The Stand
For students, by students 

Having spent most of my summer weekends at 21st birthday parties, I found myself asked repeatedly, ‘So where are you at uni?’ To which I’d diligently respond, ‘Do you know St Andrews? Yeah, it is very far away’. The conversation would usually follow one of two courses: conversations about golf (no, I don’t play) or them going off on some tangent about how they either really want to go to Welly, or they want last year and had 'so much fun, mate, not that I really remember it'.

Take a look around town, and you will see most women wearing shoulder bags and tote bags while most men wear practical backpacks. Is this the result of women's free fashion choices, or is this a harmful double standard, pointing to ongoing and outdated flaws in our expectations of women? Historically, restrictive and painful clothing were adorned proudly by the upper classes as a status symbol to demonstrate that they do not need to do manual labour, leaving the working class

Autumn is in full swing at St Andrews, and with it comes an all-too-familiar nip in the air. As cardigans are traded for trench coats, scarves are pulled a little tighter around necks, dressing for the unpredictability of Scottish weather becomes a practical choice as much as it is a stylish one. This autumn, however, there is one standout silhouette offering a particularly chic solution to the breeze - the funnel-neck. While we all know the well-loved and well-worn turtlenec

There was a time when getting your ears pierced meant choosing between gold or silver studs. Maybe, if you were feeling adventurous and brave, you begged your mom to get a second piercing. Now, somewhere along the way, ear piercings stopped being individual accessories and became something to curate and make your own. The “curated ear” is exactly what it sounds like: rather than treating each piercing as a separate decision, the entire ear is considered an artistic compositio

Are microtrends dying, or have students in the bubble found a different way to define style? St Andrews has become a fashion haven in its own right. Despite its relatively small size and population, there is a distinct way of dressing that is on trend, chic, and effortless all at once. When comparing a town such as St Andrews to style hotspots such as New York and London, there is a familiar sense of good taste and panache, yet a noticeable absence of one of the most prevail

How does high fashion fare when it has to withstand a student budget, Scottish weather and long walks across town? Paris Fashion Week, the most prestigious of them all, took place the week commencing September 28 and ran until October 6. It left students wondering how they might wear dramatic, gravity-defying gowns to a 9 am lecture. At first, the answer seems obvious: they can’t. But the thing about fashion is that it travels fast, not necessarily as garments, but as an iden

Following a recent article, classism at the university has become the talk of the town. Is it safe to say class isn’t just reflected through active classism, but through fashion as well? Credit: Eva Cairns Recently, a well-established Scottish newspaper, The National, published an article discussing a LinkedIn post made by former St Andrews University student, Sophie Jenkins, regarding her experience with anti-Scottish views and classism. The classism and mistreatment by both

The clubbing capitals of the world are usually noted for their distinct aesthetics. In Berlin, the scene is dominated by black leather and latex. But in Ibiza, colourful sequins and cowboy boots are usually the weapon of choice. Even though it may be a bit of an overstatement to refer to The Bubble as a clubbing capital, the night out uniform is similarly unique. St Andrews is often noted for its specific day-time aesthetic involving jeans, loafers and cashmere jumpers. Bu

A fiery crimson glow flickers inside two curved glass forms, surrounded by a haze of iridescent spheres. It shifts with movement, suspended against the body. The whole form lies between matter and motion. Beneath the glass is something found not on Earth, but among the stars. Plasma. This is Iris Van Herpen’s Helix Nebula dress, unveiled as part of her latest collection. Here, the fourth state of matter takes an unexpected place on the runway. Helix Nebula Dress, 2026. Credi

Over the last few years, there have been defining pop culture moments that have named the summer, and ultimately set the aesthetic that most of us, or those of us who average more than 5 hours of daily screen time, aspire to. There was Hot Girl Summer, Brat Summer and Barbie Summer, to name a few, all of which came with colours and aesthetics that were synonymous with the ‘era’ they defined; and were an easy guide for what to wear to be the most on-trend and in-the-know with

It is hard to walk the streets of St Andrews without catching a stripey outfit. In the past semester alone, I have seen striped jumpers, trousers, hats, gloves, blouses, skirts, scarves, caps, shoes, bags— pretty much any item of clothing (or accessory) you can think of. Credit: Ivana Furundija on Pinterest The popular stores are stocking their shelves with stripes to fit the recent demand. According to Potter & Co on Instagram, ‘Stripes were set to dominate fashion in 2025,

Credit: The Guardian Over the past year, the internet has been plagued by the so-called ‘performative male’ who notoriously flaunts the effortlessly put-together outfit of a band t-shirt, of whom he has most likely never listened to, wired headphones, and a classic literature book that fits perfectly in his back pocket. Such a look has become so notorious, identifiable, and easy to recreate that I even had friends don the attire as a Halloween costume. Maybe he's carrying Sil

I noticed recently that my social media has been flooded with photos of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy (CBK) for the past few weeks, and people around me can’t stop talking about the new series Love Story , which is about her relationship with John F. Kennedy Jr. I began to wonder: Why, 26 years after her tragic death, is there such an obsession with Carolyn specifically? Why are people on TikTok trying to dress just like her? But also, why can no one actually achieve her look? Joi

By Ethan Forbes Credit: reneemagritte.org For many final year students such as myself, the end of our studies, graduation and entering the big bad world are looming large. For many of us, this is a time that is plagued by more questions than answers. What are you going to do after graduating? Do you have a job yet? Are you going to do a master’s degree? But surprisingly, the most important question may be... what are you wearing to graduation?  On the one hand, while we are

By Sophie Kolax Credit: Pinterest In a house with four other flatmates, one washing machine, and five measly drying racks, it is easy for the laundry to accumulate. So, after the third attempt at washing my clothes, I realized that all my staples, favorite jeans, tops that go with everything, and the jumpers I wear a little too often are not suitable to be worn again. This is the wash-day conundrum. Not only are all of my favorite articles of clothing out of commission, but t

By Minty Rawlins As a frequent flier at the main library, I deeply relate to the @standrews.onion post from last September about ‘St Andrews students dressing up to ‘ study’ in the library’. Even though the St Andrews Onion is a satire news account, there was definitely some truth to this post. I know I’m not the only St Andrews student whose day starts with the taxing task of deciding what to wear, only to show off the final product as I procrastinate on the main floor of

By Poppy Reid The early 2020s saw social media plagued with what was tipped as the ‘clean-girl aesthetic’. Pioneered by the internet’s IT girls like Hailey Bieber and Molly Mae Hague, matching gym sets and slick back ponytails became a daily uniform, liptints were mandatorily matched to oversized stanley cups, and beige was the new millennial pink. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is something inherently satisfying about the clean-girl. The look is accomplished, polished and fe

Last year marked the arrival of a new ‘dark academia’ novel set in St Andrews: When We Were Killers by C. F. Barrington. The novel found a home in bookshop window displays for months, and was even named Waterstones’ Scottish Book of the Month in May 2025. When We Were Killers certainly received a positive marketing push, but is it actually worth your time? Window display in Topping and Company, (January 2026) The novel’s protagonist is Finn Nethercott, an ‘outcast’ first-ye

By Ethan Forbes Credit: Vogue While us students were hibernating after another gruelling semester, the fashion world was ploughing into the new year full steam ahead. Trade fayres, fashion weeks, and even reality TV style have been flooding my feed. So, in order to make your life easier when trying to juggle keeping up with your most stylish friends and adjusting to academic life (tasks of equal importance if you ask me), I’m going to give you a quick recap of what I think ar

Every January my For You Page becomes inundated with trend predictions for the new year. With the videos often claiming to reveal the ‘colour of the year’, ‘next big pattern , ’ and sometimes offer obscure takes about new fashionable silhouettes. While 2025’s most notable trending pattern was the polka dot , the ‘trend prediction experts’ claim that stripes are the new ‘it girl.’ Though the classic polka dot has been seen on almost every item of clothing imaginable, anima