Dress me for my uni graduation

[GradToBe]

Hi all. I'm 5'5, 22 and I'm graduating from my uni degree next month. The cap and grown is black with gold so quite versatile.
My budget is around £150 max. And I'm a size 12. Can someone please help dress me. I want something I can wear in the day and night. I have brown hair and eyes if that makes any difference

[GradToBe]

No one ?

[nilbyname]

I would go for a smart shift dress that you can put a suit jacket over for job interviews, or wear on its own to a wedding/party/function.

Something you can dress up with statement jewellery or change the look with adding a biker jacket, gladiator saddles/ wedge heels and so on.

[FadedRed]

Suggest you go for solid block(s) of colour, or geometric black and white, rather than pattern as it looks smarter with black graduate gown. Think the idea of smart dress that could be used for work/function is good use of funds, as pp said. Or smart blouse and pencil skirt. You will be sitting around a lot for speeches/certificate presentation so nothing that creases easily, or is uncomfortable to sit in. You need to have something to anchor the ribbon thingy (don't know what it's called) that goes over the gown with the Uni colours on, so blouse/dress with front fastening buttons, or brooch/pin that won't damage the fabric of your dress/blouse. Think smart/casual, it is a formal ceremony after all, nothing too low in the bust or OTT (like sparkly party frock).
Have a great day! Congratulations on your degree. [drink]

[Melonfool]

I wore a purple Kaliko long sleeved dress with a sort of scrunched up middle section. I graduated in March but I am 47!

Sleeves look nicer coming out of the baggy gown 'sleeves' I think.

Check with the gown people if you need to have buttons, some gowns need to clip onto a shirt button. There was a lot of fuss at our graduation about that but we didn't actually need it. (Take some safety pins in your bag just in case. I decided to totally chill about the gorn in the end so I didn't care if it was half falling off me, though I did look drowned in it.

Do they have any other dress rules? At mine some people wore things like gold trainers which actually looked horrible. Red smart heels looked lovely, but I wore flat black loafers on the basis I did't want to fall aot off the stage!

To be honest, if there aren't strict rules then I'm not sur eit matters too much - I'd wear a smartish dress and change into heels for the evening bit.

[SevenEleven]

When I look back on my graduation photo of 12 years ago I regret wearing a jacket/shirt/trouser combo that I felt I should wear and was very 'of the time'. It really didn't suit me and the photo already looks very dated. I am due to graduate again in January next year and this time i will be wearing something very simple and plain that will not stand out from the robes. Probably a dress and cardi as Jackets don't look right on me. I'll definitely stick to muted colours and will keep my hair and make-up low key. Sounds really boring, but I can't look at my other photo without cringing and I am not one of those who doesn't 'do' photos, I am usually the annoying one jumping about in the middle of them!

[Melonfool]

My dress was purple.

I loathe my official photo, when it arrived and I opened it I hated it so much I shoved it back in the box and on a shelf and haven't looked at it since. dp hasn't even seen it (nor asked where it is/when it is due to arrive!). It's upsetting cos I had my hair done and nails painted and everything.

[Kittykatmacbill]

Ha I returnef my official photos for undergrad degree and didn't even go for my masters one! My suggestion is make sure you have sleeves as you can look a bit t-Rex ish with little bare arms sticking out of a billowing gown. Not sure it matters if you wear a dress, or jacket or cardigan...

Oh And your shoes are the only bit really visible on day so make sure they are nice !

[MrsLeighHalfpenny]

I wore a red dress under my black gown, and it looks really nice in the photos, though I say so myself. I prefer it to the darker colours most people wore.

[senua]

You need to have something to anchor the ribbon thingy (don't know what it's called) that goes over the gown with the Uni colours on, so blouse/dress with front fastening buttons

This. DD wore a dress and hooked the hood to it. The weight of the hood meant that her dress was pulled back and so it rode up all day.

[FadedRed]

Senua that was the instructions the gown hire people gave us. A brooch pinned to the little loop by a brooch worked for me both times, but dresses were 'fitted' tailored style so they didn't budge.

[Melonfool]

We were given those instructions, I ignored it and it turned out the instruction was out of date and the sash didn't have any fixings anyway, it just velcroes together.

Take safety pins.