Oklahoma State University Grad Didn’t Have Any Cords So She Made Her Own

Zoë Weiner
Updated

Getting to wear a cap and gown to college graduation is a major accomplishment as is, and getting to decorate the #look (... however questionably fashionable it is) with honors cords is an added bonus.

22-year-old Courtney Parchman, who was "not involved" in any campus activities at Oklahoma State University that would earn her cords to wear on graduation day, decided to take matters into her own hands and do a little makeshift accessorizing. She bought a set of jump ropes on Amazon, slung them over her neck, and nobody knew the difference.

She posted the gag on her Instagram page, a fashion parody account called @averagefashionblogger, noting that her "DIY graduation cords" worked "PERFECTLY." The genius move has gone viral, making it into a post on Buzzfeed News and earning her 40,000 new followers.

"Even the president of my university didn’t notice this was a homemade item and still enjoyed when I screamed 'PROFESSOR BURNS THIS IS AN HONOR”!! So I am living proof of this product!!! Ps congrats Class of 2018!!!' she wrote in the caption alongside the video. She also provides a comparison shot between her jump ropes and her friend's cords, and they really do look like the real deal.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiupQzngXN_/?taken-by=averagefashionblogger

So real, in fact, that literally no one could tell. "I had my good friends sitting next to me, and it wasn't until I was like, 'do ya'll like my jump ropes,' and they were like 'what the heck, Courtney?'" she tells Teen Vogue.

The comments section on the Instagram of the video is packed with supportive comments, with fans of the (bold) move calling it "genius" and saying it's the "best thing [they've] ever seen."

<cite class="credit">Courtesy of Courtney Parcham</cite>
Courtesy of Courtney Parcham
<cite class="credit">Courtesy of Courtney Parcham</cite>
Courtesy of Courtney Parcham

Her advice to other grads looking to copy her swag and rock a jump rope in lieu of cords? "Wear it with confidence," she says.

Courtney may not have been involved in enough campus activities to earn cords, but she certainly deserves a Magna Cum Laude in creative accessorizing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bisk-tghp2t/?taken-by=cornydawg

Image Courtesy of Instagram/@cornydawg

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