When packing for your first year of college, don’t forget to bring at least a couple of the old hoodies with salsa stains, or high school sport windbreakers, or the fur-lined coat you bought at a garage sale for $4 and have never worn.
Why bring ugly clothes to college? While it may seem silly, having a couple of ugly, yet warm, articles of clothing are essential for college life at UW-Madison. Playfully labeled “frat-kets” by me and my friends freshman year, these items of clothing serve the purpose of keeping you warm when walking to and from a nighttime function in the cold, Madison winter, while also being able to throw them off on the nearest surface while at the event so you can dance the night away in your more fashionable outfit without having your nice coat or parka lost, stained or stolen.
Nice, warm coats are expensive; so are fashionable jackets. But a frat-ket made from an old hoodie you stole from your older brother is both warm and inexpensive. Plus, no one would notice if it went missing or suddenly acquired a mysterious sticky stain.
Going without a coat in the middle of winter is never fun. But wearing a big bulky coat and having no where to put it when you get to your destination is also no fun! The “frat-ket” is a perfect solution so you can stay warm on the walk home but stay fly at the function.