Dress for DS's graduation: is this Finery dress ok?

[CharlotteRumpling]

I have forgotten how to dress for a formal occasion after 5 years of WFH and dressing very casually most of the time. DS has his graduation soon.
I don't want to spend too much, because I also need to buy shoes. Never bought from this label before, but it popped up on my feed. Is it decent enough quality?
I don't like florals, puff sleeves and tiers.
www.finerylondon.com/products/orion-dark-khaki-zip-front-midi-shirt-dress

It looks too casual I think.

It’s ok, if you’re happy in it it’ll be fine. At my dcs graduation some people were casually dressed but the majority were a bit more dressed up.

Absolutely fine. Wear it with comfy shoes as there is a lot of standing around and walking.

There seems to be no hard & fast rule for graduations these days. I wore a floral tea dress to DD's in September at Oxford. Dresses seemed to be the most popular option with a few wearing trousers. I would equally have worn the black culottes and black & white top I wore to a wedding last weekend. They are far less formal than weddings and my own 30 odd years ago.

I think it will look great. At my daughter's graduation there was a wide range in how dressed up people were. Smart casual to full on 'wedding guest'!

Not everyone is dressed formally at graduations.The dress is fine.

It will be fine. Don't listen to the inevitable posters that will turn up and say you need to dress like Kate Middleton.

Most women had those sort of indiany print summer dresses at dcs graduation a couple of weeks ago.

Forgot to say that the graduation is in September, so I expect it to be cooler.
DS seems to think everyone will be in jeans.

I also quite like this and it's in cotton. https://www.finerylondon.com/products/wren-navy-cotton-midi-tiered-dress

Yes much prefer that.

I wore black trousers and a short sleeved blouse. Dh had a suit with no tie. There was a wide variety of dressy and casual dressers at my dds graduation

I’ve attended three graduations and would say it’s just right. The very formal MoB type outfits were definitely in the minority.

Perfect for a graduation

I like the dresses and think they would be fine. I’ve found Finery to be good quality. Sorry to be pedantic but you say you don’t like tiers then both dresses have them? I am a tier-disliker too so I was just curious!

My dd wore this dress to her graduation. It looked nicer on her than it does on the model

I really like this dress and think it's lovely for a graduation ceremony. Chic and understated.

I agree. That dress is perfectly fine. The MoB stuff is OTT.

I’ve been to many graduations (I’m an academic) and that’s absolutely fine. People are much more casual than they were when I graduated (2000). It’s a nice dress too!

You know what, you are absolutely right! I could barely see them because of the dark colour, but they are lurking. So hard to find a dress without!

Any similar dresses under £80 perhaps, in cotton or viscose? Plain dark colours preferred, but doesn't have to be black or navy.

Both are fine. Not long been at DS’s (Oxbridge) and there was a mix of parental dress from jeans with smart tops to what could be mother of the bride dresses.

Most women (including myself)were wearing smartish but comfortable day dresses with sensible footwear (I.e. not high heels), so think ballet pumps, low heeled sandals and quite a few gold/silver Birkenstock like footwear were on show.

Men were generally in suits (most without a tie as it was hot) or trousers and a blazer but again quite a few in jeans and polo shirts.

The dress is fine. I would wear some espadrilles or similar ( unless it is raining ) I prefer the blue rather than the khaki.

I have bought a Hobbs dress from Vinted for ds2’s September graduation. It was £30 and it’s absolutely immaculate. Just a simple shift dress and I’ll wear a jacket and flat shoes.

I think smart but comfortable is my goal and those dresses fit into that fine! Definitely worth a browse of Vinted, you can get some really good buys.

I love it! Simple but classy I think. You can dress it up with heels and a nice bag...I'd go for tan. Ooo and gold jewellry.

Both absolutely perfect. I do wonder if the posters who suggest super formal outfits have ever actually been to a graduation recently.

The navy is lovely and great for a graduation.
i think the zip on the green one makes it a bit more casual.

@CharlotteRumpling like this maybe

I agree. I wore a pale blue tweed coat over a floral silk tea dress from Edina Ronay but it was very much a day dress I'd worn loads of times before. Neither were bought new.