Going 'Out-Out': The St Andrews Student Night Out Uniform Explained
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. But when the Barbour jackets are handed into the 601 coat check and traded for a blue Pablo, a slightly different aesthetic appears.
Like most UK unis, a stream of tiny tops make their way to the Union week after week - often they are from Vinted, Depop or your flatmate. While this is a relatively sustainable practice, it means I can rarely find out where the girl I just complimented in the bathroom’s top is from, instead being met with: ‘Thanks! It’s from Vinted’. While at some of my friends’ unis these are often paired with a mini skirt, St Andrews students tend to opt for baggy jeans (a decision mostly fuelled by the often-rainy weather).
Like most universities, sports night calls for a range of themed socials. Following my research trip to 601 on Wednesday night, I thought the recent highlights included red flags, beanies and bikinis, and golf attire. My own attendance at the tennis club’s Wacky Wednesday meant I faced the question ‘where on earth were you before this?’ to which I found myself slightly shamefully responding as I stood in a pair of inside-out Canterbury Uglies in The Red Gown.
Academic children will often appear in similarly sub-par outfits in the pubs and Union, often with painted faces, white lies T-shirts and their names written across their foreheads in Sharpie. The range of outfits that grace the Union dance-floor on a Wednesday or Friday are usually a testament to the creativity of either the club social secs or the academic parents, who have inflicted an often unflattering theme upon their attendees; which is something I’ve appreciated from a distance so far as I’m yet to relish in inflicting a dress code upon my own academic children.
St Andrews is often noted for its more dressed-up approach to fashion in comparison to other universities. This unspoken rule is something that extends beyond the confines of a lecture theatre or the Main Library and carries over to the night-out uniform too. Personally, I think this is most notable in the sheer number of blazers that descend upon 601 every Wednesday. Paired with either a rugby, golf, or cricket tie, these blazer shave become an iconographic attribute of the tribe mentality of men’s sports clubs that infiltrate the pub scene week in, week out. However, I’ve found that Friday nights are where the formality of St Andrews runs rampant, with a guarantee to see multiple people in black tie who headed to whichever family event, society meeting or dinner party with no intention of going to the union yet (like all the best nights) simply tripped and fell into our beloved 601.
Occasionally, my For You Page throws me a video that highlights the idea that Gen Z have lost the art of dressiness on a night out. Even though the retirement of the high heel in favour of a pair of Adidas may be a key marker of this, St Andrews is the sort of environment where a level of dressing up is often expected (even if it's not in the business-casual-chic way that seemed to define the 2010s).
Though the St Andrews night-out uniform might not be as iconic as those of Berlin or Ibiza, it's got its own thing going for it. And while the sheer number of blazers, black tie, and silly outfits may be a little off-putting at first, it’s something we all end up getting used to (particularly when you’re recycling the same club each week).
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