This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Fainite Auguste. Find her on Instagram at @ceilingdancing. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
If you’ve watched Gossip Girl you may be familiar with the season 2 finale. In the graduation scene Serena Vanderwoodsen only wore a tassel in her hair instead of a cap. The scene is mostly played for laughs, but was Serena onto something? Are there interesting ways to wear grad caps?
Graduation History and Culture
Graduations are important milestones in people’s lives. After four years (sometimes eight) of blood sweat and tears a person finally receives their degree. The tradition of wearing cap and gowns goes back all the way to the 12th century. The long cloaks were worn by medieval scholars. Over the next few centuries the trend became customary in most countries. There’s also a tradition of women wearing white dresses. Check out this article on the tradition.
Cap and gowns symbolize the success and hard work of students. They are also incredibly expensive. The prices start 50 dollars and can reach 200 hundred dollars. There are generic caps and gowns available online. But the color may not match. It’s important to remember that some universities have logos or the school’s name embroidered on them. Check with your university before buying a cap and gown from outside retailers.
On top of that people wear stoles and cords to show off academic achievements and clubs they participated in. This is an out of pocket expense but schools sometimes give stoles and cords to students. There is pressure to “look smart” for graduation pictures; students sometimes buy stoles and cords online without receiving the achievements.
Decorating a Graduation Cap
There are only a few weeks left before graduation season starts. When it comes time to walk across the stage it may seem impossible to decide whether or not to decorate your cap. Most high school graduations don’t allow decorating caps, but colleges do. It is important to double check with your university before decorating.
Here are some options and ideas for graduation day. The first is decorating your graduation cap based on the major of study. For example if you’re majoring in education using symbols commonly associated with teaching is a good place to begin. Another, simpler option is including the year of graduation as the center of of the design. People also add inspirational quotes or emotional song lyrics to their grad cap. Sometimes people use memes as a lighter approach.
I suggest cutting out fabric in the shape of the cap and use it as a canvas. You can make mistakes and replicate designs until it is satisfactory. Glitter and rhinestones are a must for graduation day. Next, find pictures that match with the direction you’re going with. Scroll through Pinterest to get more inspiration. Remember to use fabric glue instead of standard glue to paste the picture or any other decorations on to the graduation cap. Senior year is already an expensive year, it is perfectly normal to not want spend extra money on decor.
Different ways to style graduation caps
Gone are the days of struggling to fit all of your into the tight caps. Women with curly hair, specifically Black women have come up with ways to style the cap. Taping or hot gluing a thin headband into the inside of the cap allows people to wear their natural hair on grad day. In the past people were left with only the option of wearing their hair flat. People without curly hair do use the graduation headband hack as a stylish way of wearing the cap. Although it is an easy DIY there are graduation headcap bands available for purchase.
Are you graduating this May? How will you decorate your graduation cap? Let us know!
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