Friday, 10 July 2009

Things to Remember When Graduating

I decided on OUTFIT 1!!!

outfit 1

In the UK, most people graduate just once...unless you decide to do a Doctors Degree..or Masters Degree after University, in which case: I RATE YOU GUYS! I know all you Americans, and many others around the world, graduate from high school, college and grad school, which means you have plenty of gradu-practice to perfect it for the last, and final one. Us, on the other hand, do not get the chance to practice. We just have to kind of go with the flow, listen and rely on a bunch of undergraduates and 'helpers' who look about 16 to help us PUT ON OUR GOWNS and direct us to the right marquee/hall where the ceremony is held.

After just coming back from my graduation ceremony...I can officially say: it is a hell of a messy affair!

From attempting to leave your house with a family of six, with siblings who decide to get out of bed 30 minutes before you are about to leave the house, to squeezing into the family car which is forever shrinking as the familia is forever growing...all the way through to finding parking space...going backwards and forwards every hour to top-up the parking meter...then realising you ordered the rent-a-robe too big, which consequently results in the damn vampire cloak slipping of scrawny shoulders at every opportunity making one look like a messed-up hoochie, even though ones ensemble is smart and very presentable...but what does that matter when a giant cloak covers it all?!

And the worst part of the dramas? THE HAT! The stupid tasseled mortar board!!!!!!!!! Everyone will tell you I have a fairly large head, which I am proud of - I measured my head for the hat it was 59 cms. But this hat they presented to me..this cauldron they disguised as a graduation hat, was HUGE. IT WAS HUGE. And it kept slipping off my head. This hat would not sit on my head, and when I went up on stage it decided to slip once again, luckily it did not fall off entirely because that would have been an embarrassment.

Seen as I am the first of my friends to have my graduation ceremony, and to prevent a messy and stressful affair, I thought I would advise you to:

  • Not wash hair the night before ceremony: Freshly washed hair = super soft = no chance of hat staying.

  • Get the right size gown. It will swallow you. You will look like a vampire if rent-a-lobe is black.

  • Paint your nails super bright, so when you are holding the scroll in the picture you can see them, you will look ghetto-fabulous...in the best way possible ;-). I opted for green and purple. Because that is just how I get down...

  • BRING HAIR SLIDES - I failed: I had to ask lots of girls to borrow some. These will be usefull for the hat to stay on your head and not on the floor.

  • BRING HAIRSPRAY - I failed hence why my hat would not sit on silky smooth hair ;-), but luckily my sisters found an elastic band to braid my hair, which allows for borrowed-hair slides to hold hat better.

  • BRING SISTERS: if it wasn't for my sisters playing hairdresser/stylist, my robe would be knotted around my waist...and the hat would be a squashed piece of felt-covered-cardboard after being stamped on 100 times in a rage. There would be NO more tassel.

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  • Bring body spray: that robe is heavy and makes you super hot. Especially on a hot afternoon (like today).

  • Bring a safety pin - the hood of the gown is huge, and it DOES NOT SIT.

  • Bring make up - for photo touch ups :-D, you do not want to look a hot mess on that photo which will forever sit on the family mantle piece.

  • Oh and if you are super OTT (like me)...and cannot do with wearing a hat that a hundred other students are wearing, you want that extra unique touch...BRING A HAT ACCESSORY!!! Don't do a Serena from Gossip Girls and wear the tassel in your hair, because it looks super-stupid. It could be anything! I brought this vintage pin from way back...I don't even know what it is used for...but its a fairly large gold pin, with an oriental pattern ball, diamante encrusted detailing with gold chains dangling between the pin and ball. I didn't intend on using it on my hat, I was supposed to use it to attach my robe hood to my top but it was too big! Anyway, I prefer it on my hat..because its gold and chained which means I still had my personal touch within my 'smart' look :-D

  • And, finally, its bad, but must be done: LIE. Lie to family members to make sure you get to the ceremony on time, better still, lie to make sure you get to the ceremony early to allow for plenty of photo opportunities :-D

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Happy, and stress free graduating to all Classes of 2009 around the world!

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24 comments:

Jaja said...

yessss, i will be taking notes bluv!! Fankuuuu!!!

Jaja said...

oh yea, and sick with the pin and sisters!!!

Stephyy said...

Awe!! Congrats girly!! loved the outfit btw!!

JADE*ILLeen said...

so adorable!!!
congrats!

lipstick cherry said...

awww congrats! u look so cute!

LANA said...

Yeah, you went with my favorite outfit!

And fun photo's! Congratulations!

rio tapatio said...

yayyyyyyRachel. You look absolutely superb,, despite the problems you dealt with.! LOL. <3

rachy said...

congrats darling!! well done!!

MDSTYLING said...

Congratulations!
U look so pretty! =)

Ally said...

CONGRATS
^^
Nice pictures

musikseven/Kara Sudoku-Mishap said...

WOOOOOOOOO we did it rach!!!!!i look confused as usual...cant wait to see our BAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT official family photos!

Winnie said...

Wow, well done on graduating and all those tips sure are useful. I remember my graduation last year...no one knew what they were doing and kept on looking at each other to see what everyone was doing too!

Tuotierugif >^..^<© said...

congrats on graduating! I loved the outfit you chose :)

selinaoolala said...

awww i change my mind, the outfit you chose looks great!! gosh grad seems like such a stress!!! also your pin is gorgeous, ahah what a great idea!

renaye said...

ah! u added something to ur mortar board. that was creative!

Divinity Avenue said...

I loved all the outfits you had shown, but you picked a great one. Congrats!

Ringa Dinga Boing Boing said...

Yay! congratulation sweety...
it's been a long time since your last post..

Nana said...

CONGRATULATIONS Girl!!!! Now to conquer better and bigger things. Muahzz Lots of success and love. You didn't chose the outfit I liked the most but they were all good lol

Tashur Raquel said...

congrats! i loveee your outfit, very cute.

R. said...

I love your pin thing on your hat thingie. What are those called? You're right graduations are stressful and weird. I'm from the US so we have graduations for high school and mine was awful. I almost didn't go.

Frock Around the Clock said...

Good tips! I will try and remember them for next year. Your outfit looked great - definately the right choice and I love the use of the pin! Congratulations on being a graduate! :) x

chloe said...

aaaah, love the hat pin, great touch! in fact, your whole outfit was rockin'!
my (high school) graduation makes me shudder - the gown was the unflattering school colour of sky-blue, ugh.. it didn't fit at all and we had to wear school uniform underneath, ewww!..
i was abroad at the time of my uni graduation so i never wore a black robe, sigh...

Kay said...

wow you looked to smart!
i love that you 'customized' your cap thing.
the hair slides bit sounds like a good idea

congratulations (:

Strutt said...

oooh congratulations! I graduated last week and I totally understand the stress. co-sign the LIE part as well.

I only did a foundation degree so next year I'm topping up for a full degree and will be doing the whole thing again :|

I love the pin on your mortar board as well (I might have to borrow that idea for next year lol)

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