How to Not Screw Up Frat Formal Merch

Getting hyped for frat formal is basically a college rite of passage. But if you’re the merch chair for your chapter, you’ve got more on your plate than renting a killer suit and preparing for a fun weekend. You’re in charge of making sure everyone leaves the event with something to remember it by (you know, other than that photo dump from that one guy who actually cares about Instagram). 

This guide will walk you through everything: from designing to coordinating with the formal chair, to getting the guys actually excited to wear merch. Let’s dive in.

1. Start planning ASAP once the dates are set

The minute your chapter locks in the formal date, that’s your cue to start planning merch. Custom apparel can take weeks (or even a month) to finalize, order, and receive - so early planning does make a difference. 

Coordinate with your chapter’s Formal Chair or Social Chair as soon as possible. Find out the theme or vibe of the event, the color scheme, and any key details (venue, destination, activities) that could inspire your merch design.

Don’t forget to work with your exec board. Immediately get clear on:

• Merch Budget: Decide how the order will be paid for - will the chapter cover costs, or will you collect money from members (through chapter dues, Venmo, etc.)? Knowing your budget will guide what products and how many you can order.

• Timeline: Set clear deadlines for designing, ordering, and distributing merch. Aim to have merch finalized and ordered at least 4-6 weeks ahead. For example, if your formal is on September 20, 2025, your timeline could look like:

• Week of Aug 4 (~ 6 weeks out): Kick off design work (maybe draft 2–3 mockups for feedback)

• Week of Aug 10 (~ 5 weeks out): Close feedback poll, lock final design, get people's sizes

• On Aug 18 (~ 4 weeks out): Place final merch order 

• Logistics: Your safest bet is to get the merch delivered at least one week before formal. You def don’t want to be stressing out about shipping delays when you're stuck packing or still figuring out what you need to wear.

2. Think beyond just a basic hoodie or tee 

Sure, a classic t-shirt or hoodie with your Greek letters and the event date is always a crowd-pleaser. But as merch chair, part of your job is to get creative with the merch options. Think about items that people will actually like and wear long after the event.

Some popular frat formal merch products right now: 

• Hoodies

• Trucker Hats

• Crewnecks

Think about your chapter’s vibe and the location of formal, too. If you’re heading to a beach town, maybe tanks or even sunglasses would make sense; if it’s a mountain cabin, maybe quarter-zips. And if you need more options, don't worry. Just check out our product gallery for more.

3. How to actually design frat formal merch

Now for the fun part: designing the merch. The best formal merch feels like a natural extension of the event itself. Take inspiration from the formal’s theme, location, or activities when creating your design. For example, if you guys are doing a Casino Royale theme, maybe design a slick graphic incorporating playing cards or a tux motif. If you’re going for an ‘80s theme, a retro-style design or neon font could be a hit. 

And if you want it done in 15mins or less…

Know that you don’t have to pay for that expensive Adobe subscription or spend an all-nighter trying to create an amazing design. If you need more creative juices but want to design something great FAST, just use our Design Tool. 

All you need to do is:

• Select the product you want

• Browse the "Designs" section on the left-hand toolbar and set filters. You can filter and look at frat formal-specific designs. Plus, you can find what’s trending, most favorited, or recently created by our art team or frat student creators.

• Once you spot one you like, select it and customize it however you want!

Customize any design you want on our Design Tool

A few tips for a winning design: 

• Limit it to a few colors and make sure any text is easy to read from a distance

• Include the event location and year (so it doubles as a souvenir of the trip)

• Make sure you’re following any rules your chapter or school has about using logos or Greek letters - nothing worse than printing a design and then finding out it’s not allowed by Nationals! 

Need more design help? Click the “Need help?” button on the lower left corner of the Design Tool and our art team can continue your design for you for free (with unlimited revisions)! 

Click "Need help?" and our art team will assist you

The bottom line: don’t overcomplicate the design process. You want the design locked in with enough time to print, so efficiency matters.

4. Get everyone’s sizes and order info (and double-check!)

Once you have a killer design and a merch item selected, make sure you nail down the sizes and quantities. The last thing you want is to order 100 hoodies and find out you got the sizes wrong. Manage this by collecting everyone’s size through a quick survey or Google Form. Share the product’s size chart (especially if it’s a brand that might run small or large) so that each person can accurately choose their size.

To get a bunch of college guys to actually care and submit their order info, you might need to send a few reminders. Post in the group chat, make an announcement at chapter, set a clear deadline, and maybe mention that if they don’t fill the form, they’ll be the only ones without any cool merch (that usually gets their attention!). 

Then, before you hit that “order” button, double- and triple-check your counts and sizes. When you’re juggling a million details (and also prepping for the weekend yourself), it’s easy to accidentally type 50 shirts when you meant 60, or select the wrong size for someone. Consider having another member of your exec or committee review the order spreadsheet with you. A fresh set of eyes can catch mistakes you might overlook. It’s a lot easier to fix an order before it’s printed than after!

5. Build hype and make merch part of the experience

Design done? Order placed? Nice. Now think about how you’ll distribute the merch and build hype around it. Don’t just toss everyone their shirts in a rushed moment; turn it into part of the formal experience.

If you have a chapter marketing or social media chair, ask them to help create hype: post a blurred sneak peek of the design or a teaser on the chapter’s Instagram story a day or two before distribution. Even a simple “Merch is in! 🔥 Can’t wait for y’all to see these!” on your chapter’s social media or GroupMe can get people pumped.

Another simple idea: do a “merch reveal” after everyone’s settled in during the first day of formal weekend. The moment when everyone sees the design for the first time together can really amp up excitement for the rest of the event.

6. Follow up after the event

Once the formal weekend is over and everyone’s back on campus (hopefully in one piece), take some time to get feedback on the merch. This step is easy to overlook, but it’s super valuable - especially if you’re a junior who might do this again next year, or if you want to help the next merch chair continue the success.

At the first chapter meeting after formal, or in your group chat, throw out a casual poll or question: 

• "Did you guys like the formal merch? What was awesome and what could be better?"

• You might ask if they were happy with the quality and design, if the fit was true to size, and which merch item was the favorite. 

• If you offered multiple items (say, hat and shirt), see which got more love. 

• Also note how often you see brothers (and their dates) wearing the merch in the days and weeks after - that’s a huge sign of whether it was a hit.

Honest feedback (even if it’s just a couple of comments like “we should do Comfort Colors next time, this shirt was a little thin” or “The design was sick, we should do more like that for other events”) helps you or your chapter’s future merch chairs plan even better merch for retreats, rush, or next year’s formal. It also shows your brothers that you care about their input, which will make them even more excited to support your merch ideas in the future.

And hey, if everyone absolutely loved the merch, give yourself a pat on the back (and maybe share that info with chapter leadership - it reflects well on the fraternity when people wear merch with genuine pride).

Ready to crush frat formal merch?

In the end, being a merch chair means getting to turn cool ideas into something tangible that people will be stoked about. When you see all your brothers (and their dates) compliment the merch you helped bring to life, it makes all the planning and reminder texts worth it. 

So get planning, get designing, and don’t forget to enjoy the process. Go make that formal weekend unforgettable!!