When I graduated high school I wore a jacket under my robe... and wish I hadn't. I didn't visibly perspirate (thank God) but I definitely did around my armpits and felt uncomfortable in general. I suggest keeping the jacket close by for when the robe is taken off. Today the robes are made of polyester or nylon so they can be pretty warm.

I think a lightweight wool suit will be fine for the weather, especially with the trousers alone. Encourage him to wear a tie at least.

 

+1 for the tie with or without the jacket. the gowns tend to have enough of a "V-neck" that you would see the shirt collar and tie but not so much that you would see the jacket (approximately). What's under the gown shows up in the photos so I would say wear a collared shirt and tie (and not a button down collar) and keep the jacket in the car. I wouldn't try to match the tie to the gown but it shouldn't be at war with it either. The gown gets stowed after the ceremony, the rest of the outfit is what's seen all day.

Keep the jacket on a HANGER in the car so if its hot you dont cook it into a wrinkled ball.

 

I would definitely wear a dress shirt and a nice tie with suit pants, but not a suit jacket under the gown. I would have a suit jacket available, possibly with a family member, for photos after the commencement when you take the gown off.

 

I have always thought it was insane of the Americans to have their gowns closed rather tha open at the front like here in Britain. Closing the gown creates more trapped heat but i guess that they close them to hide whatever questionable clothing choice the graduand wears underneath it all... Same with them moving the sleeve openings of the BA/MA gowns from the elbow to the wrist to hide any bare arms (the worse has to be the MA gown sleeves).

 

When one has put up with three year's worth of assignments, tests and examinations what, really, is a few hour's discomfort? Man up and wear a suit and a dark one at that.

That said, I have no idea what American regalia looks like and if, indeed, a coat is even visible under the robe!

 

Dinner jacket (tuxedo), highly polished black shoes, white dress shirt with separate starched wing collar, white bow tie and clerical tabs. At least that's what I wore when I graduated in 1980, but we had no choice.

If the dress code is not so strict I guess you would drop the clerical tabs and wear a smart suit and tie.

 

but i guess that they close them to hide whatever questionable clothing choice the graduand wears underneath it all...

I suspect you may be right. At pre-graduation ceremony inspections I've seen people sent home for darker socks, have their ties retied, jewellery removed and so on by the head porter (resplendent in morning dress and medals!) :teacha:. Most of it is showing people how to properly fold their hoods.

Recently a friend was told that if he couldn't source a white shirt in time (he'd needed to hire one and it was far too small) he'd have to forego the ceremony. Cue a lot of dashing about to borrow one. All this could be avoided if the gown was wrist-length and buttoned up, not that I'm advocating it.

 

Are you serious? When judges don robes to take the bench, they don't leave their suit coat on underneath. The robe is fulfulling the role that a jacket does. Same rule for graduation.

I think I would have died of heat stroke at either my undergrad or law school graduation if I had layered up with a jacket. Those robes (and the law school ones are typically much heavier and hotter than the thin undergrad things) are stultifying.

 

Another vote for no jacket under the gown; keep a suit jacket or sport coat handy for after you take the gown off.

 

I wore a seersucker suit when I graduated from college, but I left the jacket off while I wore the robe.

 

When one has put up with three year's worth of assignments, tests and examinations what, really, is a few hour's discomfort? Man up and wear a suit and a dark one at that.

That said, I have no idea what American regalia looks like and if, indeed, a coat is even visible under the robe!

It's more than feeling discomfort. They often take photos when you go up on stage and grab your diploma. Looking sweaty when that happens isn't advisable. On top of that, suit shoulders look a bit odd underneath the drape of a robe.

 

Another vote for no jacket under the robe.

If it's going to be hot, though (and I assume I'll be pilloried for this) you might want to wear a Camelback under the robe if you have one. As an alternative I've been to a number of graduations at which bottled water was provided for the graduates and audience because it was so hot.

I have two graduations next month. I've already learned that my son's graduation from Sterling College, a tiny enviro-hippie school in Vermont, is likely to be quite casual: no caps and gowns, and maybe anything goes in clothing. I suspect that the Yale Drama School graduation will be orders of magnitude more formal.

 

At least be classy about it. A flask... of water. :icon_smile_big:

 

OK: The Consensus is No Jacket

But what about the color.

One poster mentioned seersucker--which I think is an interesting choice, but a little too, um, smart. I could just picture it peeking out under the black of the robe--the cross between summer ease and solemnity might be too much.

I say no to navy--which is what I prefer for formal occasions--because I don't care for how it goes with black. Personally, I wear merlot shoes with a navy suit, unless it is an interview, and I think the only way navy and black look right together is as part of a uniform--i.e. police and the navy itself. But anyway, the cap and gown has this combination, and I think navy won't work--the navy pant legs, under the black robe, with the blue over-carriage or hood or whatever it is--will look too put together. Black would be all right, actually--but then my friend would be stuck in a black suit on an otherwise perfectly nice summer day once the robe came off and he put on a jacket. After that's taken into consideration, Charcol or light grey is all that's left. Your thougths?

 

Dinner jacket (tuxedo), highly polished black shoes, white dress shirt with separate starched wing collar, white bow tie and clerical tabs. At least that's what I wore when I graduated in 1980, but we had no choice.

If the dress code is not so strict I guess you would drop the clerical tabs and wear a smart suit and tie.

I'm guessing Cambridge? Oxford only allows bands on higher doctors.

Actually, a dinner jacket is not strictly correct IMHO. The regs say 'dark suit/jacket' or something like that. Anyways, unless you graduate from Oxbridge, Durham, St Andrews or Trinity College Dublin (or the other ancient unis of Britain and Ireland), they will not impose subfusc on you.

For American AD (academic dress), you can do away with the jacket as it is closed (one or two wear their gowns open, e.g. Stanford who has Oxbridge influences in its AD). I would, however, suggest a waistcoat as when you sit down, the gown has a tendency to open up below and expose what's underneath, especially for doctoral robes.

Also, the robe does not necessary take place of a jacket. In Oxford, one of the most formal ensembles one can wear consisted of 5 layers:

1. Shirt
2. Suit jacket
3. Black gown
4. Convocation habit
5. Hood

Even though the convocation habit is closed at the front at the top, a suit jacket is still worn because the black gown's sleeves' openings are cut at the elbows and the habit is sleeveless so your white shirt's arms will be exposed.

The only thing wrong with the above person is that he left his jacket unbuttoned thus exposing the white shirt and his waist (and also the hood should be hooked under the bands, not over them)....

 

I'm guessing Cambridge? Oxford only allows bands on higher doctors.

Actually, a dinner jacket is not strictly correct IMHO. The regs say 'dark suit/jacket' or something like that. Anyways, unless you graduate from Oxbridge, Durham, St Andrews or Trinity College Dublin (or the other ancient unis of Britain and Ireland), they will not impose subfusc on you.

For American AD (academic dress), you can do away with the jacket as it is closed (one or two wear their gowns open, e.g. Stanford who has Oxbridge influences in its AD). I would, however, suggest a waistcoat as when you sit down, the gown has a tendency to open up below and expose what's underneath, especially for doctoral robes.

Also, the robe does not necessary take place of a jacket. In Oxford, one of the most formal ensembles one can wear consisted of 5 layers:

1. Shirt
2. Suit jacket
3. Black gown
4. Convocation habit
5. Hood

Even though the convocation habit is closed at the front at the top, a suit jacket is still worn because the black gown's sleeves' openings are cut at the elbows and the habit is sleeveless so your white shirt's arms will be exposed.

The only thing wrong with the above person is that he left his jacket unbuttoned thus exposing the white shirt and his waist (and also the hood should be hooked under the bands, not over them)....

This is a fascinating post. By your logic here, the rule, such as their might be one in the U.S., would be: if the gown leaves arms, collar, etc. exposed, whatever shows underneath it should be formal--i.e. a jacket, a collar with tie.

 

Actually, a dinner jacket is not strictly correct IMHO. The regs say 'dark suit/jacket' or something like that.

They do, but it is noted that:

" 'Dark' means 'black', although very dark grey or very dark blue would suffice."

The aim is to look neat and formal, and to achieve this there should be no contrast between the suit and the gown. Dinner jackets are specifically noted as being suitable in the dress code. In one or two of the colleges the undergraduate gown is actually blue, and not a very dark one, but a basic black-and-white ensemble is still expected -- undergraduate gowns are much smaller than those of people who hold a degree and don't cover much.

For the fellows presiding at a graduation ceremony grey and navy suits are more common with few or none in the black expected of graduands, though they're in much longer gowns.

(and also the hood should be hooked under the bands, not over them)....

I wouldn't be surprised if it had ridden above the bands by itself. Hoods are quite unruly and uncomfortable things to wear, and using the little toggle that attaches to your shirt button serves only to pull your shirt out of your trousers.

 

When I graduated high school I wore a jacket under my robe... and wish I hadn't. I didn't visibly perspirate (thank God) but I definitely did around my armpits and felt uncomfortable in general. I suggest keeping the jacket close by for when the robe is taken off. Today the robes are made of polyester or nylon so they can be pretty warm.

I think a lightweight wool suit will be fine for the weather, especially with the trousers alone. Encourage him to wear a tie at least.

+1...

 

I think this needs to be looked at specifically as to what time of year the Graduation ceremonies are held. I graduated with my MVCR in Autumn 2008. I wore a lightweight summer suit which was fine under the gown.

I think that if your going to go through the ceremony show some style, I find that wearing a shirt and tie under a gown to be plebeian and is in an affront to the ritual and history of the occasion.

 

Subfusc. Show some class.

 

No coat, except in the extremely unlikely case of armless gowns. Good trousers, good shirt, stellar tie, as they'll show. Coat in the car for the post parties.

Academically sartorial note: Don't switch your mortarboard tassel until the end of the ceremony, or when instructed to do so by the presiding dean. Usually they start out on the left and end up on the right, but check your school's protocol and don't guess.

Congratulations to all the class of 2009!

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it had ridden above the bands by itself. Hoods are quite unruly and uncomfortable things to wear, and using the little toggle that attaches to your shirt button serves only to pull your shirt out of your trousers.

Historically, that hood loop was meant for the cassock button. Because the cassock is a much heavier garment, there is not danger of the garment ridding up. Now, they use it to hook the hood onto the shirt which is wrong IMO. The collar, tie and bands and the weight of the hood pulling down your back should be sufficient enough to keep the hood in place. The biggest mistake people usually make is to wear the hood with the neckband so far down the front that the hood body slips over their shoulders like a shawl creating a messy and clumbsy effect (women who wear open necked tops are particularly guilty of this as there is nowhere to hook the neckband so they pin it all the way down).

I agree that subfusc has class. It just goes well with the gown and sort of acts as a class equaliser. Some of my colleagues who went to different unis other than the subfusc wearing institutions wore subfusc to their graduations and received many compliments because it just looks smarter.

The tassel flipping business (as well as cap throwing) is American in origin. Because of the growing number of graduates, individual hooding (or a complete change of dress a lá Oxford) would take too much time so flipping tassels is like a way to mark change in status though this would be rendered useless when a wind blows or when you've already graduated and you're proceeding onto the rank of Master. Cap throwing came from the Naval Academy and somehow infiltrated into the academic ceremony to the point it is now a 'tradition' (albeit a questionable tradition). IMO, keep your hat on!

 

That's interesting. I'm glad to hear the hook isn't meant for a shirt -- for design that bad to last so long would be impressive.

I agree the hood should be worn well back. It feels wrong at first but it's the only way.

 

In the vintage hoods that I have got, there is no loop so that loop is a modern innovation. The loop would probably work well with a very light unlined hood but if it is full-shape and made of wool like the Oxford doctoral ones which are huge, it will be heavy enough to pull the shirt up. I have noticed that the hoods made before 1970 are lighter than today's ones.

 

I think this needs to be looked at specifically as to what time of year the Graduation ceremonies are held. I graduated with my MVCR in Autumn 2008. I wore a lightweight summer suit which was fine under the gown.

I think that if your going to go through the ceremony show some style, I find that wearing a shirt and tie under a gown to be plebeian and is in an affront to the ritual and history of the occasion.

... are you kidding? Please tell me you're kidding.