On behalf of DD - Graduation Dress

[TeddynMousey]

DD is in her last year of uni and has decided she's going to buy her graduation dress now so she has an extra push to stay motivated.
No one in our family has gone to uni before so not sure whether this would be seen as ok.

She wants to get this one - thoughts?

https://www.thereformation.com/products/nadira-dress/1310624POI.html?lang=enGB&gaddsource=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA8YyuBhBSEiwA5R3-E-TVChOxwei-x04-7kuTJaGkT8c4hs22Ee5Yct-dj60kULYIuBqfhoC-AEQAvDDBwE

Hood pinning advice! Hence the high necklines…

https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/sites/www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/files/how_to_pin_a_hood_onto_a_gown.pdf

That's a gorgeous dress. DSD graduated last summer and I was surprised by the level of glamour - lots of the students were wearing dresses I would think were closer to evening wear. Lots of bright colours and slinky fabrics. The hood needs something to hook onto, though, so might need a sturdy safety pin inside the bodice.

True but if you graduated in the 90s, you would be of an age when the average age that female graduates had their first child was 29 so you have probably been to your own DCs’ graduations recently.

I was surprised that DD’s college didn’t wear academical dress for matriculation, just suits and smart formal wear with gowns so times are changing even at Oxbridge!

As an actual King's grad.... King's gowns don't have a neckband so they don't need anything to pin or clip onto.

I stand by my previous points though.

My dd graduated last year. I was stunned at what passed for suitable attire in female graduates. I definitely thought most of them looked as though they were dressed for a party but in my day (80s) we had to wear a white blouse and a black skirt so you can see I was really out of touch!

The dress linked to will be fine and will in no way stand out as inappropriate.

@TeddynMousey Ignore anybody telling your DD that it's 'inappropriate', what is appropriate for a 21-year-old celebrating 3 years of hard study is whatever she bloody well wants to wear. And no it doesn't have to look like she's going for an interview or starting a new job because she isn't.

I also have recent experience of attending LSHTM graduation ceremonies, which are held at a prestigious venue in central London, and would 100% endorse what @faffadoodledo says, that your DD's dress would place her firmly in the middle of what the women wore.

The only advice on here worth listening to are all those sensible people questioning whether your DD's choice of dress will work well under a heavyish gown. So check out the practicalities and ignore the value judgments.

The famous Vivienne Westwood gowns with the fancy buttons! The gowns don't have a traditional hood so don't worry about having to attach it to anything (and most hoods now velcro straight to the gowns). They are more like a sort of sleeveless coat so I personally think they look best without sleeves underneath or, if you are going for sleeves, something black.

Lovely dress and actually the cooler you are under the gown the better.

@thing47 the outfits at LSHTM were WILD. Lots of lovely national dress. But also lots of cocktail looks. And this from a cohort of entirely 'sensible' and very clever post grads. Yep. Wear what makes you feel happy!

I think it's perfect. Its not revealing and its a classic shape

Days are gone where the women dress in floor-length heavy satin (old fashioned bridesmaid style dresses 😣) as some on here seem to be inferring.

😀I don't know if our DCs studied the same course, but at least half my DD's cohort were already fully qualified doctors in their mid to late 20s.

And for those posters who aren't familiar with LSHTM its courses are world-renowned in the fields in which it specialises.

I go to a few graduations and there are lots of girls in going out dresses now. I like that is it longer as the gown will be midi length and over a shorter skirt can look a bit dressing gown. During the graduation the thing you see most are the shoes. The gown is a bit like a 3/4 length formal coat. V necks can look good imo and my favourite outfit to wear with a gown is knee length black and white with a geometric stripe down the front. Red sounds lovely though. Have you checked what colour hood your Uni has for an undergraduate if that is what your daughter is? They are all a bit different - lots of pics on social media I would say for the Uni. Might be plain black for an older place or colours for another. I would favour a shoe that covers the toes although sling backs are fine. You want to look like you are dressed under the gown and hat if that makes sense. Bring hair pins and safety pins to help fix the gown. Consider getting tram etc there or leave plenty of time as car parks near the Unis full. Good look with the final push to graduation and I hope you all have a fabulous day.

Also I would add that most of the girls wear heels and open toes and are absolutely happy with their choices so it is a matter of the outfit you most want to spend the day in. Make sure they can be walked in though up and down stairs as there will be an element of walking up to get the degree. Be ready for lots of clapping!

I graduated as a mature student recently and I looked very staid compared to the under 25's, in retrospect I should have gone a lot more 'dinner and drinks' than I did.

That dress is just right imo, there were a lot of 'going out' type dresses, some much shorter and racier than the one you link to. It looks like it hits just about the right mark.

This ^^

It is a stunning dress, but probably won't be very practical in terms of fastening the robe to her dress at the front.

Could be the same course! Lots of docs!

Sorry that was for @thing47 !
Yes, a more mature bunch of post grads you could not meet.. and all looking lovely, and very different from one another

Agree with others that you'll need something to anchor it on to- I didn't wear an appropriate top when I graduated (a few years ago now!) so safety pinned it, and spent the entire day hoiking it back up. It looks really wonky in all the pics as well.

The three most recent graduations I attended varied from strict formal academic dress to club-ready. It really really depends on the university (the published 'rules' may be out of date). Guidance about how to anchor graduation gown and hood is useful though

Again for the people at the back.... from those of us who've actually worn (or at least seen) a King's gown. They don't need anchoring or pinning

Recently graduated from Edinburgh (and an academic) and would say that dress won't work. She needs to be able to pin her hood/gown and they're quite heavy, they'll pull a hole into that dress. Also, some of the graduation venues are fucking baltic btw. She needs something a wee bit higher necked and in a material that won't get ruined by pins. I love the dress, it'll just not work for the ceremony!

They do, on the shoulders. The KCL ones are often a bit wide for women and depending on the material underneath constantly slip off your shoulders because they're relatively heavy (and minging polyester)! I know you mean like the traditional, pin on the chest - they don't need that - but I see many, many girls either pinning the shoulders of theirs or walking around with them slipping off which looks mightily irritating, and messy, and not what you want to be faffing with as you nervously approach the front stage!