Commencement exercise is a long ceremony, at the same time, the number of people attending it is flooding. Wearing academic regalia over the casual attire would just add to body heat that may cause one to be uncomfortable. One should make sure that the graduate cap and gown has the right fit on the user. How to achieve it?
Ask a friend to help out in the whole process because it would be difficult to do it alone. Prepare the shoes and the suit to be worn on that day for it will help in getting the right measurement of the regalia. If the casual outfit will be worn during the measurement, there will be a slight difference on its size. If the suit is thick, and the casual garment is body-fit, there will be a tendency that the allowance will just be enough for the suit to fit. Short-sized regalia are not good to look at. It’s like wearing a body-hugging gown during prom nights. That’s why exact measurements are needed for the graduate cap and gown.
Measure the height from the tip of the shoes to the head. Ask an assistant to write the measurement in feet and inches on a notebook. Then get the measurement of the shoulder blades by putting the tape measure across the back- from the tip of left shoulder to the tip of right shoulder.
Then, have a check on the weight. Look for a bathroom scale and record the indicated weight. It will be useful in determining the correct generic sizing, whether the cap and gown falls to small, medium, large, or higher.
Next thing to consider for graduate cap and gown is the chest. Be sure to stand with arms on its side. Let someone measure from under the arms and over the shoulder blades. Also measure the entire chest at its largest portion. Do not stretch the measuring tape too much; just snug it to give allowance for the cloth. Then, measure the size of the collar. Measure the neck about one inch above the collar bone. In addition to that, measure also the length of the sleeve from the mid collar bone, around the elbow, to the wrist and at the base of the hand.
To complete the graduation cap and gown measurement, get the circumference around the head for the size of cap or tam. Hold the tape at the widest portion of the head. Be sure it’s one inch above the ears where the cap will be worn. Record the size in inches.
Then, look at the cap and gown size chart to know where the measurements fall. If ever it falls between two sizes, choose the next larger size.
Be careful in getting the measurement of graduate cap and gown for PhD for it will risk the comfort of the user during the ceremony. Since it may only happen some times in one’s life, make the best out of it. The right fit would boost one’s confidence during the ceremony. No one will be looking on the floor while walking through the aisle to reach the long-aimed diploma.