On the 10th of May I have my graduation ceremony, where one HAS to wear the traditional costume of gown/robe, hood and hat (the mortar board type). To hire the set for a few hours is $120-$150, which all up I guess is not so super expensive for the service, BUT...I find it annoying that there is no choice not to wear one and not to have to pay. So I have decided, to sew my own (which is within the rules). Suitably I am going to use the fabric that I blacked out the room I installed my grad show work in.
However there is surprising little information out there (on the web) with CLEAR pictures for garments with so many rules.
Hopping through many links I came across this resource at the costumer's manifesto. So it's a little dated (but then so is the tradition of wearing the damn things). The hoods have been puzzling me the most, as there are quite a few styles for different degrees and schools. I traced the B.A hood pattern in miniature to make up a calico just so I could see how it worked. The colours for Sydney College of the Arts BVA are scarlet and purple !!! Thankfully I only have to put a 5cm trim of each to line the hood.
