Sweet Southern belles are typically not what many University students are thinking about as a gameday approaches.

While touchdowns, tailgates and team spirit weigh heavily on the minds of football fans, many women are more concerned with the image of charm and class they are eager to portray.

Dressing up for football games – and at all times – reeks of Southern tradition.

Clearly the progression from antebellum attire to present-day signature styles has been a long time coming, but the common factor of wanting to look appealing remains.

The long-time tradition of dressing up for football games is prevalent at many SEC schools, and the University is no exception to the rule.

“I love the tradition of dressing up for football games because the game becomes a fashion show or competition of sorts,” said Wilson Burrous, a sophomore from Charleston, S.C.

“I believe that the tradition of dressing up for football games has a lot to do with the personality of people at each school,” Burrous said.

“UGA happens to be a place where dressing fashionably for football games is accepted and expected.”

It is well-known that many SEC women are compelled to “dress” for games – decking themselves from head to uncomfortable feet.

University of Alabama student Jacquelyn Hartmann knows a thing or two about footing an uncomfortable football game.

“At Alabama girls go all out – they actually wear heels for the duration of the football game,” she said.

“Most girls wear a dressy casual dress – a step under cocktail – with flip-flops because it hurts to wear heels the whole time, but a lot do it!”

Whether University women choose to suffer through the games in high heels is a personal decision, but peer groups do have a major influence on the overall practice of dressing up.

One of the most influential aspects of whether or not women choose to dress up for football games is their affiliation with the Greek system.

“Before I went to my first football game as a freshman, I was told by one of my friends in a fraternity that most sorority girls wear red and black dresses,” Burrous recalled.

“Freshman fraternity men must get dressed up for football games, so they want their dates to look equally as classy.”

At the University of Alabama the same pattern has unfolded.

“Being in a sorority or fraternity really affects who dresses up for gamedays because the Greek section is the only section that truly dresses up,” Hartmann said.

“Most people who are not Greek wear T-shirts and more casual attire,” she said.

The decision to dress up red and black at games is a personal one that bleeds with University. tradition.

- Emily Samuels writes a weekly fashion column for
The Red & Black