Graduation outfits I could've worn and didn't

Lte Ekim 02, 2022

Every time the graduation season approaches, it gets me thinking about my own graduation. Not because I regret not wearing lolita, but because back then I couldn’t. For those who don’t know, I did my degree at the University of Oxford, which has a set academic dress (called a sub fusc), so there was never a chance of me wearing my Crystal Dream Carnival to graduate in or whatever. Having said this, because of this background whenever I do see people graduating in clothes that don’t immediately pass off as formal or office-like, it strikes me as too informal or party-like for the occasion.

Now I realise that Oxford’s sub fusc is actually a lot more open to interpretation and flexible. Even if at the time my wardrobe didn’t allow me to wear lolita to my graduation, it doesn’t mean that it would’ve been entirely forbidden. So in the spirit of graduation season, I wanted to share some theoretical outfits that any Oxon lolita could wear to their graduation should they wish to.

What is a sub fusc?

For the non-Oxonian readers (so the vast majority of you), let me first explain what a sub fusc consists of. I’ve double checked the official website and it seems that they’ve updated the guidelines slightly - in my time it had to be black and white, whereas now apparently other dark colours, like dark grey or dark blue, are allowed, but no patterns of any sort. However, it looks like the colours still can’t be mixed, so no black-and-white in one garment, it has to be either/or as specified or you won’t be allowed into the theatre. I’ll stick to what I know, which was:

A plain white collared shirt or blouse with sleeves
A black skirt
Black tights, stockings or socks (no bare skin could be visible between the hem and the shoe)
Black shoes
A black ribbon at the neck*
A dark jacket if required**
A mortarboard
A gown appropriate to your academic status

* The ribbon was a black velvet ribbon, usually bought in a set with the gown and the mortarboard. Whilst the dress code could encompass other fabrics, it wouldn’t allow for a bow unless it was a bow tie (and in my times, sub fusc was still gendered, so one had to choose either the fully masculine or the fully feminine version).
** Again, due to the gendering of sub fusc in my time, feminine sub fusc usually did not allow for a jacket, so I will skip it here. Most graduations take place in the summer anyway.

Since the gown and mortarboard are prescribed, I won’t be including them in the outfits. But everything else not only could be lolita, but could be lolita pretty easily! So let’s have some fun with that format, shall we?
Side note: I will be using Wunderwelt’s stock pictures because I can’t be bothered faffing with the various brand stock photo formats. Unless I can’t find something that works for my needs, WW’s stock pictures are the easiest to put into a collage.

A sweet lolita sub fusc

To me the best way to wear sweet lolita to an Oxford graduation would be to go oldschool. If you’re already restricted to solid colours and a black x white colour scheme, playing into it seems the most sensible. Plus, most of the streets around the Sheldonian Theatre, where graduation takes place, are made of cobblestones, so your feed will be grateful for those chunky Mary Janes. Whilst I’d err on the side of caution with hair accessories, a pair of black comb ribbons would definitely be fine and still play well into the less busy nature of the substyle. Should you happen to be taking the winter graduation ceremony, you could make use of velvets to stay warm, whereas in summer a less voluminous cotton skirt and cotton blouse will keep you cooler. Although Usakumya would have to stay with your family for the ceremony itself, it is the perfect sweet accessory (and a great graduation present).

A classic lolita sub fusc

Being the most versatile and normie-passing substyle, classic lolita is absolutely the easiest one to wear as sub fusc. Whilst you could push the definitions of what’s accepted to some of the more intricate and princessy realms, your bog-standard Innocent World type of classic is just ideal for the occasion. No Oxford porter would question whether an outfit like the one below can be accepted into the ceremony, they probably wouldn’t even particularly notice it sticking out of the norm. With the unpredictability of weather in the UK, a parasol could be great either for a rainy ceremony or for a particularly sunny one, to keep you cool - trust me, under the graduation gown you will want every bit of shade you can get. In all seriousness though, I’m sure that someone has already worn classic lolita to their Oxford graduation, so this doesn’t feel as exciting, even if it’s still a nice coord.

A gothic lolita sub fusc

Time to go all-Moitie, baby! Of course, you could go with all sorts of gothic, the clean, minimalistic style that Atelier Boz favoured or that Sheglit now seems to do would also be great - but if you have a chance to graduate in (almost) head-to-toe Moitie, then why wouldn’t you? For all the prints that made them iconic, they have some absolutely excellent solid coloured pieces. My only advice would be to make sure that if you do go with this, to make sure the skirt does reach your knees at least, let’s not push the porters too much because they genuinely rule the place. Am I being risky with these embroidery socks though? Hell yeah! I got bored of the solid legwear and hopefully the embroidery could be hidden in the shoe somehow.

To anyone out there who was able to wear whatever they wanted to their graduation ceremony - what did you wear? And how do you think you would’ve fared if you had to wear a sub fusc? Trust me when I say that this is way more exciting to talk about than it was to wear, most people I knew, myself included, went very low effort with ours and were it not for the gowns, we would’ve been indistinguishable from very corporate workers.