Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-11-21
ACADEMIC COSTUME
MEANING OF THE VARIATIONS IN
CAPS AND GOWNS.
GROWTH OF 4 CUSTOM
Only of Recent Years Have
the Brilliant CoIors and Rich
Materials Come into Vogue at
College Ceremonials-Differen
in Hoods

The wearing the traditional
academic costume by college officers
and students, or by those holding
academic Degrees on occasions Of
ceremony is TO the American public
still novelty. 1t is true that on the
statute books OF Columbia and of one
or two other colleges there were in
scribed long ago prescriptions for
distinctive and appropriate dress, but
the custom Of wearing the cap, gown
and hood belonging to the different
degrees soon died out, il ever it was at
all generally adopted. Later came
the movement for the graduating
classes in colleges to wear caps aud
gowns at their commandments
Yale the practice was introduced n
1878, and again in 1891-but only then
was the academic dress seen, and that,
too, Of the simplest type. 1t is only
within a few years that the brilliant
colOrs and rich materials of the cos
tunes appropriate to the grades
higher that the bachelors have been
worn; and even now the sight is so
unwOnted that a good deal of I'm
certainty exists in the popular mind
as to what the various blues and
scarlets and blacks signify, or why
one gown is silk, and another Of serge.
Confusing as the colors are when
seen III procession or massed on the
platform, it is, however, not a difficult
matter to interpret them. They are
almost all arranged according to q
simple, but highly effective, plan,
which representative body of college
delegates drew up some six years ago
1t should be remembered, first Of all,
that every faculty or department Of
the universities has adopted dis
tlnctive colors, and that these colors,
appearing as facings or trimmings on
the hoods, show whether the Wearer
has received his degree from one or
| the ether. Thus, to name the chief
ones, hood faced and trimmed with
scarlet means a dec zee in divinity.
purple stands for law, blue for philOSo-
ply, green for medicine, white for
arts and letters, orange for science,
! rtnk for music, brown for the fine arts.
Secondly, the hoods are lined with the
distinctive color OF the college con
terrtng the degree, Thus a doctor Of
| laws Of Yale wears a hood lined with
blue, edged With purple; a doctor of
philosophy from Columbia appears in
a hood lined with the pale blue and
white, with dark blue velvet or satin
| around its edges in q band three or.
four inches wide. The bodies of these
hoods are all black, and those for an
IL. D, or d. D. are cut rather more
amply than those worn by, say. a
master Of arts, and have panels at the
sides. There are some small differ
ences in the hoods Of some Of the
colleges, but, broadly speaking, the
patterns and color plans above de
scribed are those adopted by all tn
largest and most famous American in
situations Of learning. The gowns are
of serge for bachelors, silk for masters
and doctors. The lowest degree has
open. lOng-pOinted sleeves, the mas
ters' gowns have long square
cornered extensions on their sleeves.
and a doctors gown always is faced
down the front with velvet and barred
with three stripes of velvet on the
sleeves. These trimmings may BE-
black, or black piped with color OF
wearer's degree, or all Of scarlet or
purple or blue, as the degree was
given by this Or that faculty. The
gowns, all black. are most effective
foundations for brilliant cOlorings Of
the hoods hanging from the shoulders.
All the colleges affect the traditional
mortar-bOard cap; and here, too, an
easy distinguishing mark exists in the
gold tassals the doctors are allowed
to wear instead Of the black ones worn
by the bachelors and masters. Moro
and more frequently these costumes
are being adopted for use at the more
elaborate of academic functions
Their use was very general at the
Princeton anniversary celebration, and
at the recent inauguration of Presi-
dent Hadley of Yale there was hardly
an official or delegate who did not
appear in his appropriate dress.
And how much the beauty
of the colors will contribute to the
brilliancy of the scene, and the somber
grace of the heavy gowns to its |
dignity those can tell who have en- |
joyed the display at other events of = |
similar kind. 1t is a long step toward |
investing their occasions Of |
ceremony with an appropriate setting |
that Americans have adopted this i
traditional costume. so picturesque
and dignified at once
GLEANlNGS AND GOSSIP