Look around at any high school or university commencement and you will see many girls in white dresses. People wear white during graduation for the same reason people wear white on their wedding day — because everyone else has been doing it for years. Four years ago, when I graduated high school, I searched for the perfect white dress. Why did I search for a white dress? Because for the past three years I watched the girls in the years above me graduate in white dresses. I attended public high school which means that the girls wore white dresses under the standard maroon gown issued by our school. At university, I became friends with girls who attended private high schools and I learned that when they graduated it was required for girls to wear matching white dresses (no school-issued graduation gowns). Four years later, I am graduating from university, and this time around I will not be wearing white.
Wearing white during graduation has been an American tradition since the mid-1800s. Wearing white originally started because many schools wanted their graduates to have a uniform look. Women wore white dresses and carried bouquets. In the 1900s, white became an important color because of its connection with suffragettes. White is synonymous with innocence and purity, and wearing white for graduation symbolizes the start of something new. Some schools still require women to wear white for graduation; however, most schools have done away with such requirements. Required or not, most women today freely choose to wear white during graduation.
This year I will not be wearing white during graduation. My last year at university has been anything but normal, and I do not feel a need to follow traditions as everything about my graduation is untraditional. Over the past four years, I have learned so much about life and am not the same naive 17-year-old girl I was when I wore white during my high school graduation. This year I will be wearing a beautiful floral dress that symbolizes spring and brings me happiness. I am a strong believer that you do not need to buy a new dress for graduation; however, if you are looking to buy something new you may be considering a white dress. White dresses go with anything and are great to wear throughout the summer. Whether or not you choose to wear white for graduation, here are two of my top white dresses of the season. Check out local boutiques in your college town to support small businesses!
Dress on Left: Anthropologie, Dress on Right: Revolve
XO, Alicia
