Graduation dress

[ShadowsShadowsShadows]

Hi all,

My graduation is in October, in a coastal town and is taking place on the water front. The gown colours are black and yellow. I would love links and suggestions for dress options.

I ideally want knee length or longer, and nothing completely body con or which is likely to make it impossible to walk.

For context I'm 32 and a curvy size 12 (big bum), red hair and quite fair so yellow doesn't tend to look good on me. I usually wear almost exclusively black but I'm open to other colours for this event as I'm worried black with a black gown will make me look utterly enormous. I'm very worried about freezing!

Not a big fan of heels so I'm hoping I can wear my really nice Victorian style ankle boots which have a small and manageable heel. They'll also be warmer than anything strappy. They are black but I can purchase shoes if needed in a diff colour

Modest budget, me and DH both students so don't have a huge pot of money to play with.

Any ideas gladly welcomed!!

Oh should have added that I'm 5 ft 2 so for long stuff I'd need petite options 😁

www.coastfashion.com/wrap-midi-dress/BCC01130.html?color=679

www.coastfashion.com/high-neck-open-back-satin-jacquard-dress/BCC00811.html?color=106

www.coastfashion.com/petite-embellished-cold-shoulder-midi-dress/BCC00613-2.html?color=209

"I usually wear almost exclusively black but I'm open to other colours for this event as I'm worried black with a black gown will make me look utterly enormous"

Does the uni not have a dress code? My DDs graduated recently and the regulations were quite specific, e.g. black dress, or black skirt with white blouse. Other colours not an option!

Whatever you get, don't worry too much about it as the gown will mostly cover it.

If it's cold, get thermals. One of my DDs graduated on a snowy day...

Look on Vinted.

www.coastfashion.com/geo-textured-cold-shoulder-midi-dress/ACC02195.html

This dress is on vinted for £23, size 12, new with tags.

No they don't, graduation pictures from last year show people wearing all sorts of colours. It's a small local uni, only been around a few years, average course numbers for academic subjects are about 20 students so it will be a fairly relaxed and intimate ceremony.

*SaggyBlinders that's a really good idea, didn't think of Vinted, thank you!

Be aware that the gowns are heavy, generally made of polyester, and have a lot of fabric in the back of the shoulders. If you are wearing a light, smooth/silky fabric, the gown will spend the whole time sliding backwards off your shoulders. Also, don't pin the gown or hood to your dress unless it's a robust fabric - it will tear holes. And take hairgrips to keep your hat on.

(I work occasionally as a gowner for Ede and Ravenscroft)

For my first graduation, more than a decade ago! we had to wear office style clothes, so i wore a blouse with a pencil skirt and flats. For my masters graduation we could wear what we wanted, so I wore a grey dress and heels.

The only thing you have to think about when wear a dress rather than a shirt or blouse is how you will attach your gown onto it; you usually hook it over a button, so will need to safety pin it on instead, so low neck styles or wrap dresses might not work as well as a higher neck.

I love vinted - I've just bought my Christmas party dress for a tenner!

I always think a plain black dress looks best under the robes. Well done!