Graduation dress

[HappyLion2021]

I’m in desperate need of some help for my daughter please. She is finally (well, all things being equal!) going to have a graduation for her Masters after COVID put pay to her UG one. She’s now trying to find something suitable to wear and really struggling.

She is a UK 4-6, about 5ft2 and isn’t at all curvy. Ideally she’s looking for a dark coloured dress to fall just above her knee. She doesn’t want to look too partyish and is planning on wearing flat shoes. The ceremony is in Scotland in December so it needs to be something that she won’t freeze in. I suppose the budget would be an absolute maximum of £150 but would definitely prefer something closer to the £100 mark.

Does anyone have any ideas please?

www.zalando.co.uk/esprit-punti-dress-jersey-dress-dark-teal-green-es121c20x-n11.html?size=4

www.zalando.co.uk/only-day-dress-evening-blue-on321c2gc-k11.html?size=4

@waltzingparrot Thank you, I’d completely forgotten about Esprit (and hadn’t heard of Zalando) but both your suggestions look so much more appropriate than anything else I’ve seen. I will see what she thinks :-)

I think generally, most people where something akin to a business/work dress than a fashion dress.

DD had a black fitted dress, knee length from M&S. she actually wore heels but looked really smart. It was about £50 a few years back but might be worth investigating. Size 10 5’5”.

Something like this? It says mini but the model is 5'10 so I reckon that'd be almost at the knee on someone 5'2. They also have midi version. It doesn't have to be anything too fancy, the robes will cover most of her outfit anyway. Is there a dress code? At my graduation (also Scottish uni) women had to wear either a black dress or a white blouse and black skirt/trousers, so the navy and green options wouldn't have worked.

The ASOS dress looks hopeful @Bavarois. It looks like it would be about the right length, has an appropriate neckline and is also shaped so fingers crossed.

It’s proving so hard to find something suitable. The options I’ve found when looking at what’s classed as business wear or work wear are really not something I could imagine wearing in the workplace. Lots of dresses at the moment are tiered or are shaped like an a-line skirt but from the shoulders down, and both these would swamp her completely.

I think the fall back will be a blouse and skirt/trousers but hopefully she’ll find something she likes from these suggestions.