<p>Tough week at work. Snow, snow, and more snow.</p>
<p>Time for something more frivolous. For those of us with graduating college students: what will you wear for graduation weekend? I am interested in your own solutions.</p>
<p>I have already (!) purchased a totally-out-of-character but really cute sun dress and cropped short-sleeve sweater to wear at some point that weekend. (We are talking North Carolina in May) Shoes? I have no idea. They will need to be flat or wedge because of the long walks and uneven surface. </p>
<p>That leaves at least 2 more days. Crops? Skirts? Jeans? Haven’t thought too much about it.</p>
<p>We’re going to CA in June. Desert climate and an early morning graduation. I’ll probably wear light weight slacks with a nice top and a jacket of some kind. Sandals will be my shoes!! Comfy ones that I can walk in that also look great. </p>
<p>The rest of the time…jeans. We’re going to Napa…no need to get dressed up.</p>
<p>I’m planning on wearing a pair of nice pants and appropriate-weather (CT in late May) top, with a cardigan or light jacket if necessary, to certain activities the day before graduation, and a jersey wrap dress for the actual ceremony. No jeans, but casual pants the rest of the time. Flats in all cases, since there will be plenty of walking involved. I hope to have no need for my trench coat!</p>
<p>Hmmm, hadn’t thought about this. Maybe a nice lightweight pair of slacks for LA and a lightweight sweater (that’s what I wear most of the time anyway). May bring along a skirt or dress for the dinner the night before graduation. Will have to see. Will definitely wear comfortable shoes I can walk in forever, since that’s all I own anyway. They expect about 40,000 people, so will have to expect crowds, uneven ground & lots of walking.</p>
<p>Glad to see I’m not the only one thinking about my graduation wardrobe. Commencement weekend at S school includes a formal party, so I’ll also need something fairly fancy. My main criteria, when I’ve been perusing the Nordstrom’s website is: how awful will this outfit look when we pull out old family photos years from now.</p>
<p>What school in NC? It makes a huge difference. ECU could be quite humid by that time and Appalachian state could still be too cool for crops. UNCCH would be more formal in attire compared to UNCW.</p>
<p>I would wear capri’s in a heartbeat because you can dress them up or down. The one store I love is Coldwater Creek. Their clothes travel really well (no wrinkles) and they seem to be the one company that fits into the not overdressed and not under dressed. You can just use accessories, such as jewelry and shoes to bring it up a notch or down a notch. This allows you the ability of when you get there to determine the dress code.</p>
<p>For NC if it is outdoors, I would invest in a hat! It can be brutal sitting in the sun for hours with just sunglasses, especially if you have hair that is like mine…thick and curly! I spent 1 hour flat ironing my hair only for it to look like I never touched it 15 minutes after getting there. :(</p>
<p>mafool, the temps will probably range anywhere from the 50’s to the 70’s. And it does rain a lot, unfortunately. At least these days we have weather.com to tell us what the exact forecast will be!</p>
<p>New England weather at the end of May can be either be hot and muggy, or cool and rainy, sorry to say. Last spring was fairly wet - almost all of the outdoor graduation parties were rained out, although it was warm. It’s a particularly unpredictable time of year, so I would definitely throw a lightweight raincoat in your bag.</p>
<p>I agonized about this several years ago for D’s Rice graduation, which is usually very hot. I wore a sundress and lots of sunscreen. Turned out the day wasn’t all that bad.<br>
This year for Penn graduation I am going to wait and see what the forecast looks like. I learned at the Rice graduation that it isn’t all about ME and no one really cares what I am wearing. :)</p>
<p>mafool - I would not purchase clothes that are out of character for you. If it is not something you will normally wear do not buy it. Buy clothes that you love and that are you. Do you really want these clothes to sit in your closet unworn for the next few years until you finally give them away?</p>
<p>As far as shoes - I would not buy new shoes to wear - wear shoes that you already have - do you really want blisters from wearing new shoes?</p>
<p>However, you might look into MBT shoes - I commented on some cute shoes I saw someone wearing at a resort and they told me they are the most comfortable shoes and she had even worn them on the treadmill that morning for her workout! And they were cute black shoes with a strap! I keep meaning to find a pair for myself.</p>
<p>I still remember being wrapped in blankets from the hotel room at daughter’s high school graduation from boarding school in northern Michigan. The year before it snowed, so we were pretty prepared, but it was a damp, rainy day. Still a beautiful setting and a proud moment!</p>
<p>MomofWildChild - I knew there was a reason I had not bought a pair of MBTs! Just looked on line and found the prices are less than $250. Thanks for the price reminder. The woman at the resort had told me about the price, but I had forgotten. She told me they were well worth the price - she never had any foot or back pain while walking around on vacation unlike other shoes she had worn previously. Didn’t know about Sketchers.</p>
<p>Miami in May. I am sitting here watching the expected 2 feet of snow come down, and I am wishing that I were there. I have a silk sleeveless sheath dress for the ceremony, and I am on the hunt for a cardigan to wear with it because I understand that the Bank United Center is kept very cold. For the rest of the time, I will look for a few new tops to wear with a skirt I own already. Oh, and a swimsuit!</p>
<p>fafnir-We did the UM graduation last year! Yes, the BUC can be cold, so a lightweight cardigan is a good idea. It sounds like your planned wardrobe is perfect, I went with something very similar. When my older S graduated from a different school in a similar climate, the kids wore nice, but more relaxed clothing. The UM kids were all dressed up, suits, ties and lots of heels. </p>
<p>Have a great time and congrats to all this year’s grads and families!</p>
<p>mafool, We attended S1’s graduation last May at NCSU. Don’t know where you’ll be but at the big state u. graduation, there are so many people that almost anything goes.
I wore black slacks, sandals and print blouse with elbow length sleeves. </p>
<p>Since all the graduation ceremonies took place in air conditioned buildings (in the morning or afternoon), heat was not a factor. I would say the vast majority of Moms I saw were dressed in outfits similiar to mine. I worried over what to wear but after seeing so many people dressed in all kinds of things, realized that nobody really cared what I wore,lol.
The most important thing is to wear comfortable shoes!</p>
<p>Question for you My-3: what do the men wear? DH says it’s Florida, so no tie. Dear, I say, you wore one for D1 at Brown. And that was a very hot day. We were down picking up D2 on graduation day last spring, and may have even seen you-LOL! I am so sorry to leave that place. And so is she!</p>
<p>My son in law’s medical school graduation was in the downtown convention center in Houston in a mid-sized arena. I have never been so cold in my life, and in late May it was really hot and humid outside. Fortunately, I had a sweater, but my legs were still freezing. I think you have to be prepared for anything! Even the men were shivering.</p>
<p>That out-of-character sun dress is part of my trying to think outside of my rather narrow wardrobe box. Everything else I toss in my bag will probably be black or white or black-and-white! </p>
<p>I was just musing about grad weekend and wondering if others were, too.</p>
<p>I was asked: what part of NC. Durham. I know the weather can vary quite a bit, so I do know that I’ll take something for rain and a snazzy cardigan. Beyond that…we will see!</p>