A Dress without a Home: The Unadopted Academic Dress of the Royal Institute of British Architects, 1923–24

Following the death of Bill Keen, the Managing Director of Ede & Ravenscroft, in 1996, one of my tasks, as Academic Consultant, was to sift through hundreds of files and letters at the Chancery Lane premises. On one occasion, a yellowing, quarto-size page fell out of a book. It was headed Supplement to the Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the bold title of the piece caught my eye: ‘Proposals for the Adoption of an Academic Dress for Members and Licentiates of the Royal Institute of British Architects’. This was followed by some illustrations of the costume for Members (that is Fellows and Associates) and Licentiates, and these are reproduced below, by permission.