gowns for what?

[LL]

Hi future uni mates...
I have a question for you all.

are the gowns strictely necessary, and for which occasions?

thank for your help
LL

[Scully]

I'm about to graduate and have never once wore a gown. You need them at some church services, to talk in a debate, and for some hall meals depending on what hall your in- i think that's all.

[Han]

They're definitely not strict unless you get into stuff like debating...they get you into the castle and the cathedral free though...mind you if that's all you use them for it would be cheaper just to pay the entry fees.

I bought one at the beginning of the year and have never worn it...I might start going to church just to have an excuse to...

[Cain]

I have a gown. I love it

You will never have somewhere require you to wear a gown, unless you join a monarchist dining club or work for the university on open days (and even then i think that you can scrounge one).

I didn't want to buy one when I got here, but i don't regret doing so now that i have it.

[hr]

I hold an element of surprise

[Marie55]

They are good for keeping warm when your room gets cold in the winter.
Plus when you do get to wear them it's good fun. Have worn mine 4-5 times this year + lots in my freezing room.

[sam]

no, you don't need the gowns. You don't really need them for church services, if u have one you wear it to chapel on sundays though. People also wear gowns to debates, but it's not necessary. And you certainly don't need one to speak. For things that you would "need" a gown for, like those hall "high table" things, you can just borrow one from a friend. Buy one if you want, but don't feel pressured at all.

[Admin]

Entirely voluntary.

But... they look good, feel good and keep you warm.
Rumour has it that 3 or more people wearing gowns constitutes a procession, and can legally stop traffic. Though you'd hope that walking in front of a car would be enough to stop it...

[Cain]

if by rumour you mean "local by law" then you're correct.

local by law also says that students cannot be served alcohol while wearing their red undergraduate gowns.

also, gowns are good for participating in the st andrews tradition of gownsex. The more prestigious the gown the better.

[hr]

I hold an element of surprise

[Buffy]

on the topic of strange by-laws and traditions (and gowns) and other stuff, I recall a story from some years ago (6 maybe?) where someone read through very old university regulations and noticed that if a student requests a drink (either port or whiskey, don't remember) during an exam, he must receive it. So the kid tried it, only to be called on the fact that he wasn't wearing a gown, and therefore the university could refuse to let him sit his exam.

that said, I've never seen someone wear one to an exam.

[muffin]

don't get one; waste of money, plus if you sell it back to bess you will lose £60 even if you have never worn it- they buy back at £40 yet sell for twice the price! i coulda have bought actual food with the 100 quid it set me back...

[Cain]

I think I'll wear my gown to my History exam. there's nothing else good going to happen to me that day...

[hr]

I hold an element of surprise

[LL]

all right.
In places like Oxford it is mandatory for matriculation day, and to sit exams. Also for formal dinners, and somo other events.

This is what I meant to ask... if you could sit exams without a gown, etc.
I actually like que gown thing, but giving the price (quite absurd for a piece of red cloth I could definetely sew myself)I ont think Im gonna get one.

Probably for graduation. I think that's a good day to wear it.

thanks a lot for your answers

[Pender Native]

The red gowns are undergraduate gowns, I think the gowns people wear to graduate are different again.

[hr]

"I have seen flowers come in stony places
And kind things done by men with ugly faces,
And the gold cup won by the worst horse at the races,
So I trust, too."

[niall]

you wear black gowns for graduation, in general you hire them along with your hood (tho you can buy them if you so wish)

[hr]

do you have a tastyspoon?

http://www.tastyspoon.com/forum

IMAGE:www.danasoft.com/vipersig.jpg

[raheli]

the uses of a gown:
1) extra blanket
2) dressing gown
3) airplane garment (strangely comfy and guaranteed conversation-starter)
4) pretending to be Harry Potter
5) pretending to be pretentious
6) in some cases, really being pretentious
7) something to stick your raisin string to!

Good on you, unregistered user, for trying to sew one yourself, but bear in mind that a) it is much harder than it looks, and b) by the time you get done buying 20 metres of thick red wool cloth, it will probably cost about the same : (. but you'll probably do a better job; the bought ones are surprising shoddy.

i am so so so bored. i am going to the library now to swan around enjoying being FINISHED with my degree!!!

[Cheryl]

Quoting raheli from 18:00, 16th May 2005
the uses of a gown:
4) pretending to be Harry Potter

LOL

But there's no Dumbledore or Snape.

[Jos Dad]

Quoting raheli from 18:00, 16th May 2005
the bought ones are surprising shoddy.

I would be very surprised. The material of which the gown is made is technically "stuff". "Shoddy" is a completely different material.

[memory]

forty quid and all I ever used it for was as a bed spread....

[lapetitegecko]

I love my gown. Formal meals (depending on halls), chapel, randomly wearing about town cos it looks good...

If you do want one, it might be worth seeing if you can find someone with a gown to dispose of, and get a reasonable deal on it, unlike the union rip-off.

But you can't have mine!

[physicist]

I like having my gown (or gowns). It's great for attending debates, chapel, the pier walk, formal hall dinners, etc. I used the red one many times, and the current black one (with hood) is used often during term time. The cost of these gowns does not worry me at all, as I have made good use of them.

Finally, neither of my gowns were made of "shoddy" or "stuff". They were made many many years ago (over 30 anyway) when they knew how to make proper gowns (in a dark red colour). The total cost for seven years of gowns (for me) is £0.