Joshua Sonnenberg ’25

In a city like Grosse Pointe, I think traditions are very important, but not everyone thinks this way. In the past few years people have argued about one specific tradition- wearing a white dress to graduation. I can’t wait to pick out my mini white dress because I want to be a part of the tradition. I feel like so much is changing with school and I want to savor the few things we can.

Yes, it is just a white dress, but there are so many different styles and fabrics that you can choose to fit your style. Revolve is a popular place for dresses and they offer 2,107 white mini dresses. That’s just one website, so there is a variety of dresses to choose from. There are other ways you can express yourself at graduation: your hair, makeup, and shoes. You still want to be confident and feel your best but you can have fun while being traditional.

This tradition started in the latter half of the 19th century so everyone could look uniform. I think this is classy and makes graduation look clean. When people start wearing vibrant and extravagant dresses it looks tacky. It looks good to see everyone’s white dress under the gown and the dress doesn’t take away from the cap, gown, and cords.

A white dress will not take away from the thing that really matters, the actual ceremony itself. The white is elegant and gives a professional look which is ideal when graduating. The navy gown is so beautiful that you don’t want to have a colorful dress that takes away and doesn’t match. Although many colors would look decent, white is the best option. Though it’s important to express yourself, it is important to maintain appropriate standards.