In your first week at university you will make friendships that will last for
years. You might even brush shoulders with your future life partner.
Thousands of students, therefore, will be standing in front of their
wardrobes trying to decide what to wear for this monumental week. First
impressions count and among so many young and beautiful people, you will
want to stand out.
Students are offered a loan of up to £4,625 a year (£6,475 in London) to cover
living costs. With the overdraft ticking away, now is as good a time as any
to update your wardrobe before blowing the budget on books.
One of the best things about starting university is that you can reinvent
yourself. Nobody will know that your penchant for rave neon brights has
replaced a love of all things goth or that friends from home would fall of
their skateboards laughing if they saw you in a Pete Doherty-style trilby.
There are plenty of university style stereotypes, from the boarding school
brigade (identifiable by pastelcoloured pashminas and polo shirts), to the
year-out students (sporting deep tans and numerous wooden-beaded
accessories).
Look out for the fashion and art history students, who turn up on campus
looking like they have popped in to lectures before dinner with Glastonbury
star Mark Ronson, and the rugby boys, who cannot resist university-branded
sportswear. It is not clear whether these people seek each other out, or
slowly morph to become the same person. To retain a bit of individuality and
beat those first-day fashion nerves, here are some tips.
Comfort matters
Although you may be using a whole new group of friends as an excuse to make
the transition from being a fan of American musician Marilyn Manson to a
lookalike of model Daisy Lowe, you will want to make sure you are
comfortable in your new clothes. You do not want to be shifting
uncomfortably in the corner of the union bar, wishing you had worn your old
faithful biker boots.
If you are happy with the clothes you have, just buy a few key pieces to
update your wardrobe.
Start with the basics
You will need a decent coat to keep out harsh winter chills as you make your
way to and from lectures (and in extreme cases to wear to bed when the
heating breaks down). This autumn statement coats will be big news, so there
is no excuse to shiver in the lecture theatre.
Go for bright colours and original fabrics. Topshop offers a burnt orange
number. If you really cannot bear to wear a big coat, try a military-style
jacket or a pea coat. Gap has a black one for £78.
Splash out on some good boots or trainers. Get a selection of two or three
plain T-shirts that you can wear under things and other plain items that can
be jazzed up with accessories. For boys, a cardigan worn over a shirt or
T-shirt gives a trendy edge.
Luckily for students, the courier satchel has been big news on the catwalks,
all the better for transporting all your books and notes around. Smart
shopping is essential because the student loan may feel like a big windfall,
but do not forget that you will be paying it off for years.
Thrift
For the seasonal trends, try not to spend too much. One of the benefits of the
credit crunch is that fashion money-saving ventures are popping up all over
the place. Try clothes swapping - websites such as bigwardrobe.com allow you
to swap clothes or buy for cash, or a combination of both. Shops such as
Primark transfer trends from the catwalk to the shop floor at breakneck
speed.
Charity (sorry, vintage) shopping can give you a look that nobody else in the
library (read student catwalk) can emulate. Oxfam has also opened up
boutique stores in London - good for lower-price designer goods for that
special occasion. The Salvation Army shop off Oxford Street is well known
for quality vintage items. And do not forget that many high street shops
offer student discounts.
Smart clothes
Sometimes it is easy to forget that your entire university venture is actually
geared towards getting a good job. Invest in some smart trousers or skirt
and a shirt in case you get a dream work placement. Women students could try
wide-legged style trousers with a blouse and men slim-fitting, lightly
checked grey trousers (H&M have them for £19.99).
Borrow
It is a fact of the first term that once you have worn that top once too often
to the nightclub, you will start delving into friends' wardrobes. You will
feel like you have won the lottery.
And finally
Experiment. If you were thinking of trying out Henry Holland's tartan suit, as
worn by Agyness Deyn on the catwalk in February, now is the time to do it.
Once you have a job in an office, such fashion crimes could seriously damage
your income and chances of promotion.
Clothes say a lot. We make assumptions about someone from what they are
wearing in the blink of an eye, so why not express yourself?
