After graduating on Tuesday and being on campus on for the following three days of graduations, I am ready to write up a style report about Irish graduations.

Firstly a photo though: http://adressandabike.wordpres.....2147_n.jpg

Academic Robes & Caps: Our robes were mid-calf length with a silver and yellow hood. The robes were roasting warm so light layers were essential underneath. You really needed height (or high heels) to pull these robes off properly. In Ireland, only the women wear academic caps, a tradition supposedly stemming from men's protest against the entry of women into academia and to symbolise the 'cap' on our education at degree level in the early 20th century. In my university, the caps are optional for women now but very few people actually know this as only three women, including me, graduated without the cap on. The best way to keep the caps on is to pull them low on your forehead and pin them at the back.

Clothes: Most women wore dresses underneath their robes, in fact I don't think I saw a single women wearing pants. Some people wore black dresses underneath their robes but this didn't really pop from underneath our black robes. In fact, a friend who wore black has since said that she regretted it after seeing the photos. Some women went for really fashion-forward dresses like bandage dresses or mini-dresses or wore floaty summer dresses, both which I felt weren't really appropriate for the occasion as the official dress code is formal. Other women went for bright pops of colour which really stood out under the robes.

Shoes: We had to stand around for a hour before our ceremony in which I saw so many girls sitting on the floor complaining about their shoes. Again, a unique shoe seemed to work quite well as a contrast to the robes. A four inch heel was a popular choice of heel height and did work well against the long robes but I think there were many tears shed from pain later on that day.

I think that I really have YLF to thank for how easy my style choices were that day. I was able to work around the parameters set by my university- formal dress code and robes- to look chic and stylish that day. While I did have to buy a new dress for the day, I now have a dress I will happily wear to my next graduation and to weddings. Thank you to everyone who helped me by suggesting dresses, shoes and accessorising; you made my first formal dress-code much easier!