Reader Question: what to wear to Graduation

Posted on | July 13, 2009 | 13 Comments

We recently received this question from a fellow academic, who is about to graduate:

I was wondering if you could help me with a fashion problem. I’m graduating from university in a couple of weeks and I have no idea what to wear! We will be wearing the usual academic robes with hood on the outside and I’ve been told I should wear a button up shirt underneath to attach the hood to. The problem is that I’m not much of a shirt person so don’t really have any in my wardrobe. I was thinking of wearing a shirt dress instead but I don’t know if this is appropriate.

Congratulations on your upcomming graduation! We love the idea of a shirtdress instead of a button-down shirt! We all fancy a good shirtdress and, between the three of us, own a variety of cuts, colors, and fabrics.

We have two suggestions for the big day: first, find a shirtdress that feels special to you (just make sure it has buttons) and second, wear a fabulous pair of shoes!

Click below for our recommendations….

We found a few shirtdress, each with a little something special:

The shimery blue takes this cotton Banana Republic dress up a notch and we adore the pleated tuxedo-like detailing.

It’s the ruffle sleeves that drew us to this BCBG dress, but the “poppy” color and deep v-neck are also quite lovely.

Now, because our British reader requested that we suggest items easily found in the UK, we also picked two shirtdress from Mango:

Both the color and puff-sleeves give this dress a more unique look. If you are worried about the length, you could always layer another skirt or dress underneath.

If you are not usually a shirtdress person, this dress offers a softer look with all the ruffle detailing and lovely floral print.

Now, for the shoes! Perhaps the most important aspect of your graduation ensemble is a great pair of shoes. Once you put on all those well-deserved heavy robes, the shoes are the only visible thing. They must signal to the graduation audience how fabulous the rest of your outfit is! However, walking across a stage in front of a large group of strangers, not to mention your proud friends and family, is not the time to try out a new pair of shoes. You need shoes you know are comfortable, that you can walk confidently in, and that won’t make you trip. So pick your favorite pair from your closet.

From our own closets, we might pick:

A shoe in a bright color:

A shoe with special details or a fun design:

Or, a shoe with some shimmer and shine:

Category: Dresses for Day, Dresses for Evening, Our Best Flatware, Q&A, Reaching New Heights
Tags: graduation shoes > shirt dress > what to wear to graduation

Comments

13 Responses to “Reader Question: what to wear to Graduation”

Kathleen
July 13th, 2009 @ 6:24 am

Both times I’ve participated in a college graduation, I’ve worn stacked heels. I feared breaking an ankle (or both) if I wore stilettos!

Those shirtdresses are very nice!
Sarah
July 13th, 2009 @ 6:24 am

In addition, I’d suggest a good supply of saftey pins! I wore a shirt to my undergrad graduation and regretted it, but my MA graduation gave me the chance to wear something better – a cotton wrap dress. the safety pins worked and there was minimal slippage of the hood!

Walking around campus today (Wales,UK) it seems that even prom-style dresses are being worn by the graduands/graduates…
Anna
July 13th, 2009 @ 6:33 am

I second the safety pin suggestion! I refused to wear a shirt or shirt dress to my graduation because I thought it ridiculous that academic robes were designed for a man’s wardrobe. I wore a v-neck dress,and just pinned the hood to the robe so it hung correctly.
Sal
July 13th, 2009 @ 6:34 am

Great recommendations, as always. And whose are those orange pumps?! I just got my teal Dolce Vita Skyes, and feel I am shoe twins with an Academichic …
Tara
July 13th, 2009 @ 8:10 am

My only suggestion would be “be careful about the height of your heels!” When I graduated from my BA and MEd, the stairs of the stage were a really odd design. The website even suggested not to wear stillettos, and I was glad I didn’t! Nothing like falling in front of a couple of thousand people!

Also, I never wore a shirt under my gowns, only dresses. At my university, they said don’t pin the hoods, so we didn’t. Honestly, I think more girls wear nice dresses instead of the traditional shirt and nice skirt/pants combo.
charlotte
July 13th, 2009 @ 12:19 pm

I guess I’m just old fashioned. I still love females graduating in white, and have worn the same white dress under all my graduation gowns. It just seems so rare that we get to wear a white dress, I take every opportunity!
caroline
July 13th, 2009 @ 12:23 pm

I wore a dress similar to the first one you posted! And I wore metallic flats to go with it, since I definitely didn’t want to trip! :)

However, my biggest suggestion is to wear something with pockets, since my regalia does not have pockets! I had no where to keep my keys and cell phone, and I refused to carry a purse across the stage.

As a faculty member, I will be wearing pants with pockets to the next graduation.
Caro
July 13th, 2009 @ 2:00 pm

Shoe height and type and the length of the skirt should also be considerations if one is expected to kneel for the conferring of the hood.
Becky
July 13th, 2009 @ 2:23 pm

Thank you so much for answering my question! This has been really helpful, your suggestions are great and you responded so quickly!

It’s also been very helpful reading the other comments and getting tips from people who have done this before. It’s hard to know what to expect when it’s your first graduation.

Anna, I also think it’s ridiculous that the robes are so obviously designed for men and it reassures me that some women just wear whatever they want!

Thanks again, I really appreciate the valuable advice!
Kathryn
July 13th, 2009 @ 6:59 pm

Add me to the list of women who didn’t bother pinning her hood. In fact, at my university, they didn’t even bother suggesting it–the hoods just looped over and hung loosely on our shoulders.
Diana
July 14th, 2009 @ 6:58 am

Love all your suggestions! I’ve still got to decide if I want to walk at graduation in a few weeks, but I’ll keep these in mind.
ann
July 17th, 2009 @ 9:14 am

I work for an academic institution and have to wear gown and hood a couple of times a year. Since I own my gown, I removed the button from the pleated back and sewed it to the front of the gown so that I could attach the hood that way. I don’t have to worry about what I wear underneath, so can wear a tank dress or whatever and be much cooler than my colleagues. For shoes I usually wear candy-apple-red wedges.
Moni
July 18th, 2009 @ 5:40 am

I would suggest wearing wedges or chunkier heels if you’re going to have to walk on grass. Sinking in when you’re trying to walk is never fun!