Question on graduation robes

Hey Guys;

Well, i am about to enter my second year and was wondering when i graduate, do you buy or rent the graduation robes?

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Reply 1

Carnationlilyrose

Original post by Scienceisgood

Hey Guys;

Well, i am about to enter my second year and was wondering when i graduate, do you buy or rent the graduation robes?

Rent. You'll be wearing them for only a couple of hours.

Reply 2

gemmam

You can do either but most people rent as its cheaper.

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Reply 3

Carnationlilyrose

Only buy if you are going to be wearing it a lot after graduation. And you seriously have to ask yourself why you'd be doing that. I have a job where I have to wear one once a year, but I highly doubt you'll be needing it.

Reply 4

Motorbiker

Can confirm you pay a lot of money just to rent them for a few hours.

If you're planning on becoming a lecturer you'll be wearing them ocne a year when your students graduate but if not you'll never wear them again.

Reply 5

nulli tertius

If you cannot get enough of wearing academic dress these folk are for you

http://www.burgon.org.uk/society/photographs/index.php

Reply 6

NuriaM

My mum wants to buy mine, am going to my final year and she thinks it's best to buy one as a reminder of my graduation and to show my future children. I think for my Uni it costs a total of £250-300+ which she doesn't mind because it's like the price of my secondary school uniform (back in the days lool)

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Reply 7

Carnationlilyrose

Original post by NuriaM

Well, that's up to her, but a photograph is a lot cheaper and easier to store. I can't imagine my sons would have been in any way interested had I bought mine, and they weren't especially keen on their own, but every family has its own way of doing things.

Reply 8

nulli tertius

Original post by NuriaM

Not unless you are doing an Oxford DMus.

Russell cord are the best and Ede & Ravencroft will supply these for under £200.

If you are buying you do not need to use the maker from whom the university hires its gowns. There is a book which sets out every university's requirements and any robemaker will make to that specification.

Reply 9

Carnationlilyrose

Not really for me to say, but in my family, the kids would have preferred the cash in hand as a graduation present, rather than a completely useless garment.

Reply 10

Scienceisgood

Original post by NuriaM

Pretty much same here.
I will be the first in my family to attend uni and i suppose it is a kind of memory for graduation as it is a physical tangible object rather than a photo on a phone/camera.

I mean, sure its a couple to several hundred (cant be any more than £300-£350 can it?).

How my parents see it anyway.
So, why not?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 11

Origami Bullets

Most people rent, though you can buy. You do also have the option of renting them out for a extra week after graduation - I did so that there could be a family graduation photo that included a relative who's too old to travel

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Reply 12

jelly1000

Original post by Scienceisgood

You can get physical framed photos though for a lot less

Reply 13

dave134

Almost everybody rents their robes for graduation, but yes you can buy them.

I ordered mine, (some 7 years after graduation) as I now work in a job that requires me to be in a gown a dozen or so times a year (working for the same said Uni and now attached as a mentor to one of the colleges)

For my robes it costs approx £170 for a Bachelors gown in Russel Cord (£130 in polyester), and if you're getting the set there is the hood to buy as well (normally around the £100 mark). My university doesn't mention hats/caps/headwear for Bachelors and Masters (although I've seen people in the standard square caps/mortarboards before) but if your university does have caps, there's that cost as well.

If someones offering to buy them for you and they feel that they want them as a physical memento of your achievements, then I wouldn't say no to the offer! But unless you end up working in the church, a traditional school, or a university, I wouldn't expect the robes to get that much usage over your career!

In my case, I'd say I wear them roughly as follows:

Term starting September/October:
1st night formal in college: Gown Only
College Matriculation: Gown and Hood
University Matriculation: Gown and Hood
4x formal dinners throughout term: Gown Only

January:
University Winter Graduations: Gown and Hood
4 or so formals throughout term: Gown Only

May:
2 formals throughout term: Gown Only

July:
University Summer Graduations: Gown and Hood.

Reply 14

King Leonidas

I suppose the only reasons to buy the robe is:

A) You will be attending graduations in the future as a lecturer or something

or

B) You could pass it down to your children/children's children etc

Reply 15

dave134

I'd say that very few people *have* to buy their robes these days, but if you want to buy them (or have someone who wants to buy them for you) then you should do so!

In the past those going into teaching would have to wear the gown daily, and the hoods from time to time, but even if you work for a university their is very little obligation to engage in the ceremonial aspects, and for the graduations; the University I work for will hire robes for those who don't have their own, so there is still no strict requirement to buy them yourself.

The Church still embraces academic dress, but typically just the hood is worn over the appropriate dress.

Reply 16

Muttley79

I hired the graduate gown but did buy the hood. I need to wear it sometimes so bought the undergraduate gown to wear with the hood as its lighter and it has done well as a HP dress-up item for my son!

If your job won't need a gown then I'd suggest hiring ... you have the certificate and photos as reminders.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 17

sydneybridge

If you have several hundred pounds to spare I can think of PLENTY of better things to spend it on than buying a graduation robe!

And you dont need 'official' photos - the ones taken by your family will be far better/more smiley/more personal - this is an equal waste of money.

Reply 18

TommyT_33

Original post by sydneybridge

I looked online and to buy an Ede and Ravenscroft gown is like £200!!

Reply 19

Camilli

Apart from graduation gowns, are there different types of material for the more mundane Oxford graduate gowns?
The three shops the university mentions on-line all offer one for not much above 20 pounds. Are they identical, and is there a non-polyester option at, say, Ede & Ravenscroft?