What to Wear to Your Graduation
The gown covers most of it, so the decisions that matter are the ones that show: collar, shoes, hemline, and how hot you are going to be.
- What actually shows
- Your collar and the few inches at your chest, your hemline below the gown, your shoes, and your face in about two hundred photographs.
- The collar
- A collared shirt or a simple round neck. The hood fastens at the front on most gowns and a collar gives it something to sit against.
- Hemline
- Either clearly shorter than the gown or clearly longer. A hem that peeks unevenly is the thing you will see in every photo.
- Heat
- Gowns are unlined polyester and halls are full. Dress for a room ten degrees warmer than the forecast.
Shoes, which matter more than anything else
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You will walk across a stage, up and down steps, and stand for photographs for two hours.
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Block heels or flats. A stiletto on a wooden stage ramp is a genuine risk and people do fall.
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Break them in first. This is not the day for new shoes.
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If you want the heels for photographs, wear flats for the ceremony and change afterwards. Everyone does it.
The gown, the hood and the cap
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Collect the gown early. The queue on the morning is always longer than the email says.
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The hood usually needs a loop or a button at the front of your shirt to hold it. A collared shirt solves this; a strapless dress does not.
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Kirby grips for the cap, several. Mortarboards are designed to slide off.
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Do not decorate the cap unless your institution allows it. Some ban it and will make you remove it.
Heat, cold and long days
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Sleeveless underneath is sensible; the gown provides the coverage.
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Take deodorant and a water bottle. You are in polyester for three hours.
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For a winter ceremony, there is nowhere to put a coat once you are seated. Plan for someone to hold it.
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Eat something before. People faint at graduations more than at weddings.
Photographs
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Small patterns disappear on camera. Plain colours photograph better under a dark gown.
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White under a black gown is the classic and it works.
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Bring a small comb or brush. The cap flattens everything.
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The official photographs are taken in a queue and rushed. The good ones are the ones your family take outside afterwards.
Cultural and religious dress
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Traditional or national dress under the gown is appropriate and increasingly common.
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A hijab, turban or kippah is worn as normal; most institutions have guidance on wearing the cap with them, and will not insist.
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If you want to wear something with cultural meaning, wear it. Ceremonies are more relaxed about this than they were.
The shape of the day
Almost nobody is told this in advance, and it decides every clothing choice.
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Gown collection first, usually a queue of an hour, often in a different building.
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Robing, photographs, then seating — you are asked to be seated up to an hour before the start.
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The ceremony itself runs ninety minutes to two hours, most of it sitting.
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Then the walk across the stage, which lasts about eight seconds.
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Then two hours of photographs, outdoors, in whatever weather exists.
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Total: six or seven hours in the gown. Dress for the six hours, not the eight seconds.
What to do with your things
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There is usually nowhere to leave a bag, and gowns have no pockets.
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Give your phone, keys and wallet to whoever is in the audience before you robe.
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Keep the cap and hood receipt somewhere safe — you pay if you do not return them.
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Agree a meeting point with your family before you go in. Phone signal in a packed hall is unusable.
Hair and the mortarboard
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The cap sits flat and low. Anything with height underneath will fight it.
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Low buns, plaits and half-up styles work. High buns do not.
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Kirby grips through the cap into the hair, at least four.
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Natural hair and protective styles: many institutions now supply larger caps on request, and it is worth asking early.
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Bring a brush for after. The cap flattens everything and the photographs come next.
Common mistakes
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A jacket under the gown. You will be far too hot and none of it shows.
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Shoes chosen for the stage rather than the six hours around it.
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Forgetting the gown must be returned the same day, often by a deadline.
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No water. Halls are hot and long.
Hoods, colours and what the gown actually means
Nobody explains this and everyone wonders.
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The gown shape is set by the level of the degree, not the subject.
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The hood lining colour is set by the institution and often by the faculty.
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Undergraduate hoods are usually shorter; master’s and doctoral gowns have longer, fuller sleeves.
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Doctoral gowns are often a different colour entirely and are usually hired separately.
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You do not need to understand any of this. The robing staff dress hundreds of people a day and will do it for you.
Hiring, buying and returning
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Almost everyone hires. Booking closes weeks before the ceremony and late booking is expensive.
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You need your measurements — height and head circumference — when you book.
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Return is the same day, usually within an hour of the ceremony finishing, and there is a charge if you miss it.
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Buying only makes sense if you will wear it again professionally.
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Give the return slip to whoever is not graduating. You will lose it.
If the weather is bad
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Gowns are not waterproof and the photographs are outdoors regardless.
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Take a plain dark umbrella and give it to your family before you robe.
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In heat, the gown is the problem: unlined polyester in a packed hall.
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In cold, you cannot wear a coat over the gown for photographs, so layer underneath.
Accessibility and adjustments
Ceremonies are long, hot and physically demanding, and adjustments exist but must be asked for.
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Step-free stage access is available at almost every institution but usually needs advance notice.
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If standing or queueing is difficult, ask about early robing and seated access — both are routine requests.
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Gowns can be adapted for wheelchair users; ask the robing supplier, not the university, and ask early.
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If you have a condition affected by heat, tell the ceremony office. They will seat you accordingly.
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Guide dogs, interpreters and personal assistants are accommodated but must be registered in advance.
Photographs with the gown
The official ones are rushed and expensive; these are the ones that get framed.
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Book the official photograph slot in advance if the institution offers one. Walk-ups queue for an hour.
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Hold the scroll in the hand furthest from the camera so it does not cover you.
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Take the family photographs before returning the gown, not after. People forget and then it is gone.
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One with friends, one with each family member, one alone. Those are the three asked for later.
Questions people actually ask
What do you wear under a graduation gown?
A collared shirt or simple top, smart trousers or a dress with a hemline clearly shorter or longer than the gown, and comfortable shoes. Only the collar, hem and shoes actually show.
Can I wear trainers to my graduation?
You can, and under a gown almost nobody would see them. Plain dark ones photograph fine; bright white ones will be the brightest thing in the picture.
How hot does it get in a graduation gown?
Very. Gowns are unlined polyester and halls are packed. Dress as though the room is ten degrees warmer than outside, and drink water beforehand.
How long does a graduation ceremony take?
Six or seven hours door to door once gown collection, seating, the ceremony itself and photographs are counted. The walk across the stage is about eight seconds of it.
How do you keep a mortarboard on?
Kirby grips through the cap into the hair, at least four of them, with the cap sitting flat and low. High hairstyles fight it.
Do you have to hire a graduation gown?
At almost every institution, yes, and booking closes weeks in advance. You need your height and head measurement to book, and the gown must be returned the same day.
What do the colours on a graduation hood mean?
The lining colour is set by your institution and often by faculty; the gown shape indicates the level of the degree. Robing staff handle all of it for you on the day.
Can graduation ceremonies be adapted for disabled graduates?
Yes — step-free stage access, early robing, seated waiting and adapted gowns are all routine. All of them need advance notice, so ask the ceremony office weeks ahead rather than on the day.
When should graduation photographs be taken?
Before the gown goes back, which is usually within an hour of the ceremony ending. People routinely forget and then the gown is returned and the chance has gone.