All AEPhis wear the same badge. 27 pearls, letters set in sequence on a yellow gold bar. The sister's initials are engraved on the back of the bar. Our only option is guard or no guard.
Here's a pic of my badge. I posted this to the "badge trends" thread a while back. The picture includes a dime for size comparison. Subtract the guard and dangles and you've got our basic badge.
One of the really nice things about our all having the same badge is that they almost always arrive in time for initiation. NMs fill out a form with their initials and "guard or no guard" and cut a check early on in the NM period, and the NME sends everything off to nationals. Provided that this happens in a timely manner, the badges are shipped to the chapter in time for initiation. This way, each new sister is pinned at initiation with the badge she will keep for life - not a "loaner" - and big sisters don't have to do without their badges for any length of time, or worry that their little will lose their badge.
Threaded Mode
