Back to Parents & Students

Article

Graduation Cap & Gown Tips: It’s Your Day to Look Your Best!

Hey Graduates! Congratulations –it’s YOUR big day. Graduation is an important milestone, and you need to look your best for your graduation day. We understand as a graduate, you have plenty on your to-do list. From planning your graduation party, to finishing final exams, to making end-of-year memories, this time of the year in a graduate’s life can be extremely stressful. But stressing about how to properly care for and wear your graduation outfit shouldn’t be one of them.

Our team at Herff Jones is here to offer some suggestions to ensure that your graduation day is as stress-free as possible. To look your best and shine for graduation day, follow these five easy steps to preparing your cap and gown for graduation day. From initially removing the gown from the bag, to removing any wrinkles from the gown, to properly wearing the gown, cap, and tassel – we’re here to help you get ready for the big day.

Five Easy Tips to Wear Your Graduation Cap & Gown

1. Immediately remove the gown from the bag.  In order to ensure that your cap, gown and tassel ready for graduation day, it is important to immediately remove the graduation gown from the bag as soon as you get home with your graduation outfit. Leaving the gown in the bag doesn’t allow the fabric to breathe and relax.
2. Place the gown on a hanger.  After you take the graduation gown out of the bag, you should then place it on a hanger to let any wrinkles fall out. If after hanging up the gown to relax, pesky wrinkles still remain in the gown, here are three additional tips you can try:
   • Use a cool iron or steamer on the gown
   • Hang the gown in a bathroom and run the shower as the steam should help release wrinkles.
   • Make sure you don’t wash or dry clean the gown
3. Try on your cap and gown! It’s always a good idea to try on your cap and gown prior to the actual graduation day. Make sure that the gown fits you well and that the measurements are all accurate to avoid any unnecessary stress on graduation day.
4. Check out how the gown looks.  After trying on your graduation gown, make sure that the sleeves fall below your elbow and above the palm of your hand. Also, the bottom of the gown should fall below your knee and above your ankle. When determining the measurements of the gown, it is important to remember that flats or heels won’t affect the hemline of the gown.
5. Complete the graduation outfit with the cap and tassel.  Once you know that your graduation gown fits you correctly, it’s time to try on your cap. To do so, loop the tassel over the button on the top of the cap. Prior to putting on your cap, look inside to find the word “front.” When wearing the cap, it should be flat and level to the floor. Feel free to use bobby pins to properly secure the cap. On graduation day, remember that your tassel starts on the right side and is moved to the left side after you graduate.

After you finish these five steps, you will be ready to look your best on graduation day! There’s only one thing left to remember: take time to enjoy all that you’ve accomplished and how proud everyone is of you. This is the day you’ve worked so hard for, and now it’s time to enjoy this celebration of your dedication and accomplishments. It’s time to celebrate YOU!

To learn how to properly iron, care for, and wear your cap, gown and tassel on graduation day – watch the video below for more information!

SHOP YOUR CAP & GOWN NOW