AIBU to think parents don’t need to be ultra smart/ formal for graduation ceremonies?

[MimiGC]

Our son is graduating from UWE next week. He’s wearing a suit and tie, as are his friends. I think smart casual is fine for parents, but DH thinks formal wear for parents is required and is planning on wearing a suit and tie himself. Grateful for Mumsnetters experiences- who has been to a graduation ceremony recently and what were parents wearing?

Formal wear for parents isn’t required. Just wear your everyday comfortable clothes.

@Radioundermypillow you don’t need expensive brands to look good but you do need taste! Even if it’s boho taste! What you don’t need to do is look like a uber dressed up glitzy wedding guest. From what I read on here that’s gold and silver shoes/bag, an evening length dress and big accessories. I think a standard day dress is fine but posters didn’t seem to know what that might be so I named some brands. All of them make a decent attempt at day dressing. And I’m sure you looked great too!

My dd got a pub lunch too, with her boyfriend. I bought her a book. She got teary telling us how thankful she was for our support and how much she loved her time at uni. I was wearing trainers with my dress. Dd was so proud of herself and me that she introduced me to her dissertation supervisor who was hugely complimentary about her. All this and dh didnt even wear a tie and my dress was from Vinted.

When my son graduated last year there was a real mix from suits to dresses to jeans.

Wear what's comfortable and what you feel good in.

I wore a linen dress but could have easily worn linen trousers which I would have probably been more comfortable in. That said it was a hot day so a skirt was good!

I wore black trousers and a short sleeved blouse with flat ankle boots for dds graduation . Dh wore a suit but no tie. There was a wide variety of clothing from casual to very dressy.

Yes, definitely a dress up occasion!

Graduation ceremony last week - mums were in a range of nice dresses, smart trouser suits, a couple in lovely jumpsuits, dads mostly in a jacket and tie but not necessarily a formal suit. A few younger brothers in jeans and a shirt, but sisters seemed to take it as an opportunity to really dress up to the nines. No one would have been turned away for not dressing smartly, but equally everyone there to support their graduates had dressed for the occasion, if you see what I mean.

Wedding smart is usually more glitzy these days. Not that it’s my style. So it might be gold shoes, a fascinator/hat, satin or something that you wear in the evening.

Definitely not at the last wedding I went to - last year. Most outfits would have been perfect for a graduation if the hat was removed.

@BlossomtoesAdvice on MN is always what I posted! A few years ago it was wear a Bombshell dress! Style advice is often odd.

No I’m talking about the HE board! Go and have a look. It’s about a degree gift and meals out. One parent spending £3,500 on the graduation trip - granny included. We spent nowhere near that and no presents and no special meals either. We ricked up in what we owned as well.

"Honour the gravitas", indeed!

I have a lovely photo of me in graduation clothes and my dad in his Sunday best (suit).
I would rank a graduation with attending a wedding.

The £50 M&S dress would be my wedding guest outfit. Or the equivalent as M&S dont fit me well. But I’d be unlikely to spend much more. And then you talk about ‘cheap looking’ wedding outfits. You have a weird sense of what people wear.

Why are you going to glitzy wedding parody instead of what people actually wear?

@cardibach I explained that! Cheap looking is poor fabrics, poorly styled clothes and glitzy outfits. And I’m not remotely wierd about clothes. M&S have perfectly good offerings but don’t buy a t shirt dress or a polyester black work dress. There’s a middle way that looks stylish and does the job. A decent shirt waisted dress or something that’s a copy of a more expensive creation works well too. I don’t get why it’s so hard?

I know what cheap looking is! It’s a bit arrogant to think orders dont. You seem to think everyone but you wears that for weddings. I’ve said repeatedly I don’t. And neither do I spend a fortune on the brands you suggested. Most people wear a nice dress for a summer wedding. That dress would be exactly right for a graduation.

It’s such a special event…I really don’t understand why you wouldn’t dress appropriately smartly!

That's literally what the OP is asking, though. What is appropriately smart for a graduation, smart casual or ultra-smart?

(The answer is A).

Smart casual for me is jeans and a nice top. I think there’s a level of smart between smart casual and ultra-smart - let’s just call it smart - which is appropriate for events like a graduation (or most weddings).

Jeans and a top is just casual!

A nice top. Elevating it to smart casual.
Edit: I’d maybe wear linen trousers. But the days of jeans being banned in places like clubs have gone.

Our daughter 's graduation ceremony was held in Canterbury Cathedral. If there's ever a place to be well dressed surely it is there. My husband wore a suit & tie, and, I bought a lovely trouser suit from M&S and of course It was the perfect occasion for a new hat ! Most attendees were smartly dressed, but you would be shocked at how many turned up in jogging bottoms and old trainers ! It's tradition to have photos taken with your child in their cap & gown so why wouldn't you want to be dressed up. Just make sure to take plenty of tissues as it's quite emotional, hubby welled up when our daughters name was called lol

Dressing for the occasion doesn’t need to cost a fortune. I bought this dress at this price for dds Royal Navy passing out ceremony. I have my go to nude court shoes to wear with it. It’s smart and comfortable and if it’s chilly in Plymouth I have a smart leather jacket to put over it. DH has his trusted suit.
https://www.crewclothing.co.uk/womens/clothing-and-accessories/womens-dresses-and-skirts/summer-cap-sleeve-dress-blue-wwj062/?sku_s=1325811&country=GB&currency=GBP&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=GOOGLE&utm_campaign=Google-Shopping-B-Prospecting-Control&utm_content=text&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19815069286&gbraid=0AAAAAD3mUSP9V43rd24FG2TEr6ABLrCZu&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn4LJ2p_HjgMVaJBQBh173Dz4EAQYASABEgKoxPD_BwE

Been at uni this week, not graduating till Easter, and so many men in suits and woman in lovely dresses. Flowers everywhere, everyone seems to have brought flowers with them as gifts. It’s looked very lovely

Think of the photos, OP

Do they have dress code guidance? Both my graduations had info when buying the tickets about dress code for graduates and guests.

My dad wore a smart suit and tie for my first one, then a linen suit and Panama but no tie to my second.