This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Kelly Xiong. Find her on Instagram at @k.3lly. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
For those who are seniors this year, you are probably on the search for a graduation dress. Graduation dress hunting can be super tedious and stressful. Finding the right dress takes a lot of time. It is one of the times where you’re allowed to be as picky as you want. But, through all the scrolling and tab hopping, have you ever stopped and wonder “why are graduation dressed white?” You’re allowed to wear other colors of course but the standard and expectation are white. Why is that?
The tradition of wearing white dresses to graduation goes back centuries. It can be traced back to the 19th century when women achieving academic milestones were a huge deal. The white color of dresses was a way to symbolize purity and a new beginning for young women completing their studies. It was also a way to create a uniform look.
White has been worn throughout history for many occasions. In ancient Greece and Rome, white symbolized purity, innocence, and virtue. This idea is still quite prevalent today. We see it in baptism and weddings.
White dresses were also popular during the Victorian era. Queen Victoria wore white to her wedding in 1840, and it made a significant impact. Like the Greeks and Romans, she also believed that white symbolized purity. This was very likely influenced by the Romans as they did, at one point, took over Britain. Rome and the Romans left their mark all over Britain and Europe, from roads and sewage systems to Latin! Many languages, such as English, stemmed from Latin.
This long tradition of wearing white to special events to show purity, virtue, and innocence has transformed in modern times. Now, it is more so a symbol of celebration and accomplishment. But the underlying meaning is still very prevalent.
According to Glenda Byers, a senior lecturer at the University of Charleston, fashion trends tend to have a direct correlation with events in history. White used to also be a symbol of wealth. It was a difficult color to clean—still is now—so it was seen as only people with money had the expenses to manage this maintenance and upkeep.
What was once seen as a symbol of purity, innocence and wealth has become a way to show celebration, achievement and sometimes self-expression. Today, though we still wear white to our special events and occasions such as weddings and graduations, we like to style it to reflect our personal style. We see this in the wedding industry a lot. From necklines to fabric and material to design, the dress we pick out is an extension of our self-expression.
The same goes for graduation dresses, though, on a less formal level. The type of dress we choose to wear to graduation is also an extension of our self-expression and how we like to present ourselves to the world. And, even if you choose not to wear white and instead a different color, that also sends a message. It can show that you like to be different and stand out, an outside the boxer thinker.
Though the tradition of wearing white to certain occasions and what its underlying meanings and symbolism might mean, we have given a lot of it a modern twist.
Have you picked out your graduation dress yet? Let us know in the comments.
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