Is this normal for university?

[kmo0416]

When people go to universities that have a lot of fancy events like formal dinners or balls so Oxford, Durham, Cambridge etc - do the students (especially the boys) rent out those fancy white-collar or black-tie suits that they often wear or do they buy it and bring it with them, knowing that they will wear it for the events?

It’s so confusing because I assume it’s very expensive so not everyone could afford it yet they all seem to wear it.

Is it normal for university students to pack fancy formal clothes like fancy dresses or suits alongside casual clothes or not?

I had formals every week. A normal suit was fine for the guys under a gown and girls generally had a nice dress but it didn’t have to be black tie. Balls I think people rented black tie or had dresses.

DD had a couple of gowns, but had to buy more, and other cocktail type dresses for her year in Oxford. She got some fab ones from Vinted, and the girls swapped and shared too. The boys did tend to buy, but they only need the one, lucky them.

Her college wasn't gowned, so they tended to dress up.more for the formals.

It's Cambridge for a foundation year. You will need to wear a black skirt and white shirt to matriculate (start your course).

Most students don't attend Formals every week. You can just wear a smart dress under your gown. Vinted or charity shops are perfect for finding something to wear.

Balls are expensive & completely voluntary. Tickets may cost from £100 to £300;each. Some colleges may only have a ball every 2 or 3 years. Some people may work on a bar or join the committee to get a free ticket.

When I was there (many years ago now) it split 3 ways:

1. seriously upper class boys who brought Dad's/G'dad's old dinner jacket (you could tell these because of the holes in the lapels from where Dad's /G'dad's medals used to be worn),
2. the rest who hired them from Moss Bros as and when req'd,
3. music students who owned theirs because they wore them when playing on stage. HTH

My son hired once, and then found a dinner jacket at a Cambridge charity shop for a tenner. We also bought him a black funeral/formal suit at a charity shop ( different one).

I used to live in Manchester and when it was the time of year for events a lot of the students would buy jackets and trousers from Affleck's Palace.

Yep, my dc’s first reaction was that they’d be wanky! But they did go and really enjoyed them. It wasn’t “for the posh kids” as they’d feared.