They Still Wear White Dresses, Don’t They?
OPRF High School graduating class of 1895 |
Promoting the white dress
during wartime in 1918 |
High school graduations are tradition-laden events, and no tradition is more long-standing than the attire worn by graduates of Oak Park and River Forest High School.
Since the first class of three graduates in 1877, tens of thousands of students have received their diplomas, dressed not in caps and gowns, but in dark suits for boys, and white dresses (or since 2000 white pantsuits) with a bouquet of roses for girls.
Only a handful of public and private high schools across the country retain this practice, which dates from the nineteenth century.
This dress code has been altered only once—in 1918 during World War I. As a show of patriotism and in recognition of the serious challenges facing the country, the 114 senior girls voted unanimously to simplify their graduation dresses in favor of a
“graduation dress of a uniform style and not costing more than $5.”
OPRF High School graduating class of 1982 |
While still white, the simple dresses were tailored in sailor style, and had no decoration or adornment except the black tie. In addition, no flowers were carried that year. It was reported that this change would save each girl about $30 on her graduation dress. Thirteen boys from the class of 1918 missed the graduation ceremony because they were already in military service.
The Oak Leaves report on the June 13, 1918 commencement noted: “There was a solemn note even among the rejoicing. No talisman of young renunciation could have
been finer than the simple white gowns the one hundred and fourteen girls in the class wore, without sign of flower or any other adornment, as a war saving device. And the little black ties against the white were like so many pledges of the accepted cross of service and of sacrifice.”
Seniors at OPRF voted overwhelmingly in 2011 to retain the formal attire over the option of caps and gowns, thus continuing a tradition of more than 135 years.