (although it reflects long-standing practice among the majority of chapters), I think new traditions have been bubbling up. The pearling you mention may be an example of that.

Phi Mu Alpha is a social fraternity. It is a "special interest" (music) rather than a general fraternity, and it is not a member of the NIC (though it is a member of IFC on many campuses), but it is a social fraternity. ;)

how appropriate....the ad at the top of the page is for jewelry and right smack dab in the middle is a string of pearls.

i have never heard of girls getting "pearled", but it sounds neat.

Suggest you watch Family Guy.

Pay attention to a character named Quagmire...