subject: How To Wear A Traditional Academic Regalia [print this page] Traditional academic regalia is a tradition in many different countries and cultures even though the particulars vary greatly. Although students of any age can wear the appropriate attire, it is most often reserved for those at the tertiary and sometimes secondary level. It is mainly worn by those who enjoy a particular status as they graduate, and the specific academic regalia that they wear is symbolic of their accomplishments that they achieved during their time as students.
Even though today the attire is worn really only at the graduation ceremonies, in the past the dress was worn on a daily basis as a uniform. There are still some universities that still follow this dress code. For the most part, today the attire consists of a gown or robe, sometimes with a seperate hood, a mortarboard or tam. The type of hat that is worn depends not only on the specific institution but also on the level of academic achievement as well. Academic regalia consists of gowns, which essentially are knee length or shin length versions of longer gowns of older times. There is also the Oxford Commoners gown, which is a sleeveless lay type of robe that has two streamers that fall down the back of it. While some colleges and most high schools use their own distinctive types of gowns, others use the traditional black ones, especially at college level.
Some of the more ancient universities such as the University of St. Andrews use scarlet gowns with velveteen collars on a daily basis. Except for the traditional commencement ceremonies, most other universities no longer have staff dress in the attire daily. There are even some instances however of students who would wear the gowns on a daily basis, too. In the past, undergrads would wear the gowns according to their level or rank in society. Noblemen wore colored ones with gold trim, fancy buttons and other decorations and commoners wore black gowns that decreased in flamboyance as their status decreased.
Most of the academic regalia of today in the United States is based on the Oxford and Cambridge dress of medieval universities in Europe. Formal attire is supposed to be worn beneath the gown today women often wear dress shirts and slacks or dresses and men traditionally wear shirt and tie attire. Although the academic regalia has changed little in the past few centuries, the styles and occasions for it have changed quite a bit.
