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

I wore this https://joanieclothing.com/zeena-x-joanie-emma-blue-floral-print-puff-sleeve-midaxi-dress.html for dd4's graduation. I did end up in Converse though - it absolutely chucked down unexpectedly and they were the only thing I had other than sandals. I felt absoltely appropriate. Some people wore casual clothes, a few looked like they had just come in from clubbing and some were very mob. Northern RG,

Dd1's Masters in London there were lots of people in national dress.I wore a smart navy dress and pearls - very safe.

I attend a lot of graduations (academic) and dress appropriately - dress with jacket, or suit. And smart shoes. It’s an important formal occasion in my students’ lives, so I want to respect that. If you use that thought as a guide, then maybe that helps?

Jeans and T-shirts would look out of place in my mind, because culturally and historically humans do tend to dress up for important ceremonies - it’s a way of marking the specialness of the occasion - it’s an out of the ordinary moment.

Hats are not good, as you obscure other people’s views, but a more than everyday dress, a suit, - basically, think smart clothing that shows your pride in your DC and you can’t go wrong.

have a great day - I always love seeing my students dressed up with their proud parents!

The graduation ceremony is all about the graduate, they are usually the ones to make the effort, the guests are not getting up on stage and are not on show. There's no need to be OTT with dressing up.

The first dress is really frumpy

I wore this one for DD’s last month and it felt right with brown wedge (turns out desperately uncomfortable sandals). Some great sales on at the moment. Don’t think I saw anyone in jeans, graduands or their families

I love the navy one. The others are OK

I live near Bristol uni and see a lot of mum's attending graduation ceremonies. There is a mix of styles (usually a bit more leaning towards mother of the bride if I'm honest), but also some more casual. The first dress will be fine with some nice accessories. However, I've honestly never seen anyone wearing jeans, so I think your daughter is way off the mark with that one.

Yes, I like this one much better. With the feminine detailing, it's lovely. You'll look fabulous!

I second the suggestion that you opt for comfy shoes as there is typically a lot of standing and walking.

You'll have a lovely day and feel like the bee's knees in this!

Wear whatever makes you feel good and enjoy the day, OP. Maybe not jeans. Graduations are definitely much more casual than my ACs’ back in the late nineties. Even then my DD1 had a bet with her friend that I would be the only parent in a hat (I was known for never being knowingly underdressed). She was wrong - there were four of us. 😊

Perfect dress

Based on my experience of Cambridge this year no need 😀. The dresses you posted would have been fine.

Depending on what college then decent shoes are a must as you can have a 20-30 min walk from the college to Senete House after the pre-ceremony meal in halls.

Then another hike back to wherever you parked/are staying.

I’m a lecturer - “our” mums tend to wear dresses similar to the ones you have picked out, or smart trousers/top. I’d say the vibe is “fancy lunch”, “afternoon tea”, or “evening wedding guest” rather than MoB. Our venue can be chilly so having a layer that can go on/off is useful, and there can be a lot of standing around and walking, so definitely comfy shoes!

Men at ours tend to be in trousers and shirt/jacket, some suits, and national dress is also worn. We’re in Scotland so lots of male students in kilts, and I particularly enjoy seeing mums/other female guests in colourful saris or similar. I also love seeing really little brothers and sisters in proper “Sunday best” type clothes, wee boys in kilts are the cutest thing.

I love it, classy and understated.
I really like the colour.

Honestly people wear anything to graduations. Most tend to be quite casual now but yes I think it's a time to celebrate 😊

Really? Id say the tiered ones are far more frumpy.

I like both dresses but think they are a bit casual. Would consider wearing them if I already owned them, but if buying something especially for it then I’d probably go a bit fancier. I like the second best just because it is slightly less casual.

I wore this dess from Roman to my DS graduation in June. With almost flat sandals. Women were mainly in dreses, men in suits though not all with ties except the graduants. I did see a few women wearing trainers witb dresses.

I like this from Finery Polka dot tea dress

We had our second graduation this year - anything goes, you can't go wrong, lots of women in dresses and trainers and men in all sorts jeans trainers, some in a suit but not many.
The grads were the ones who dressed up - it's their day after all! I kind of like that - they stood out.

I work at a uni and was stewarding at graduation all last week, 9 ceremonies in all. Most people were smartly dressed, I saw plenty of jeans and trainers but as part of a 'smart casual' ensemble with a jacket/blazer/shirt/blouse.
But really, it's a crazy hectic day and nobody will be paying much attention to what you're wearing, unless it's something completely mad like a full wetsuit with mask and snorkel.

I'm an academic and I notice that most other academics on this thread and people who work at universities think the dresses are all fine. Students and colleagues have to wear subfusc, basically a white blouse and smart trousers or skirt for women. For mums, no-one's really looking but it's pretty normal to just dress as PPs have said, as though you were going for a nice lunch. Which you hopefully are, before or after the ceremony.

@CharlotteRumpling , will you be having official family photos? Or just ones of your DS? Dress accordingly.

is very, very funny that the Oxbridge parents just have to shoehorn that fact in.

Ha, that amused me too!

I wore a plain navy shift dress for my daughter’s graduation this year (won’t say where as it’s not relevant!). Busy patterns make me look frumpy. But anything smart-casual goes and lovely accessories make a nice difference! I wanted our family shots to look great, and they did!

I like Cos