Reinvent your style for university

By Ellie Edmunds

Let’s face it – your clothes matter. They’re one of the first things people notice about you. Whether it’s your taste, your interests, or your personality, like it or not, what you’ve got on says a lot about you. 

Going to university is one of the best opportunities to rethink your personal style, what it represents and whether it’s time to change your high school image. 

A lot of students, myself included, start university wearing an extension of their college look. Nobody really wants to replace their entire wardrobe before embarking on such a big move, but that being said, this is the ideal time to tweak it a little. 

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Maybe you’ve outgrown your high school ideas about fashion; maybe you’ve been stuck in the same habitual style at college; or maybe you simply want to refresh your look before you move to university – now’s the time to think about your wardrobe, away from the judgmental eyes of high school peers. 

What statement do you want to make? What impression do you want to give flatmates, lecturers and future friends? Do you want to play it safe and blend into the sea of university brand hoodies or do you want to push yourself and develop your own unique look and stand out on campus; bearing in mind that, in my experience, anything goes at university. 

If you want a change, look critically at the clothes you have now and be selective about what to take with you. Don’t just bring everything in your cupboards. I tried that; most of it sat in piles gathering dust and wasting the limited space in my room. Be ruthless: only select the pieces you wear most, and if you haven’t worn it in over a year, get rid. 

Once you’ve decided what’s coming with you, you can start searching for new items to fill the gaps. Figure out what you want and how much you can spend before launching yourself at the shops. Take inspiration from what’s on the high street and in magazines but stick with what works for you – there’s no point trying to completely transform into someone else. 

Finding your university style isn’t a race, so acquire things gradually. If you’re on a tight budget don’t panic buy Primark staples you’ll only wear once. We’ve all done it, but it isn’t economical in the long run. Make sure you love everything you purchase; it should help turn your vision into reality. 

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Also, bear in mind that if you’re moving from a small town to a big city, the choice will be much wider and more varied when you arrive: fantastic independent, vintage and charity shops will allow you greater freedom to experiment, making it easier to create a look that feels authentic to you – and charity shops are always great if you’re watching the budget. 

Even if you don’t make a conscious effort to adjust your image before university, you’ll probably find that it evolves naturally – to some extent – when you’re there, as you undergo your own personal reinvention. 

You’ll have more independence than ever before; you’ll study ideas that give you a fresh perspective on the world; and you’ll meet brilliant people who inspire you to have a different outlook on life. These experiences will shape you as an individual. It’s likely you’ll see yourself in a whole new light and want to embrace the change, so the way you dress will adapt to reflect that. 

Whatever your approach to university style, remember it’s all about confidence. Overhauling your look can give you a much-needed confidence boost before you go, or it can project your new-found self-assurance once you’ve acclimatised. 

I loved playing around with my style at university and even though there were a few misses (I wore a scarf as a belt for the best part of a month), my friends were usually kind enough to pretend not to notice. 

University is the perfect place to break out of your current mould and to explore your identity through fashion because, unlike the workplace, anything really does go.