Gowns

Does every college have its own gowns? Or maybe some colleges are more liberal ? When do students have to wear their gowns?

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Reply 1

Chewwy

yes. no. to formal. except at kings. (i think).

also for matric.

Reply 2

marcusfox

manolya

Does every college have its own gowns? Or maybe some colleges are more liberal ? When do students have to wear their gowns?

I'm not at Cambridge, but I would imagine so. Have a look at www.gownhire.co.uk.

Marcus

Reply 3

thefish_uk

Pretty much every college uses gowns for something. Some use a standard design, some have their own. eg. Trinity people have blue ones so you can spot them from a mile off and they look like prats.

Wear them for matriculation, graduation and formal hall. That's about it!

Reply 4

Chewwy

ahem. caius also have blue gowns.

Reply 5

Jahmez23

even the "black" gowns have lots of subtle variations, like open slit arms, or closed, and velvet additions etc.

http://www.societies.cam.ac.uk/cuhags/gowns/gowns.htm - shows the variations. Often they're very subtle...

Reply 6

epitome

Every college has its own design, though some double up. So, for example, Caius & Trinity both have blue gowns (which might vary in design? I think Trinity has black bits on it, whereas Caius doesn't, perhaps?). All the initially all-female colleges have the same gown, too: Newnham & New Hall (still all-female), but also Girton. :smile:

Tiny variations. No-one would notice, for the most part.

Reply 7

*Liana*

epitome

I think there is a basic black gown and some colleges have embellishments/differences from the original, but a few just have the normal black one? Not sure (but the CUHAGS site will have the answer!).

Trinity's gown is blue with black trim, Caius' is also blue with black trim, except their trim is some weird velvet stuff :p:

and they have it on the sleeves as well. I don't like my gown being blue, it's not nearly as easy to pretend you're at Hogwarts in a blue gown.

Reply 8

Our's is black with velvet trim on the sleeves. It changes within a college though depending on your degree/qualification.

Reply 9

Revd. Mike

I believe some colleges have to wear their gowns for exams as well.

Reply 10

Supermerp

Revd. Mike

I believe some colleges have to wear their gowns for exams as well.

Unless there's a college that doesn't do NatSci, that's not true.

Before my first year exams I'd heard something similar but it probably comes from confusion with Oxford, where they do have to dress up.

Reply 11

Helenia

Revd. Mike

I believe some colleges have to wear their gowns for exams as well.

No, that's Oxford.

In answer to the OP, every college nominally "has" a gown design, but the amount you wear it varies a lot. At most colleges you have to wear it for Matriculation, everyone wears it for graduation, and the rest is quite variable. At Clare you don't have to wear them for formal, though men are expected to either wear a gown or a suit (i.e. no coming to formal in a t-shirt). I have to wear it when I read in chapel, but obviously that's not applicable to everyone.

Reply 12

Revd. Mike

Ok sorry, must have got mixed up between some Oxbridgers I know hehe.

Reply 13

Craghyrax

Yep. Oxons wear gowns and sub fusc for exams and other more predictable occasions.

Peterhouse have a plain black gown. I like to assume that its the original and all the others had to vary because they came after us - but perhaps that's overly-romanticised college-loyalty :biggrin:

We use ours fairly frequently. Many people wear it to any chapel service (I had to use it when asked to read in chapel last week) Quite a few students go to formal once a week or more (choir members go free three times) In Michaelmas my college sibling caused quite a stir by turning up for one of our lectures late in a suit and gown having just had lunch with the Master. The lecturer demanded account, and wasn't surprised to hear it was Peterhouse :p:

Obviously there is large variation with gown use. Just before coming here, I explained to my Aunt and Uncle that I needed to buy a gown, and both of them were like: 'What? In this day and age? Don't be ridiculous! We never had to bother with that nonsense - just rent the jolly thing' (ex-Selwynites - I'm curious about how they'll react when my cousin - destined for Queens - asks them to pay for one :biggrin:

)

*stops procrastinating and returns to work* :creep:

Reply 14

Jahmez23

Craghyrax

)

I'm surprised anyone could manage without a gown, unless they either a) went to a college that doesn't have gowns, b) decided to never attend formal.

Reply 15

Craghyrax

Jahmez23

I'm surprised anyone could manage without a gown, unless they either a) went to a college that doesn't have gowns, b) decided to never attend formal.

Meh - they gave the impression it was all the rage back in the 60s/70s or whenever :s-smilie:

We invited a Homertonian friend to a formal, and she had to rush about to borrow a gown from somebody as she didn't have one. This was before we found you only need to wear them to your own formals.

Reply 16

Jahmez23

Craghyrax

Meh - they gave the impression it was all the rage back in the 60s/70s or whenever :s-smilie:

We invited a Homertonian friend to a formal, and she had to rush about to borrow a gown from somebody as she didn't have one. This was before we found you only need to wear them to your own formals.

indeed, i always like to wear mine at other formals too - want to get my money's worth out of it!

Reply 17

Craghyrax

Jahmez23

indeed, i always like to wear mine at other formals too - want to get my money's worth out of it!

I know exactly what you mean!

Reply 18

Jahmez23

Craghyrax

I know exactly what you mean!

michaelmas 08 - the launch of the next Harry Potter film - another excuse to get the gowns out. Maximise the usage.

Reply 19

camstudent123

Jahmez23

indeed, i always like to wear mine at other formals too - want to get my money's worth out of it!

The odds of losing gowns at my own college seem so high that I don't think I would dare take it anywhere else. Alcohol and therefore forgetting where you put it + travelling around town therefore incresaing number of potential 'last seen places' + the fact that most other gowns don't look that different = lost gown