When Oxford Poly became a university the robes were all rather well
designed, enough bling to make the Chancellor and VC stand out but not
an excessive amount.
I used to quite like the process of getting dressed up in my academic
outfit for graduation ceremonies because the gent from Ede & Ravenscroft
in charge of robing regaled us with tales of dressing the Queen,
although I think they were mostly invented. But making sure that
everything would stay in place - academic hoods are a real pain -
involved lots of safety pins and women had to be careful about what they
wore underneath, much easier for men with standard suits, lots of
pinning places if needed. And in summer it could be unbearably hot. And
when videos of the ceremonies started, it all became rather tense when
processing on and off the platform. (And when sitting on the platform:
we were firmly instructed not to fidget, cross our legs or pick our noses.)
One of the reasons I decided to undertake a PhD at a somewhat advanced
age was because the mortarboard which I had to wear every year did not
sit properly on top of my very curly hair and was always in danger of
bouncing off - the beret you get to wear once doctored was a much more
comfortable option. Another reason was that my undergraduate gown had a
lot of fur trimmings which always made my colleagues laugh at me.
--
Laura (emulate St George for email)