Academic Dress

Is it ever really worn in Edinburgh?

no, this is only Oxbridge and Durham...
St Andrew's has a secret society where they have some sort of dress, but otherwise no.

Sorry, but this isn't correct. You'll see students at St Andrews wearing their bright red academic gowns often (formal meals, debates, church, etc.). Not eveyone chooses to wear one, though some seem to wear them daily, but in general it is quite common.

Those crazy ****************s.

I suppose you're one of those vile modernists? Urgh.

I have no problem with tradition, but academic robes, please. Maybe it just sounds so ridiculous to me because I'm an American

Oh I don't know, I am good friends with an American chap who has graduated from St Andrews; he was very much a gownee and flounced about in it regularly.

I like them. They blow about in the wind, allow you do 'swoosh' into situations in a rather superhero-like fashion and are generally just incredible. It's possibly a bit immature, but it can also be quite fitting and formalised some serious events well.

Quite a discouraging location you've got there in North Britain.

Oh I don't know, I find it very encouraging.

Maybe we're on diffeent pages here, by North Britain, you mean...

Britain... the north bit thereof. To be more precise: Perthshire, Scotland.

What's wrong with calling it North Britain? Geographically and politically speaking it is correct and there is absolutely nothing wrong with somebody having multiple layers of nationalism. I, for example, am an islander, a Gael, a Scot, a Briton, a European and a citizen of the Earth. How people choose to identify themselves is their own business.

Fair dos. It's more a fascination with historic placenames. When I'm at home, it's usually some variation on Strathclyde, the old north or similar. Up here, I quite favour the term 'Albany' to describe my location, but it gets a little boring to leave it the same for too long.

North Britain as a term was conceived immediately after the union - although it's also used historically for ancient Britain. I think originally the thought was to turn the UK into a new nation and that Scotland and England as concepts would eventually die out. Hence Robert Burns with his "Fareweel even to the Scotish name; Sae fam'd in martial story" line. At the end of the day, however, this didn't happen - it'd have been odd if it had, although I suppose really we wouldn't have known any different. The 'North Britain' or 'North British' term, at least as a proper noun, is almost extinct. It did give its name to army regiments, newspapers, hotels, railways and the like back in the day though.

The red undergraduate gowns can be worn at any of the 'ancient' unis: Edinburgh, St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee - sometimes with slight differences, for example where St Andrews has a maroon bit at the neck, Dundee has a blue one.

If you really want one, then good on you! But you'll be part of a very tiny minority. I imagine the Students' Association might keep some on hand to loan out for events like those mentioned above and maybe a few people will have inherited one, but yes - not at all widespread. If you want to buy one, then the official robemaker is Ede and Ravenscroft and it'll probably cost you just over a hundred pounds. I suppose a couple of folk must go out of their way to buy them.
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Is this correct that they can be worn at any of the ancient uni's. It's a complicated thing but i've been a member of this society that requires academic dress and up to now havn't been able to go to any meetings because of this. So could I get one of these red gowns then (at Edinburgh)?

Please if someone could reply quickly because i'm actually off to the festival tommorow!

Thanks