Graduation outfit ideas

[WeirdlyKind]

I'm finally getting to attend my MA graduation in April and I have no idea what to wear!

I'm short, fat and can't wear anything with polyester/most man made fibres so I'm feeling a little stymied!

Friend suggested a jumpsuit rather than a dress but I've no idea where to start!

I spend a huge proportion of my working life sat on the stage clapping at graduations (I work in HE). Congratulations first of all!

I can honestly say that it really doesn’t matter a jot. All outfits look a bit shit with a gown on top. They just do. But consider what colour yours is. They look better when they don’t clash completely with your clothes. You either need to co-ordinate or ignore the gown and go bold I think. Bright colours do work, or go black/navy but polished.

Most outfits clash horribly with the gown length. Which is always hard if you aren’t tall like me. So wear what you would like to wear and feel nice in. It’s not a time for your clothes to wear you.

I’d say that heels look generally awful, so stay clear. But your shoes are the most seen thing so they need to be good! You’d be amazed how wrong people get the shoes (scruffy, still with the labels on, wrong for the season). I mentally grade the shoes for each graduand (not in a horrible way but you need help to concentrate after a week of clapping). You need to be able to “walk tall”.

Jumpsuits can work really well if they fit nicely. Definitely worth a look. Dresses too but the length vs gown is an awkward one to get right. I usually wear a navy dress on the platform but my gown is a bright blue so sort of works.

Can you trawl recent photos of grads at your institution for ideas? Ours are published online.

Thank you! Will absolutely be wearing flats!

Something brightly coloured looks best under a graduation gown I think. And IMO full skirts look better than A line or straight.

The 'classic' thing is a dark skirt/trousers and a white blouse/shirt. Something that has buttons and which stays put well can be helpful for securing the hood - otherwise having some pins may be a good idea.

I wore a black shift dress for my BSc graduation many years ago which worked well as it was very simple under the gown, but was very difficult to get the hood to stay put and I used a lot of safety pins.

I will graduate with an MSc this summer and am thinking of to find something in a colour that matches the hood colour.