Design & Inspiration: Best Practices for Trendy Sorority Apparel
Design Inspiration: Best Practices for Sorority Apparel
When it comes to designing custom sorority apparel, drawing inspiration from the right sources can make all the difference in creating a standout piece. Whether you’re gathering ideas for your chapter’s next event or building a mood board for a unique design, the quality of your inspiration can directly impact the final result.
Good Inspiration
The key to great design is to gather ideas from apparel-specific sources. Browse through Pinterest, Instagram, or other platforms where Greek apparel is showcased to see what resonates with your chapter. Apparel is unique—it has to work within the constraints of fabric, printing methods, and wearability. Inspiration drawn from existing designs helps ensure your vision translates beautifully onto clothing.
- Pinterest: A treasure trove of ideas and mood boards, where you can find Greek-inspired apparel designs.
- Instagram: Follow popular Greek apparel brands and influencers for on-trend styles.
- Other Greek Apparel Sources: Check out pages dedicated to sorority and fraternity clothing to see tested designs.
- Designs on Merchandise: Proven designs that are already on merch
Avoid Random Inspiration
As a rule of thumb, images that you have trouble finding inspo for, probably don't exist for a reason. Someone tried, and realized it doesn’t look great on apparel. Designs sometimes look good in thought, but work poorly on merchandise.
- Random Images & Ideas: Designs that might look cool on a screen but don’t necessarily translate well onto fabric. Some concepts sound great in theory but don’t always perform on apparel.
- Stick to inspiration already on fabric, rather than a random image.
We have found that it is best to stick to inspiration drawn from existing pieces in the fashion industry. We can still create something completely custom for your organization through a mix of inspiration ideas and utilizing specific art/garment styles!
Color
When unsure, it is typically best to choose neutral tones for garment color, to ensure wearability not just for events, but to go to class, or hang out with your chapter members. Exceptions include events that may have color schemes you want represented with the garment color.
Examples: (most of the time)
Navy Blue would be a better choice than Aqua
White/Off-White would be a better choice than Bright Yellow
Forest Green would be a better choice than Emerald
Black/Graphite would be a better choice than Neon Orange
The Best of Both Worlds
The good news is that you can still create something truly unique for your sorority! While it’s important to stick to proven inspiration from the fashion industry, there’s plenty of room to make the design your own. By mixing and matching ideas and utilizing specific art and garment styles, we can craft something entirely custom for your organization.
Your custom design doesn’t have to be limited by what’s been done before—just make sure that your inspiration comes from sources that align with what works on apparel.