Ralph Lauren x Omega Psi Phi Christmas Ugly Sweater

Inside Howard University’s Science Hall—now known as Thirkield Hall—on the evening of November 17, 1911, three undergraduate juniors named Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper, and Frank Coleman joined their faculty adviser Dr. Ernest Everett Just to charter Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., the first National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternity established on a Historically Black College or University campus. Rooted in the Greek motto Friendship is Essential to the Soul and the Four Cardinal Principles of Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance, and Uplift, the Ralph Lauren x Omega Psi Phi Christmas Ugly Sweater carries those Royal Purple and Old Gold traditions onto a warm cream ivory long-sleeve V-neck pullover.

Royal Purple and Old Gold V-Neck Striping with the Escutcheon Bear

Built with a ribbed V-neck collar rather than a standard round crew neck, the neckline frames a collared shirt or tie inside two royal-purple bands flanking a central old-gold stripe. That same purple-gold-purple tri-band arrangement wraps around both upper sleeves, while a royal-purple rider silhouette sits on the upper left chest above ribbed cream sleeve cuffs and a ribbed cream waistband hem.

In the center of the front panel, a golden-brown Teddy Bear mascot stands with ankles crossed in polished brown leather loafers and cuffed khaki-tan chino trousers, resting his right paw in his pocket. Over a white collared dress shirt and a purple-red-and-gold diagonally striped necktie, the bear wears a royal-purple V-neck varsity pullover trimmed in old-gold and white at the neckline, cuffs, and waist. Emblazoned across the bear’s sweater is the circular Omega Psi Phi heraldic escutcheon coat of arms—an emerald-green laurel wreath encircling a gold-and-purple ΩΨΦ shield with a lamp and stars, crowned by a silver knight helmet over crossed lances—directly above bold old-gold ΩΨΦ Greek letters. Small wrist accessories add lived-in character, pairing a white beaded bracelet on the bear’s right paw with a wristwatch tied with a purple ribbon on his left paw, all positioned above arched royal-purple block letters outlined in old gold reading OMEGA PSI PHI, purple serif FRATERNITY, INC. text between horizontal purple bars, the founding year – 1911 –, and a purple cursive Ralph Lauren script.

From November 17 Founders’ Day banquets to December holiday parties and winter alumni chapter meetings, the 95% polyester and 5% spandex knit blend offers flexible movement and adaptive body temperature response across unisex sizes XS to 5XL. Full-coverage all-over dye-sublimation printing bonds the royal-purple lettering, old-gold outlines, and emerald-wreathed escutcheon directly into the fabric fibers, keeping the sweater soft, breathable, and free of surface cracking or peeling after cold machine washes.