Hello, and welcome to Doctoral Graduation Gowns.org, a site dedicated to providing information and pictures on today’s most popular gowns and robes for Phd.’s and doctoral graduates.
Doctoral gowns, which are also sometimes called Academic Regalia, have been worn for hundreds of years by school officials and doctoral students, and are used to signify rank and importance, as well as carry on tradition, in academic circles. These robes are often made with fine fabrics such as satin and suede, and can be simple or very elaborate and decorated.
These beautiful doctoral graduation robes are usually accompanied by a separate hood, and a cap. Also, the colors of the gowns are determined by the area of expertise that the doctor wearing it specializes in. Because of these interesting factors, Doctoral graduation gowns have a sacred place in the world of academic regalia.
In modern times, most people only wear their academic regalia at school functions and graduation ceremonies, but in the early days of universities, this academic dress was worn at all times while on campus grounds. To a lesser degree, there are still some prestigious schools, sometimes known as ‘ancient universities’, who still require their staff to wear their doctoral gowns and robes at all times .
It is thought that these beautiful and regal gowns have their origin in the world renowned British schools of Cambridge University and Oxford University. These two places are generally thought to be the first to institute the wearing of formal academic dress.
Many people, when looking at these elaborate and colorful robes, wonder what is worn underneath them. The majority of doctors and PHd. graduates wear a formal suit, such as a plain black suit for men and a modest dress for women, underneath their doctoral gowns. It is frowned upon for people to wear casual clothing underneath their robes, and some schools, such as Cambridge, even forbid their professors and graduates from deviating from their pre-determined set of clothing that they deem may be worn under the gown.
An interesting fact about these wonderful doctoral graduation gowns is that they have recently been categorized by their style, shape, and patterns in what is known as the Groves Classification of Academic Dress. This in-depth document even goes so far as to separate the gowns, caps, and hoods into individual classifications. This was done in an effort to organize the many different types of Phd. gowns, and to emphasize their differences and their appropriate uses and meanings.
The hood’s significance to the outfit was once purely functional, but now is considered to be more for the purpose of adornment and decoration. There are two main forms of hoods, which are simple hoods and full hoods. Each separate gown has a corresponding hood. The academic cap has evolved into one of the main forms of symbolism for graduation ceremonies and academic regalia, and can have many different forms, which once again vary by region, graduate or undergraduate, and other factors.
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