How-To: Dress for Graduation Ceremony

How-To: Dress for Graduation Ceremony

Convocation, it’s time to cement your first step into adulthood with your last event as a student! You might realize that while it’s your graduation, it isn’t necessarily all about you (welcome to adulthood). It’s a day where your families and friends mark a major milestone in your life by taking lots and lots…and lots of pictures.

The least you could do for everyone who’s come to support and celebrate with you is to look decent. But after years of FBT and camp T-shirts, formal seems a bit foreign. You know that you’ll be wearing the graduation gown and mortarboard, but what do you wear underneath?! Here’s a quick and simple guide to dressing just right for convocation.

For Him

  • White Collared Shirt
    • Save the patterned and coloured shirts for the after-party. When you’re in a gown, only the contrast of a white collar works. When it comes to shirts, as long as you’ve got one that fits your body well, you’ll do just fine.
  • Tie (Full Windsor)
    • Only the knot and a bit of your tie will peek above the gown. To stand out, you’ll want to pick a bright colour that contrasts with the gown. Dark colours will make it look like your gown is trying to swallow you. As the knot will be the main part of your tie that’s seen, you’ll want to tie a full Windsor to give it a solid symmetrical large knot.
  • Dark Coloured pants
    • Pants are pretty straightforward, you can’t go wrong with black or navy pants.
  • Shoes
    • With shoes, the classic black always works. However, if you want it to pop a little, you can always opt for brown shoes. To go full formal, wear a pair of brogues. But if you’re heading straight for the after-party, a stylish pair of leather loafers will get you through both the ceremony and party.

For Her

  • White collared blouse
    • The same applies for the ladies. You’ll have your chance to strut your fancy dresses and cute tops at the after-party. But for the ceremony, a long-sleeved white blouse that fits well works great.
  • Dark coloured skirt
    • A Navy or Black skirt is all you need to complete your professional look.
  • Formal Shoesย or Heels
    • It’s time to take your favourite pair of dark-coloured heels for a spin. If you’re not a fan of heels, pumps work just fine too!

Personalization Tips:

While the attire for convocation might seem restrictive, there is still room for self-expression.

  • For girls, you always have the option to be more creative with makeup accessories
  • Nothing too avant-garde, but you should easily nail it with something that represents your usual style with an extra dose of oomph.
  • It’s time to kick your hairdo up a notch. Because it’s a formal occasion you can attempt hairstyles that youโ€™d usually only get to pull off at weddings, but not too big a hair because you still have a mortarboard to place on your head!
  • Watches come in a great variety that can add colour, class and a tinge of personality to your overall look.ย 

Once your attire is convocation-ready, all you need is to master that stock photo graduation smile to make the best of all your convocation shots!