Graduates Are Now Wearing Wedding Dresses Instead Of Caps And Gowns

Graduation is a big day. It means that after four years of Addy binges, latte runs, and “studying,” it’s time. Kidding, obviously. You spent countless hours in the library, you completed group projects despite wanting to murder everyone who wasn’t you, and you put in extra hours to make sure your GPA was as close to perfect as possible. After four long years (unless you took a victory lap) you’re rewarded with lukewarm mimosas, your parents’ gratitude (that you actually graduated, and that they’re done paying), and the chance to monogram your mortarboard. However, in China, girls are eschewing throwing personalized caps into the air for the chance to don wedding dresses. Casual.

Women in China say that wearing wedding dresses makes the moment more meaningful. Look, I’ve Pinterest-stalked wedding ideas while studying as much as the next girl, but graduation is about you. It’s not about you forcing some poor shmuck into marrying you after years of pretending to like sports and dome. Celebrate yourself in a hideous graduation robe that has no other purpose, not in the wedding gown of your dreams. Because feminism.

All over China, graduation season is starting to resemble wedding season (only with fewer Facebook announcements, I hope). You can rent your wedding gown for about $7 per day…so maybe we should all move to China. The ladies then take to social media to upload pictures of them posing with their tiaras and trains. The girls know postgrad life is hard, so they say these creative photo shoots allow them one last chance to be creative and free. I mean, once you graduate you can find that opportunity every weekend, as long as there’s alcohol involved.

The belief is that wedding gowns represent the fact that “youth is fading,” which is the most depressing statement I hope to read today. Other girls like the wedding dresses because they think it makes them prettier (although a Vera Wang is a tad more beautiful than a $7 per day rental). So, when you start planning for graduation, go to your Pinterest wedding board. Your parents won’t mind buying you the gown of you dreams, because it’s to celebrate the fact that you’re actually graduating.

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[via Wall Street Journal]