Academical dress developed through a process of evolution and modification of ordinary, everyday wear. The gown or robe was the cloak of the medieval scholar and the hood was the head-cover. Academical dress has been worn by students and graduates for hundreds of years and even in this modern world shows no obvious sign of becoming obsolete. This book indicates the entire range of gowns, hoods, robes and caps worn by graduates and undergraduates of British and Irish universities, and a section is devoted to explaining their component parts.