READY TO WEAR

By now you've opened the envelope, and whether you're devastated or ecstatic, there's probably plenty about your respective assignment to bitch about, smile about or call home about. Not the least of these concerns is the design of your future House's shirt. After all, the House shirt is the single easiest way to identify those who share your housing fate. So hit the 'Berg early for once, fill up on home fries, and pick up some free threads.

THE GOOD:

Simple and elegant, suitable for wear anywhere.

Currier: A long-sleeved blue T with "Currier" on the sleeve and the House shield on the chest.

Lowell:A heavy-weight gray shirt sporting the House emblem.

THE BAD:

Self-deprecating, overstating house pride or shamelessly derivative of popular culture. Wear these to play IM Ultimate Frisbee or to lounge around at your house grill.

Pforzheimer: Flaunts three house shields on the back, each with a frog perched on top. Pforz-hei-mer...get it? We all knew those Budweiser amphibians were desperate for work, but PfoHo? How tacky.

Mather: Boasts "size does matter" on the front and "bigger is better" on the back, along with a graphic of the Mather Tower. Wasn't this ad campaign lifted from last spring's "Godzilla"? Guess when you're an enormous eyesore, you go with your strengths.

THE UGLY:

Crossing the thin line from "classic" to "the shirt you do your laundry in."

Quincy:Dark gray with a navy blue "Quincy" in stylized font, including a funky Q arched across the front

NOTE: Avoid excessive wearing of the House T-shirt. Everyone knows how much you paid for it.