diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index f5171e62..c80f25d4 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
         "setuptools",
         "toml; python_version < '3.6'",
         "tomli; python_version >= '3.6'",
+        "python-dateutil",
     ],
     extras_require={"dev": ["packaging"]},
     package_dir={"": "src"},
diff --git a/src/towncrier/build.py b/src/towncrier/build.py
index 2f02eec2..e83e3581 100644
--- a/src/towncrier/build.py
+++ b/src/towncrier/build.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 import sys
 
 from datetime import date
+from dateutil.parser import parse
 
 from ._settings import load_config_from_options, ConfigError
 from ._builder import find_fragments, split_fragments, render_fragments
@@ -20,10 +21,6 @@
 from ._git import remove_files, stage_newsfile
 
 
-def _get_date():
-    return date.today().isoformat()
-
-
 @click.command(name="build")
 @click.option(
     "--draft",
@@ -135,7 +132,9 @@ def __main(
                 project_name = ""
 
     if project_date is None:
-        project_date = _get_date().strip()
+        project_date = date.today()
+    else:
+        project_date = parse(project_date).date()
 
     if config["title_format"]:
         top_line = config["title_format"].format(
diff --git a/src/towncrier/newsfragments/349.enhancement b/src/towncrier/newsfragments/349.enhancement
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..38bab88c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/towncrier/newsfragments/349.enhancement
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+The `versiondata.date` is not `date` instance. This allows users to customize the date rendering in the template with `strftime`, like so: `{{versiondata.date.strftime("%B")}}`.
diff --git a/src/towncrier/templates/default.rst b/src/towncrier/templates/default.rst
index ac551dfa..f754c0d7 100644
--- a/src/towncrier/templates/default.rst
+++ b/src/towncrier/templates/default.rst
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@
 {{ top_underline * ((top_line)|length)}}
 {% elif versiondata.name %}
 {{ versiondata.name }} {{ versiondata.version }} ({{ versiondata.date }})
-{{ top_underline * ((versiondata.name + versiondata.version + versiondata.date)|length + 4)}}
+{{ top_underline * ((versiondata.name + versiondata.version)|length + 4)}}{{ top_underline * (versiondata.date|title|length)}}
 {% else %}
 {{ versiondata.version }} ({{ versiondata.date }})
-{{ top_underline * ((versiondata.version + versiondata.date)|length + 3)}}
+{{ top_underline * (versiondata.version|length + 3)}}{{ top_underline * (versiondata.date|title|length)}}
 {% endif %}
 {% for section, _ in sections.items() %}
 {% set underline = underlines[0] %}{% if section %}{{section}}
diff --git a/src/towncrier/templates/hr-between-versions.rst b/src/towncrier/templates/hr-between-versions.rst
index 8c655571..6f18de2f 100644
--- a/src/towncrier/templates/hr-between-versions.rst
+++ b/src/towncrier/templates/hr-between-versions.rst
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 {% if versiondata.name %}
 {{ versiondata.name }} {{ versiondata.version }} ({{ versiondata.date }})
-{{ top_underline * ((versiondata.name + versiondata.version + versiondata.date)|length + 4)}}
+{{ top_underline * ((versiondata.name + versiondata.versiondata)|length + 4)}}{{ top_underline * (versiondata.date|title|length)}}
 {% else %}
 {{ versiondata.version }} ({{ versiondata.date }})
-{{ top_underline * ((versiondata.version + versiondata.date)|length + 3)}}
+{{ top_underline * (versiondata.version|length + 3)}}{{ top_underline * (versiondata.date|title|length)}}
 {% endif %}
 {% for section, _ in sections.items() %}
 {% set underline = underlines[0] %}{% if section %}{{section}}
diff --git a/src/towncrier/templates/single-file-no-bullets.rst b/src/towncrier/templates/single-file-no-bullets.rst
index 7b065446..77af195e 100644
--- a/src/towncrier/templates/single-file-no-bullets.rst
+++ b/src/towncrier/templates/single-file-no-bullets.rst
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 {% if versiondata.name %}
 {{ versiondata.name }} {{ versiondata.version }} ({{ versiondata.date }})
-{{ top_underline * ((versiondata.name + versiondata.version + versiondata.date)|length + 4)}}
+{{ top_underline * ((versiondata.name + versiondata.version)|length + 4)}}{{ top_underline * (versiondata.date|title|length)}}
 {% else %}
 {{ versiondata.version }} ({{ versiondata.date }})
-{{ top_underline * ((versiondata.version + versiondata.date)|length + 3)}}
+{{ top_underline * (versiondata.version|length + 3)}}{{ top_underline * (versiondata.date|title|length)}}
 {% endif %}
 {% for section, _ in sections.items() %}
 {% set underline = underlines[0] %}{% if section %}{{section}}
diff --git a/src/towncrier/test/templates/date.rst b/src/towncrier/test/templates/date.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3e8879b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/towncrier/test/templates/date.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+{% if top_line %}
+{{ top_line }}
+{{ top_underline * ((top_line)|length)}}
+{% elif versiondata.name %}
+{{ versiondata.name }} {{ versiondata.version }} ({{ versiondata.date }} / {{ versiondata.date|date:"D d M Y" }})
+{{ top_underline * ((versiondata.name + versiondata.version)|length + 4)}}{{ top_underline * (versiondata.date|title|length)}}
+{% else %}
+{{ versiondata.version }} ({{ versiondata.date }} # {{ versiondata.date|date:"D d M Y" }})
+{{ top_underline * (versiondata.version|length + 3)}}{{ top_underline * (versiondata.date|title|length)}}
+{% endif %}
+{% for section, _ in sections.items() %}
+{% set underline = underlines[0] %}{% if section %}{{section}}
+{{ underline * section|length }}{% set underline = underlines[1] %}
+
+{% endif %}
+
+{% if sections[section] %}
+{% for category, val in definitions.items() if category in sections[section]%}
+{{ definitions[category]['name'] }}
+{{ underline * definitions[category]['name']|length }}
+
+{% if definitions[category]['showcontent'] %}
+{% for text, values in sections[section][category].items() %}
+- {{ text }} ({{ values|join(', ') }})
+{% endfor %}
+
+{% else %}
+- {{ sections[section][category]['']|join(', ') }}
+
+{% endif %}
+{% if sections[section][category]|length == 0 %}
+No significant changes.
+
+{% else %}
+{% endif %}
+
+{% endfor %}
+{% else %}
+No significant changes.
+
+
+{% endif %}
+{% endfor %}
+
+
diff --git a/src/towncrier/test/test_write.py b/src/towncrier/test/test_write.py
index 12c5bad8..d678ceed 100644
--- a/src/towncrier/test/test_write.py
+++ b/src/towncrier/test/test_write.py
@@ -271,3 +271,47 @@ def test_multiple_file_no_start_string(self):
         """)
 
         self.assertEqual(expected_output, output)
+
+
+def test_dateformat(self):
+        """
+        Testing support of dateformat filter during template rendering. 
+        """
+        tempdir = self.mktemp()
+        os.mkdir(tempdir)
+
+        definitions = {}
+        fragments = split_fragments(fragments={}, definitions=definitions)
+
+        template = pkg_resources.resource_string(
+            "towncrier", "test/templates/date.rst"
+        ).decode("utf8")
+
+        content = render_fragments(
+            template=template,
+            issue_format=None,
+            top_line="",
+            fragments=fragments,
+            definitions=definitions,
+            underlines=["-", "~"],
+            wrap=True,
+            versiondata={"name": "MyProject", "version": "1.0", "date": "13.3.2022"},
+        )
+
+        append_to_newsfile(
+            directory=tempdir,
+            filename="NEWS.rst",
+            start_string=None,
+            top_line="",
+            content=content,
+        )
+
+        with open(os.path.join(tempdir, "NEWS.rst"), "r") as f:
+            output = f.read()
+
+        expected_output = dedent("""\
+            MyProject 1.0 (1.1.2001 / Sun 13 Mar 2022)
+            ==========================================
+        """)
+
+        self.assertEqual(expected_output, output)