White dresses at graduation: Liberating or limiting?

By Eleanor Anderson 

For my final article in The Wheel, it seems only fitting that I go out the same way I began: with an opinion piece about a largely irrelevant issue that I want to know more about. 

Have you ever noticed that women tend to wear white in graduation ceremonies - specifically short, white dresses? This was a trend in high school that I chalked up to bandwagon, but I’m now seeing this same pattern across colleges and universities. Where did that come from, and why do we maintain this unenforced tradition? In order to begin this research process, I asked several friends why they thought people wore white to graduation. Their responses included:

“White matches just about every color combination for cap and gown.” 

“Other people do it, so others follow suit.”

“Huh? I don’t know? Do people do that?” 

To be honest, this was what I expected, but one response in particular stuck out to me:

“It's based on the suffragette movement. Women wear white to represent solidarity with previous advocates for women’s rights and as a rejection of the patriarchal norms.”

Now this I could run with…..

Upon further research, there is a fair amount of truth in this assumption. In the early 1900s, suffragettes decided that in addition to their other forms of resistance, they wanted to be visually distinct from others. Women advocates around the world landed on different colors to represent their fight for the right to vote, but the most common choice was white. 

In many cultures - including the US - white represents purity and moral virtue. Women wearing white to polling locations stood out in comparison to the many men wearing dark coats or denim. They also visually represented the positive change that women’s suffrage promised to bring. For the time, white dresses were relatively cheap to produce and easy to maintain, meaning that women could participate in the movement without drastically putting themselves out. 

So how does this translate to academic graduations? As far as I can tell, no schools have extended beyond “strong encouragement” for women to wear white at graduation. However, Spelman College - a historically Black women’s liberal arts institution - started the tradition in the early 1900s. Not only did this make the entire graduating class look polished and organized, it created a sense of solidarity among graduates. Since then, women across the country have maintained the tradition, whether they understand the history behind it or not. 

This is not to say that I am a full proponent of the white-dresses-at-graduation trend (though I will be participating). Dresses aren’t the most gender-affirming outfit for people who want to support the feminist movement but feel more like themselves in pants. Not to mention, white is a dangerous color for spills, often see-through under bright lighting, and not the most commonly owned color. But that’s the beauty of this tradition: it’s not enforced. People who want to participate can, and those who don’t want to face no legitimate pressure to follow suit.

So there you have it: white graduation dresses are in fact a widespread phenomenon that are based in some semblance of socially-just morals, and not entirely patriarchal expectations. Whether graduates choose to participate in the trend or not, what is worn under the regalia is not nearly as important as the achievements necessary to make it to graduation. 

Congratulations to the class of 2026 (and beyond)!