Clothing

[MarinaLazarus]

Hi all!

I have a stupid question about a matter that I don't usually care about: clothing. I am going to start a PhD in History at Cambridge (it doesn't matter where) and I was wondering if I have to start wearing different clothes to look more professional, to care more about what I wear. I don't dress in a bad way but usually, I don't put too much effort into it. From what I recall from my MSc in Edinburgh, people in UK seems more relaxed on the subject than in Italy. Any thoughts?

Edited June 14, 2017 by MarinaLazarus

[Concordia]

It runs the gamut at Cambridge.  Often very casual, although daytime seminars or presentations might welcome a suit.  

One difference there, as in much of the UK, is the need for formal clothes in the evening.  Much will depend on your college, but you'll almost certainly have a lot of formal halls and receptions to go to.  Some are black tie, the majority will be dark suit for men.

[whats-up-geog]

Hi @MarinaLazarus. I'm a UK student (well, I'll be moving to grad school in Canada in August but for all intents and purposes I'm a UK-based-student-person) and live in Cambridge working as university staff, having attended the University of St Andrews for my BSc. I'd agree with Concordia in that you'll need to make sure you have a couple of formal outfits, but otherwise Cambridge is fairly casual/smart-casual. There are plenty of shops here though so I wouldn't worry too much if you need to get anything while you're over here.