Back in July I was able to go and watch my very talented brother graduate. His graduation ceremony was in the afternoon but we had to be there before 1pm for him to get his gown and have his photo taken. I'm currently working as a research assistant at the university I studied at and as such I had to go into work before hand, but because we were very tight on time I actually had to go and work in the lab with my hair and makeup done and wearing my dress for the graduation! It's an extra thing for us to remember the day by: that time I wore a maxi dress to collect fly eggs off raw liver....

In any case, it was a lovely day and I was so proud of my brother for all he's achieved.



For the ceremony I wore this new-to-me 1970s maxi which I just love wearing. While the 1970s isn't my favourite decade for fashion, I really like a lot of 1970s maxis and I'd like to get myself one or two more in the future. This particular dress is a soft satiny material and has the most beautiful flattering cut. I think it was designed to be worn with platforms as it's actually been shortened by a previous owner but as you can see it's about the perfect length on me - if I'm wearing heels. I haven't measured how high the heels on these shoes are, but I guess they make me about 5'8". It makes me wonder how much material has been taken off the bottom of the dress and therefore how high my platforms would have to be in order for it not to be too long!

So aside from the beautiful cut and pretty pattern, there is one thing I really love about this dress:



It's the amazing cape on the back! It's the kind of wonderful detail you rarely get on modern dresses and makes the dress really special to wear.

Because the dress makes me feel like a character from American Hustle, I styled my hair after Jennifer Lawrence's character. I also went for 1970s-inspired makeup and accessories to complete the look.



My brother, of course, looked dapper as usual in his suit.



The lighting inside the venue was really poor for photos, which was a shame as it was a really interesting building. I did get a couple of photos although they're really yellow.