The history and development of academical dress may be traced to the early days of the western universities. As the major European colonial powers extended their cultural influence across the world so their unique and ubiquitous academical traditions also spread across the world. Today the most fully developed is probably that derived from the British university tradition now found throughout the English-speaking world and beyond. This book will give an outline of the development of academical dress in New Zealand and outline the main features of its evolution. It will then describe the academical dress in the universities and many non- university institutions in New Zealand. Perhaps surprisingly academical dress has lost none of its appeal though it is today rarely worn other than at graduation ceremonies. Indeed it might be said that academical dress is more popular and more regularly used than at any time in its long and somewhat complex history.