(no subject)

[bedlamsbard]

So I think the most important thing I took away from today's graduation proceedings is that I finally understand what a hundred fantasy and historical novels actually mean when they talk about characters keeping things in the sleeves of their robes. (UK graduation robes -- at least Leicester's at the MA level -- are very different than American graduation robes.)

I'm still in the country for another week and I'm kind of thinking that deciding to go on holiday for ten days with my mother may have been one of the worst decisions I ever made, because I love my mother, but dear god I just want five or six hours alone in a quiet room with my laptop. Also, I'm pretty sure that traveling with me is only fun for the first twenty-four hours; after that I get annoyed and snippy and apologize every three minutes because I know I'm annoyed and snippy.

Unfortunately we still have another week and two cities to go. SAVE ME.

Comments

Congrats!

[cursor_mundi]

:D When I received my Ph.D. (I didn't stand up for the M.A. ceremony) the sleeves were so large that you could easily hide food, drink, and a small colony of books in them, and mine gathered at the wrist. I am told that a frequent modification, beyond the usual discreet placement of mesh to offset the immense heat of robes made of heavy velvet and synthetics thick enough to support the velvet, is to have long pockets sewn into the sleeves for just these reasons. Bonus fun: there's a pocket slit on the right side, so that you can access vital items from your own pockets. I also know people who store their cell phones in their Ph.D. hoods (helps as a counterweight, too!).

Pro-tip: when selecting your Ph.D. granting institution, consider the headgear. You do not want to be stuck with a mortar board; I have a jaunty Thomas Moore tam which is quite nice.

Re: Congrats!

[bedlamsbard]

Ours had long sleeves, but with a slit about halfway down where you stuck your hand and arm through, so you had long dangling sleeves that closed at the bottom. So you can just stick your cell phone and whatever in there! Bizarrely, the hoods had velcro on the back, but no equivalent on the robes, because that would have been helpful.

The PhD robes were fierce; they had some kind of fancy braiding down the front. Different colored hoods, too. And no mortarboards, the lucky ducks; they got tams. (Master's and undergrads got mortarboards -- not that there were many undergrads, since they mostly graduate in June rather than January. I don't even know why they bothered issuing us mortarboards, we weren't allowed to wear them during the ceremony.)

[snacky]

Congratulations! And good luck with your mother.

[bedlamsbard]

Thanks! On both fronts.