I get all fired up when the first bars of "Pomp and Circumstance" sound and we begin to march. Thirty minutes later, I'm suffocating in velvet and waiting for us to march out.:eek: Every year.

At my grad school, you march in commencement wearing the hood of your bachelor's degree, because technically you are a "degree candidate" until they hand over the diploma at the end of the day. So I had a black hood lined with crimson (school color) and wore a black gown with purple crow's feet (representing a degree candidate in the field of law). It's fun to see the amazing robes of professors who got their PhD's from overseas universities; one university in Spain has a hat that's like a gold lame wig.

All the professional schools march carrying emblems of the profession -- globes for the school of goverment, toothbrushes for the dental school, play money for the business school. We in the law school carried inflatable sharks!

One of the professors at my graduation had the best academic attire that I'd ever seen - yellow robe with dark purple stripes and a great tam... I want to go to whatever school he got his PhD from just for the regalia!!!

One of the professors at my commencement was wearing regalia that must have come from Shakespearean England. All a burgundy red, instead of a full robe he had a cape and something like knickers and a top that matched and the hat was even crazier:

Imagine a platter with a big thing of padding in the middle. Cover it with burgundy red felt/velvet and tie a gold cord at the base of the padding so that it stands up and has some shape.

No tassel, just the gold cord....

If anyone knows what/where/when (he was old) you get your degree to dress like this.. let me know! :D

^ Ooh, sounds terribly snazzy, though complicated. One of my friends from Portugal mentioned something about wearing capes rather than gowns.

It sounds like what our dean had on at my graduation for grad school. He's Australian, and pretty young (maybe 50?). It was pretty awesome.

We just had the typical Master's gown with the pointed sleeves. There is dispute over what color to give Architecture, so we avoid it altogether.