Gown
The gown is Cambridge academical dress in daily use: a black gown whose cut shows the wearer's status. Undergraduates wear the gown of their own College, and the subtle differences between College gowns allow insiders to read which College a stranger belongs to.
In practice
For graduation, undergraduates wear their College gown with the hood of the degree about to be received, while graduates wear the gown of the highest Cambridge degree already held. Those without a Cambridge degree wear a status gown instead: at Pembroke the rule is a BA status gown at 23 or younger and an MA status gown at 24 or older, with the hood of the incoming degree. The square cap (mortarboard) is optional; graduands may wear it outside the Senate-House before and after the ceremony. Gowns appear wherever ceremony happens: formal hall, matriculation and the Senate-House.
Why it matters to newcomers
Learn to spot the gown before the person: it tells you undergraduate or graduate, and often the College, at a glance. Only Cambridge academical dress may be worn at graduation, and the dress code is enforced: a University Constable checks graduands' dress on arrival at the Senate-House. For graduation guests, the rule is simpler: dress formally; gowns are for the graduands.
Related
- Formal hall - the regular occasion for gowns
- Matriculation - the first wearing
- Senate House and graduation - the final wearing
Sources: Academical dress, Cambridge students; Dress code for graduation, Pembroke.