What to wear to graduation?

[Milada]

Stoles? In the sense of dead animals with the head and tail still visible that old ladies wear around their necks?

 

[fashionista-ta]

Now it comes to me ... I think they're called hoods. The colored bits at the back of the gown that vary based on where you got your degree ...

Her hat was so cool it almost made you want to find out where she got it & go get a degree from there Almost being the operative word ...

 

[StellaMare]

Just to update on my search for a graduation dress, I was a little picky as I've been determined to find an antique dress - and I found one! It's from 1911 and in very good condition. Beautiful details. I'm having a tailor shorten it as planned, and I'm buying a slip dress to match but other than that it's ready to wear Here's a detail shot..

my picture

 

[GasolineRainbow]

Wow, sooo pretty!! Amazing find. Where on earth did you find such an old dress in mint condition? White and lacy, no less.

 

[StellaMare]

It took me quite a few months to find the one, usually most really old dresses are stained/have holes, are weird sizes or extremely expensive. This one was the right size and price, thankfully.. I bought it from a shop that specializes in antique clothing from the late 1800's to early 1900's. It is one of my favorite stores by far, everything is unique!

 

[GasolineRainbow]

usually most really old dresses are stained/have holes, are weird sizes or extremely expensive.

I'll bet! Your patience certainly paid off, you have such a great eye.

So, is your grad dress required to be white, or was it a personal choice? Because a lot of us seem to have been requested to wear white, and I'm curious as to what the tradition behind this means.

Edit Just remembered you mentioned it is traditional in Sweden. So what does it mean?

 

[fashionista-ta]

Oh, it's lovely, StellaMare! I was just in an antique mall this past weekend that had a booth of all-white vintage clothing, and it was as you say ... my first impression was that none of it was wearable.

Does the hunt for shoes begin now?

 

[e-v-elina]

at grad here you wear white thats the tradition.

very cute dress, StellaMare!

i'm wearing a skirt from zara and a blouse! all white of course.

 

[HodanChloe]

My graduation is next month and i still haven't found a dress!

Does anyone know where i can find a dress like this?

(kstewartfan.org)

 

[The_Ida]

at grad here you wear white thats the tradition.

very cute dress, StellaMare!

i'm wearing a skirt from zara and a blouse! all white of course.

I think we do it in DK too. I don't know why, and not everyone does it. Oh well

 

[fashionista-ta]

My graduation is next month and i still haven't found a dress!

Does anyone know where i can find a dress like this?




(kstewartfan.org)

Looks like Chanel off the top of my head ... do you have a spare arm and leg?

I have my theories about the white for graduation, but I will spare you

 

[GasolineRainbow]

I have my theories about the white for graduation, but I will spare you

No, don't spare me! I'm really curious about where traditions like that stem from. I know it's probably a patriarchical reason, similar to white for weddings. But at the same time, I wonder if there are other meanings. For example, I know that Saint Lucia (where girls typically wear a white dress) is an important holiday in Scandinavia, and Lucia was something of a proto-feminist. Also, Lucia=light=enlightenment, it's close to education in a way.

Maybe the connections I'm making are arbitrary, but it's such a pity when we're instructed to wear or do something as part of tradition, but the meaning behind it is lost or forgotten. (Although in cases such as Wimbledon, this might be a good thing.)

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Well, bear in mind that I don't know jack about this But I wondered if it wasn't meant to symbolize the school returning the daughter to the parents in the same state of purity in which she was delivered

 

[GasolineRainbow]

^ Well, bear in mind that I don't know jack about this But I wondered if it wasn't meant to symbolize the school returning the daughter to the parents in the same state of purity in which she was delivered

Oh, that's a good one! I used trusty ol' Google to get to the bottom of this. This is from answers.google.com with High School Graduation as the subject.

The short answer to your question is, NONE. There is no symbolism, nor even a tradition of women wearing white gowns to graduate from high school.
Here's the long answer ---
As it turns out, girls in white is not any long-standing "tradition" but is more likely a recent innovation having more to do with style preferences of the day.
More the norm nowadays is this: Guys in one color, girls in another. Understand that the whole idea of high school graduation gowns is based on the traditional academic regalia worn by university
graduates. However, in high school there are no different colleges. One color alone signifies graduation. Early on, graduates from high school didn't even wear gowns. This picture from 1923 shows the graduation class just wearing dress clothes. Yes, the women are in white, but
only because white was considered "dressy" in those days.

This is very interesting, it was a pure trend! But as it only deals with the United States, the tradition of wearing white in European countries remains unanswered. Maybe it's the same as with Americans, but perhaps it's less straightforward, as Europe implicates a much longer history.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Paging Valerie Steele ...

 

[GasolineRainbow]

She has one of my dream jobs. I'm so fascinated by these things.

 

[fashionmuse]

my graduation is a week from sunday and i planned on wearing the white marc by marc jacobs joelle dress- and then it arrived in the mail and didn't fit.

so now i'm look for a similar one