How to Wear a Cap & Gown

The fashion choices offered for high school and college graduates are minimal as each student is required to purchase and wear a cap and gown to participate in the graduation ceremonies. Not only do some people think the outfit looks bad, but others worry they will create problems during the actual ceremony. A major fear is that people will trip on their gown when walking up the stairs to the stage to receive their diploma, while others are concerned that their cap will fall off. There are things you can do though to ensure that you have a pleasant experience the next time you find yourself wearing a cap and gown.

Order the correct size. Most schools require that you order a cap and gown to ensure you receive one that will fit you correctly. This requires that you provide both height and weight measurements when ordering to ensure that the gown isn't too long and fits around you comfortably. In addition, you can order what size of cap you need to fit on your head. Generally the individual at your school who oversees the cap and gown ordering can help you pick out which size of cap you need, based on the size of your head.

Plan what to wear underneath. While you may be more focused on making sure that your cap and gown fit, you do need to plan what you are going to wear underneath it. You will want to take into consideration what color your cap and gown are and plan something that will look good with that color. Black pants will look much better than orange pants, if your cap and gown is red.

Pick up in advance anything you need to wear with your cap and gown. For students that belong to certain honor societies or have received certain awards or recognition, there are often special things to wear with your gown. Some of these are hoods that go around the collar of the gown, while others receive pens or medals to attach to the front of their gown. If you qualify to wear anything in your graduation ceremony, you should pick it up a few days beforehand to ensure that you're not trying to find it at the last minute.

Decorate the cap if you want. If you are participating in a large ceremony like many colleges and universities have, it can be difficult to stand out so your family and friends can see you. One thing that many students do is decorate their cap, and you can do this as well (in accordance with school guidelines, of course). Tape, markers, glitter, paint and stickers are all things you can use to personalize your cap, making it easy for your supporters to identify you in the audience.

Secure the cap with bobby pins. Getting your cap to stay on can be a challenge even if you ordered the right size. Before the ceremony starts, use a few bobby pins to connect the cap to your hair and hold it in place. Then when you get ready to throw your cap in the air at the end of the ceremony, you can easily just remove the bobby pins and toss it up.