University of St Andrews

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walk walk fashion baby

I'm a female doing my junior semester abroad at St Andrews next spring and was wondering - what are the main fashion trends/what are some basic staples every St Andrews female should have/what is (and is not) acceptable to wear?

(I don't want to show up looking like a clone, but I also don't want to show up looking like a complete bum.)

Thanks!

Reply 1

Jakko247

namaka

I'm a female doing my JSA at St Andrews

Thanks!

Job seekers allowance at St Andrews :p:

University of St Andrews

funny. changed it.

Get a grip.
Just listen to yourself, you say you don't want to look like a clone yet you're asking what everyone else wears? In any case why should it matter what everyone else is wearing?

Reply 4

namaka

Well, two main reasons:

1. I'm not familiar with the Scottish climate, so I'd like to know what sort of clothing one needs to have in order to be comfortable.
2. My home university has a pretty lax dress code - e.g. it's not uncommon for students to go to class in sweatpants/sweatshirts. From an etiquette standpoint, I was curious as to what's appropriate/expected in terms of dress.

Maybe you're the one that should "get a grip" before you respond to questions with snarky and entirely unhelpful comments, teabreak.

Reply 5

Jakko247

namaka

Haha stick with Tartan anything and you will be A-okay! :cool:

Reply 6

ImperceptibleNinja

I'm amazed at how simple the answers to this thread could be, and how we haven't got any of them yet...

Anyway, I don't think anyone expects you to dress up too much for lectures. In my Maths lectures, you get people turning up in the most functional and comfortable clothes, and then there are a few people who go with shirts and ties, or have everything coordinated and a face of perfect make-up. I would say the latter are in a slight minority, but no-one gives them any stick for it. You may want to check how this compares across subjects.

There is a bit of a division of 'Yahs' and people who don't like them. If you want to avoid being stereotyped as a yah, then basically all you need to do is avoid a full on combination of the following:
- uggs
- lables like Abercrombie & Fitch and Jack Wills, and maybe Superdry, but I'm not sure on that.
- the khaki green hunting jacket
- a navy sleeveless bodywarmer with some posh crest embroidered on it
- a pink and white striped shirt
- hunter wellies
- riding boots
- leggings
- expensive wrap
- sunglasses whenever
- hours of preening, plastering and backcombing to look like you 'just got out of bed'

I am sure you will not have problems with avoiding huge combinations from that list. Wearing a few items - e.g. leggings and a wrap - as part of an outfit really isn't something to worry about.

From a personal point of view, we're still getting quite cold, wet weather. A lot of the time, I'm wearing waterproof boots with decent grip, with thick tights and a skirt, then a thermal vest, jumper and a jacket, plus scarf, always gloves, and sometimes a hat. An umbrella is very valuable unless you live next door to your lectures. Since you'll be here until May, you'll probably want to pack for the end of the cold weather through to spring... I would normally still wear full-length sleeves and long trousers then, so if you have a limited amount of space for packing, then layering might be good. That way you can be warm in February, and not too hot in May.

If you would rather spend, say, £30 on some cheap basics once you arrive - e.g. plain t-shirts or basic jeans - then there is a Primark in Dundee, so you could get t-shirts for under £5, jumpers for under £10, jeans for around £10, and the bus is £5. I wouldn't buy into their more 'interesting' items, because it's more obvious where it's from, and lots of people might have it, but for a plain blue t-shirt or some basic jeans, it's a good place to look. The clothes shopping in St Andrews is not amazing IMO, and I'm too lazy to go to Dundee, so I shop mostly in the St Andrews charity shops, and then take advantage of being home to visit real shops :biggrin:

Reply 7

Square

tbh, the 'yahs' dont seem to have anything to say about the 'non-yahs' but it seems the 'non-yahs' seems to spend 90% of their time slating the yahs and making sure they dont fit the 'yah' stereotype.

so you choose which ones are lamer.

i'm privately educated, i own abercrombie and fitch and superdry clothing, and I go shooting but don't own a barbour jacket or hunter wellies despite really needing both.

at the end of the day, st andrews is a very very cold place during the winter months so make sure you bring a scarf, a coat, few jackets, gloves etc.

Reply 8

terpineol

Wear whatever really, nobody whose opinion I would be worried about is likely to notice.

Reply 9

ImperceptibleNinja

I hope I didn't come across as 'burn the yahs!' :biggrin:

I more meant that if you turned up only wearing the kind of clothes that can be associated with what people have come to think of as a 'yah' attitude, then some people might not give you a chance to prove yourself to be a pleasant individual with whom they might like to associate.
If you turned up in a tracksuit and with 'nike' shaved into the side of your head, and your trackie bottoms tucked into your socks, and with gold bling all over the place, and a burberry cap, then people whould probably have different expectations of you :rolleyes:

and it might not be in your favour.

A lot of this is stereotyping, and while I usually think there's an understandable reason behind stereotypes that arise, I don't think they're worth going by. I will stop talking about them now and let sensible clothing advice continue (:

Reply 10

harlar

Just wear what you like. Any research on Scottish climate will tell you that it gets bloody cold in the winter, and rains a lot, so a couple of good coats and some decent boots will see you right, along with the obvious knitted winter accessories. Saint Andrews has quite a reputation for having lots of snobs, but in all honesty as long as you're comfortable in what you wear you shouldn't really stand out.

Reply 11

steph_anie_x

At uni there are so many different people and so many different trends your bound to look like a 'bum' to come people and amazing to others.
Just wear what you like :smile:

Reply 12

predius

Be aware that I own none of these items, but if you like them, I'd suggest you ignore ImperceptibleNinja's advice, since they're not "only owned by yahs"

ImperceptibleNinja

- uggs

Every other girl I know has a pair of uggs, don't worry about them. I just don't understand why you'd like them.

ImperceptibleNinja

- lables like Abercrombie & Fitch and Jack Wills, and maybe Superdry, but I'm not sure on that.

There's a superdry shop in town, everyone has a superdry sweater or hoodie of some sort. Maybe Jack Wills, but no one is going to complain.

ImperceptibleNinja

- a pink and white striped shirt

As long as you don't own a collection of 12 pink polo shirts, you'll be fine.

ImperceptibleNinja

- hunter wellies

It rains.

ImperceptibleNinja

- riding boots

If you like riding.

ImperceptibleNinja

- leggings

I'm a guy and I own a pair of leggings. If leggings are for yahs then the rumours about St Andrews are true, because pretty much every girl has a pair.

Wear whatever you want, as long as you're not an abrasive retard, people will like you.

Reply 13

ImperceptibleNinja

predius

Be aware that I own none of these items, but if you like them, I'd suggest you ignore ImperceptibleNinja's advice, since they're not "only owned by yahs"

Every other girl I know has a pair of uggs, don't worry about them. I just don't understand why you'd like them.

There's a superdry shop in town, everyone has a superdry sweater or hoodie of some sort. Maybe Jack Wills, but no one is going to complain.

:s-smilie:

As long as you don't own a collection of 12 pink polo shirts, you'll be fine.

It rains.

If you like riding.

I'm a guy and I own a pair of leggings. If leggings are for yahs then the rumours about St Andrews are true, because pretty much every girl has a pair.

Wear whatever you want, as long as you're not an abrasive retard, people will like you.

I think you might have forgot about the bit where I said "a full on combination of the following". Any of the items on their own or incorporated into an individual outfit can be cool, but a large amount of them together can create a specific look that some people associate with certain traits, and they might not respect you so much for it.

The OP specifically asked about what people wear in town, and personally, I would be quite upset if I happened to turn up wearing a certain kind of clothing and people judged me for it. A pair of wellies, or a pair of uggs, or a Superdry jacket is unlikely to do that by themselves, but there is a kind of look which some people are likely to judge you by. Like I said, if you happen to wear a pink-and-white striped shirt as part of your outfit, then it shouldn't be a problem. If you combine it with nothing but items from the list I wrote, then you are giving yourself a particular image which some people don't respect all that much.

I'm sorry that this has turned into such a debate. I never meant to say, 'Yahs suck', or 'never wear Jack Wills', or 'everyone will hate you if you wear uggs' or 'boycott leggings'. I just wanted to emphasise the existence of a negative stereotype that someone could get judged by, through no fault of their own other than an unawareness of its existence.

Edit: When I say 'judged', I'm meaning in the negative sense. I should have made that more clear.

thanks everyone!

i'm surprised nobody has asked this question yet...are you beautiful? everything hinges on this question

Reply 16

Beanybob

Wear whatever the hell you like. Based on my experiences, no one really seems to care very much. I usually dress in jeans/skirt and wooley tights with some kind of jumper/hoodie/cardi on top, which seems to be pretty standard. However I have been known to go into town in my pj's at about 5pm to hand in an essay and/or do a quick tesco run, and no one has given me a second glance.

Hat, scarf and gloves are definately a good plan, and you'll probably want both a smartish warm jacket for everyday usage and good waterproof for when its bucketing down. Also boots if you have them. Cute little pumps are no fun in puddles.

Also agree with Imperceptibleninja's advice - unless you genuinely are very posh and yah-ish probs best to avoid the whole leggings, cashmere jumper, riding boots, pearls and birdnesty hair look....

Reply 17

duracell

The only advice I'd give to you is make sure you have jumpers/sweaters to keep you warm, and at least one pair of waterproof shoes. And gloves/scarf/hat and a waterproof coat.

There is practically nothing that is NOT acceptable to wear - I often go to my one class on Fridays wearing a jumper over my pyjamas with boots..

Afaik there aren't really any MAJOR fashion trends either...