# What did you wear under your graduation gown/robe? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817 "2009-05-09T02:55:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/1 "2009-05-09T02:55:04Z")
In 8 days I’m graduating from my university, and I haven’t made any firm decisions on what to wear under my robe/gown/black shapeless zip-up long-sleeved polyester device. To help me figure it out, I’m curious as to what other people wore under their robes. If you have any suggestions for me that you didn’t wear, that’s cool too. The weather is likely to be in the mid-to-high 60s outside, possibly raining, and my shoe options are black sandals, black Mary Janes, and grey-and-pink sneakers. (It’s not the most opaque of robes and my bust cries out for a bra at all times, so “nothing” is right out. I also want to be able to take the robe off as soon as the ceremonies are done.) (Bonus question: Anything collegiate and/or twenty-something style I should make sure I do before I graduate?) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/2 "2009-05-09T02:59:23Z")
Something suit-ish, I think. A decently formal dress should be fine. (I’m personally hoping my parents won’t make me go to graduation next year, but that may well be futile.) ---
**Author:** ![Sonnenstrahl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Sonnenstrahl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonnenstrahl)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/3 "2009-05-09T03:02:46Z")
I wore a skirt and sleeveless top. Nothing very formal, but it was mid-June or so and it was hot out, and it was all covered, anyway. Some people wore shorts and tanks, but most wore skirts or dresses. Guys, unfortunately, had to wear formal pants although I remember seeing a few in shorts and sandals. One of those times where I’m really thankful that women have the option of warm weather business/dressy clothes. The only important thing from the point of view of pictures is your shoes, but you also want to consider if you can stand for a long time in them, and whether there’s a chance you’ll trip while walking across the stage. I opted for more comfortable low-heeled sandals, but I kind of wish I’d gone all out and worn the strappy heels. My feet would have recovered, and I would have been that inch or two taller. At least at my school, sneakers would have definitely stood out as a bit strange. And we only got our robes that morning, so stripping down to put them on would have been a bit awkward. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/4 "2009-05-09T03:03:49Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > A decently formal dress should be fine. Formal, as opposed to semi-formal? I thought semi-formal was standard. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/5 "2009-05-09T03:07:24Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Formal, as opposed to semi-formal? I thought semi-formal was standard. At my graduation 6 months ago, I was expected to wear a suit. Look at your university’s website – they’ll probably have something up there about attire at your graduation. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/6 "2009-05-09T03:13:34Z")
At my school we wore what would probably be referred to as Business Casual. > [@Rysto](#): > > At my graduation 6 months ago, I was expected to wear a suit. Look at your university’s website – they’ll probably have something up there about attire at your graduation. I second this, your website probably has the requirements, if all else fails do you know any recent graduates you could shoot an email to and ask? ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/7 "2009-05-09T03:19:11Z")
**Rysto** , I looked on the university website, and the only attire notes were about the gowns- where to buy them and how much they would cost. (The mailer they sent out was slightly more informative, saying that Native American traditional clothing and military uniforms are the only acceptable substitutes for the robe. But I’m only about a sixty-fourth Cherokee and not in the armed forces so that didn’t apply to me.) There are graduation coordinators listed that I can call or email to check about the dress code, but I’m guessing that since this is Montana and there’s no requirements listed, it’s up to the graduates to decide how to dress. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/8 "2009-05-09T03:27:45Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I second this, your website probably has the requirements, if all else fails do you know any recent graduates you could shoot an email to and ask? (Sorry for the double post.) I don’t know many recent graduates- a good part of my friends are younger than me, drop-outs, or both. The ones that aren’t are mostly graduating with me: I only took three years, and a lot of them took an extra year. But I’ll see if I can come up with anyone to ask. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/9 "2009-05-09T03:49:22Z")
My school has also been silent on the topic, so I’ll be wearing jeans and a t-shirt underneath my dignified polyester sack and extremely stupid hat. (Seriously: “Congratulations on your at least four years of [ostensibly] hard and dedicated work! Here, put this piece of cardboard with a cat-toy dangling from it on your head. It makes you look dignified!”) ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/10 "2009-05-09T04:02:58Z")
At my law school grad, I wore shorts and a T-shirt. It was hot as blazes that day, so it was a good choice. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/11 "2009-05-09T04:12:39Z")
My wedding dress, but I did not know it at the time. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/12 "2009-05-09T04:14:17Z")
No matter what you wear underneath, make sure you wear comfortable shoes. Sneakers work great there- you’re going to be on your feet for a while, and I know for ours we had to do a graduation walk across campus, and then followed that by standing in line for 2 hours while everyone lined up to enter the stadium and everything. So yeah- even if you gotta be semi formal or what not underneath, WEAR COMFY SHOES. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/13 "2009-05-09T04:31:49Z")
I was supposed to wear something underneath it? ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/14 "2009-05-09T04:47:22Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > My school has also been silent on the topic, so I’ll be wearing jeans and a t-shirt underneath my dignified polyester sack and extremely stupid hat. (Seriously: “Congratulations on your at least four years of [ostensibly] hard and dedicated work! Here, put this piece of cardboard with a cat-toy dangling from it on your head. It makes you look dignified!”) I am so going to use my tassel as a cat-toy when I get home, thanks to you. **Ro0sh** , I am with you on the shoes. Except for my wedges which are only slightly uncomfy and the very beat-up sneakers I paint in (they started out comfy but are dying into worse-than-being-barefoot), every shoe I have here is comfortable. I think I’ve narrowed shoes to two options: the Mary Janes or the sandals. Both are super comfortable, and since I need to pack up most of my shoes to move out, both are good shoes to have out and available during the voyage home. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/15 "2009-05-09T06:30:59Z")
We had a formal brunch thingy right before the ceremony, so all of us were dressed in nice clothes but nothing too fancy. I think I just wore a summer dress and sandals, as did most of the girls. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/16 "2009-05-09T07:52:11Z")
A bikini, pearls and heels. It was hot out. And someone tucked a bottle of champagne under my seat, and it was so hot it exploded and made me very glad I had a bikini on. _sigh_ Such a long time ago… ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/17 "2009-05-09T08:37:26Z")
Go commando. ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/18 "2009-05-09T09:44:10Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Go commando. Funny you should mention that… I always wear undies, but first time I graduated I went to the ceremony after spending the night at my then girlfriend’s place. For some reason, now lost in the mists of time, I had no underwear at her place and by the time I realised it was too late to duck home and get some. So I wore the immaculate suit and tie, and graduated commando style. Many years later I completed another degree and respecting a former era, omitted undergarments for the conferring ceremony (deliberately this time.) A third degree ceremony and again, no knickers. Hey, tradition is tradition… ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/19 "2009-05-09T10:26:38Z")
I wore a suit and tie. I can’t imagine a man wearing anything any less formal for a graduation. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817/20 "2009-05-09T10:48:11Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I wore a suit and tie. I can’t imagine a man wearing anything any less formal for a graduation. Ditto. Black suit, sober tie, like everyone who graduated with me. Girls wore semi-formal dresses. [See?](http://anuruddha.smugmug.com/photos/231260483_WP9SD-XL.jpg) (I’m on the left with the glasses.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-you-wear-under-your-graduation-gown-robe/495817.md?page=2)