We have often come across the fancy dresses worn by people on certain educational ceremonies. Theses fancy outfits adorned with an assortment of other accessories such as scarves and caps, are a familiar sight for anyone related to higher education. A proper name for such garbs is academic regalia. Simply put, academic regalia are any traditional outfit that one is required to wear on official ceremonies in educational institutes. Many would be surprised to know that such academic garb is not limited to mainstream UK and US universities, but is a part of ritual practice followed all over the worlds' universities and colleges.
Most of the outfits worn in UK and US are derived chiefly from dresses used in Oxford and University of Cambridge. Now, let us have a look at the clothing tradition in universities all over the world. Starting off with France, the outfit is called toge. It is similar to the garb worn by French judges. Colors ranging from scarlet red to purplish yellow indicate the field - including but not limited to science, medicine, law, theology- in which the doctorate is granted. The French garb is usually quite extravagant with a long gown, white gloves, a long, wide belt and a sword often being a compulsory part of the ceremony's dress.
Talar is the name given to German academic outfit. It is usually a long sleeved gown with color bands similar to French system. One interesting point to note is that after the 1950s, almost all German universities dropped academic garb because the socialist minded students identified these dresses with Nazism and Middle Ages. However from 2000s onwards, many universities have once again started wearing these dresses following the popularity of Anglo American outfits. New Zealand is one other country besides US and UK which chiefly follows the Cambridge University's dress code. The garb involves either a hood or a scarf depending upon the candidate's certification. Plus, there are varying color codes depending on the faculty.
In East Asia, Singapore's PhD students wear a bonnet, hood and a gown. Moreover, the Master degree holders wear a mortarboard during graduation.
In Philippines, the outfit is designed to be simple with students wearing a traditional mortarboard, hood and gown in primary colors. As a result of being a multi-ethnic country, some dresses are either Spanish influenced with having a Spanish mozetta and biretta. Similarly, some are influenced by the Muslim tradition. University of Philippines's unique attire known as Sablay is one such example. Same can be said about academic outfits in the rest of the world which differ mainly in draping's, length and color. Scandinavian countries of Finland and Sweden are unique in a sense that they issue special kind of cap called a teekkarilakki (Finnish) or teknologmössa (Swedish). Such caps are often granted to technology students after their freshmen year ends, and are worn for both formal and informal occasions. In Sri Lanka, a garland in place of a hood is the defining feature whereas in African Muslim countries, an enveloping gown called Jebba sets them apart from other regional universities.
Also, next time you shop for kindergarten graduation caps and gowns get some new design perspectives by following our guide and give your little ones a memorable experience.
