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The cap and gown tradition has been alive and evolving for centuries and will always remain an important part of one’s academic experience.

GraduationSource.com

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Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations, and seniors of the class of 2020 learned that the hard way.

Cora Jones

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Regalia around the world...

Not only is graduation wear important to students in the United States, but around the globe there are many different traditions surrounding the importance of the regalia worn by the seniors. For example, TheVintageNews.com explains that in Thailand, diplomas are handed out by Royal Family members, to seniors dressed in traditional gowns over a uniform. On the other hand, many Chinese female graduates will wear wedding gowns to their graduations followed by a celebration. A very unique tradition is present in Japan. Each senior wears an outfit that would be more fitting for a Halloween costume. TheVintageNews.com even states that “their attire has become so outrageous that TV crews come in to film the ceremonies” The United States is the only country known for having graduations for every level of school transition including: kindergarten, elementary, middle, and of course high school. Even in the ceremonies for younger children, traditions graduation outfits are worn, which would include child sized gowns, and small mortarboard hats. 

Production of Regalia in the United States

In the United States, there are many different companies that will produce this type of custom graduation gear. According to Harcourts, a regalia production company - based in Toronto, "the style behind the graduation gowns and graduation hats" has changed dramatically and now there are different length, styles, and colors relating to different disciplines and schools of graduation.

In the diagram shown below, I labeled the easiest ways to tell the differences between the different types of gowns shown at a college level. You can often find bachelors and masters degree students wearing the traditional mortarboard caps, while the future Doctors - doctoral students - are wearing the “Tam” which is basically a hat that only the highest level students can pridefully place on their big ol’ brains. In addition, there are also braided cords available at every grade level. The cost of a custom gown could range anywhere from $30-$300 based on quality materials used, amount of cords, or medals included, and more. 

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Every graduate of 2020 has a special connection to one song they never heard...

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Regalia in the present...

It goes without saying that the world we live in today is unrecognizable from 20 years, 5 years, or even one year ago. The ongoing pandemic (wear a mask mask 😷 please) has changed every aspect of our world as we know it but one thing was greatly effected. The graduations. Each graduating senior had worked for anywhere from 12-16 years of their life to have a ceremony to commemorate their hard work. In my situation I was the graduation walk coordinator, as well as a speaker that would be present on the stage of our 20,000 person arena that was in the center of our city and was a major landmark for all of the students in the valley. Not only was this physical place a memory for everyone that was in my school, but for seniors all around and in different stages of their education, graduation marked a turning point in their lives, and when the pandemic hit, that was all taken away in a snap.

After this time when we all processed the grief behind the loss of our planned graduation we realized that we would not have the typical graduation, but one that has never been seen before. With this realization, our regalia became even more important to this experience because in this case, we had no place to hold our memories of graduation, but rather items. These items for me included color-coded cords for my clubs and achievements, a stole for my academic rank and leadership status, a gown fitted to me perfectly, and of course a custom designed cap.

Many other seniors were in the same situation in which they placed greater emotional value on these items during the pandemic because it was a way of holding on to what we lost during this difficult time. As seen in this image of me, I am proud to be wearing my cap that I designed for myself, as well as the cords and stoles that I earned with my hard work throughout high school. Even though we were not physically in the place that we expected; walking across the massive stage under the lights, to the sound of Pomp and Circumstance, we got our mementos of this time we lost, and personally I hold these closer to me now than I would've if I had a typical graduation.

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Regalia in the past...

As described in the article on the GraduationSource website, graduation attire came to fruition when universities began developing in the 12th and 13th centuries. Historians connected the attire of long robes to the scholars staying warm in the unheated buildings during this time, in addition to wearing them in order to distinguish themselves from the townspeople.

This drawing depicts what may have been worn during this time, seen in the image is scholars and professors wearing robes and caps.

While medieval schools were the inspiration behind academic dress, Oxford and Cambridge were the first to officially recognize graduation attire. By later years, excessive wear was banned and it was important that everyone had cohesive outfits in order to create unity during the ceremony. 

Shown in this image is Andrea Mantegna (left) and Linus Pauling (right) although these images were about 500 years apart there is a distinct feature, being the graduation headwear, an important part of the regalia. Although there have been variations of the graduation hat in the past, the most common style is the mortarboard cap. Historians believe that the square shape of the cap originates from the form of a book to represent the scholarly wear, or even the shape of the Oxford quad. As I mentioned earlier this was one of the first schools that formally recognized graduation wear. Even with the uncertainty of the origin, it remains popular amongst education institutions. 

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LOLz

When covid ruins your graduation but you still got the cap & gown!

May 28th, 2020

Posted by: KaryB_02

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iChat: May 25th, 2020

Jason: Hey guys! Have you heard anything about when we are getting our caps and gowns? I really want to see them even if we don't have a graduation ceremony :(

Michelle: I talked to Ms.Ellis and she has no idea, what is the big deal? This is such an important item to any graduation!!

Kary: I wanted to take senior portraits in my outfit! It sucks that we can't even pick them up at school!!!

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Regalia? What it is?

In the life of a graduating senior, high school or college, regalia is a vital part of the ceremony and a physical item to remember this commemorative event. More specifically is the mortarboard cap that is commonly worn with a tassel showcasing the year of graduation or school mascot. Also worn is the gown, as well as cords and stoles in some situations. In the times of the pandemic of COVID-19, these physical items were even more important than usual. This poses the question of how the importance of graduation regalia has changed over time.