What is Academic Regalia?
Academic regalia is specialized clothing which is worn by academics. Most commonly, academic regalia is worn at graduations and formal events, although at some colleges, the tradition of being attired in academic regalia at all times lives on. A variety of different styles of academic regalia are worn around the world, although, generally speaking, academic regalia is fairly consistent. The tradition of wearing academic regalia evolved from two different sources of inspiration. The first was the flowering of culture in the Middle East, where students traditionally wore formal robes at universities, and this habit was adopted by many European traditions of higher learning. In addition, originally European universities were only open to those in religious orders, so students were typically already wearing formal robes or cloaks to reflect their religious commitments. The style of academic regalia worn varies, depending on both where someone is, and where he or she ranks on the academic s
