Graduation Gloom: A Case for Changing Painfully Restrictive Dress Codes
- Ethan Forbes
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Ethan Forbes
For many final year students such as myself, the end of our studies, graduation and entering the big bad world are looming large. For many of us, this is a time that is plagued by more questions than answers. What are you going to do after graduating? Do you have a job yet? Are you going to do a master’s degree? But surprisingly, the most important question may be... what are you wearing to graduation?
On the one hand, while we are scrambling to find answers to the rest of those questions, some may be thankful for the guidance and strong opinions of the university on that final question. The university guidance provided on the website, under the ‘what to wear’ section is both helpfully clear, and in my opinion, painfully restrictive:
At graduation, graduands wear formal academic dress. This is a gown and hood, plus a:
dark lounge suit or dress kilt outfit, with white shirt, white bow tie and dark shoes
or
dark skirt or dark trouser suit or dress kilt outfit, with white blouse and dark shoes.
In addition to this, it is stipulated that, ‘All graduands may wear the national costume or dress of their country of birth or ordinary residence.’ The website also specifically states that ‘Jeans, trainers and other casual clothing are not permitted. You may be excluded from the graduation ceremony if you are not wearing proper academic dress.’
Other universities such Edinburgh, offer very similar guidance, emphasising that graduation is a formal occasion, but importantly Edinburgh’s website states that there is ‘no formal dress code’ and the same dark suits or skirts with white shirts or blouses are merely recommendations. The Edinburgh website also draws attention to the accepted ways in which you can express yourself through pins, broaches, jewellery, etc. While St Andrews does mention national dress, no mention is made of ways in which students can express other parts of their identity, beliefs, or affiliations.
Having attended an Edinburgh graduation last year, I was impressed with the variety of outfits that students adorned to celebrate their achievements. Many wore traditional national dress and the recommended dark suits. Others wore black-tie attire to celebrate their day, with velvet dinner jackets peeking out from under their academic gowns, or colourful dresses of many different styles. The graduates that day had the joy of celebrating their achievements and the freedom of choosing to do it in their own unique style.
As a proud Scotsman, there is no doubt concerning what I will be wearing to graduation. However, even though the graduation dress code does specifically cater to what I want to wear, there are still restrictions placed on neckwear and the jacket colour, with the white bow tie and dark jacket remaining the university’s preference.
While I am proud to wear my kilt, the university's policy pushes me towards wearing it with a different jacket than I would like, just to fit in with their ‘dark’ dress code. This is incredibly restrictive on students’ self-expression, meaning that attire that may not fall into traditional formal categories, such as light-coloured suits or patterned, colourful cocktail dresses are not permitted. Perish the thought that your graduation ceremony lines up with the one week of summer weather we get in Scotland, and you’d like to wear some linen to stay cool and still look smart!
I count myself lucky that I have the options in my wardrobe to wear Highland dress and conform with the university guidelines but for many others this may not be the case, for fears that their outfit may be deemed inappropriate, resulting in them being prohibited from participating in their graduation ceremony.
Although, I can understand why the dress code is important for the university. It has a reputation as an ancient and elite institution and part of maintaining that image is through upholding a strict and uniform formal dress code for graduation. However, the University of Edinburgh is also an ancient and prestigious academic institution, and they do not enforce such strict rules.
I am also certainly not going to be one to advocate that graduation should be a casual affair. With modern office attire becoming increasingly casual I think we should celebrate any occasion to get a bit more dressed up. However, I am a firm believer that we can celebrate our achievements, look our best doing it, and have a dress code which is more inclusive of the wide variety of students that St Andrews attracts from across the globe.
St Andrews prides itself in its student satisfaction scores and allows sub-honours students to try out a variety of classes and alter their degree path to suit what they want to study. So why does this appreciation of students' individual interests not translate into an understanding of the individual styles and identities of the students that we are supposed to be celebrating at graduation?
Regardless of what we are wearing, I want to congratulate everyone that is graduating on their amazing achievements and wish them all the best in the big bad world. Hopefully, in a few years time, our fellow students will be able to celebrate their achievements in more vibrant colours or individual outfits, but for now, hopefully a custom jacket lining will be able to satisfy the need of the fashionable to express themselves within the restrictive dress code.
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