March 20, 2013, by Beca

Fancy Dress on a Budget

Despite looking at new dresses every single time I go shopping I spent the majority of my nights out in fancy dress as per the student custom. Pre made outfits are a definite no-no for most of these events because to put it quite simply, they’re unimaginative and show you’ve put absolutely no effort except to walk in and out of a fancy dress shop; parting with a nice lump of money in the process.  Now if you were to do this say, twice a month – at £15-£30 per outfit – that’s going to amount to a rather hefty sum.   Myself… I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve dressed up this term – maybe writing this will help me jog my memory.

I’m not sure exactly how much I’ve spent on fancy dress this year, but it’s not a great amount.  I’ve been a police woman, a cowgirl, a school girl, an escaped convict, a pink lady, wally and G girl.  There’s a few easy ways to keep it cheap;

A) Use what you have

B) Raid the charity shops (if you’re fussy about this, just think, you’ll only wear it once)

C) Look absolutely everywhere (from vintage to primark, you never know what you’ll find)

Leggings and shoes I already owned.  Hideous pink shirt only suitable for fancy dress was found in oxfam for a barging £3 =D  All that was left to do was get arty with a fine liner on the back and there you have it, one pink lady.

I found this top/dress in a vintage shop sometime last year and tried it on as a dare.  For a tenner I couldn’t not get it! So many possibilities, cowgirl (as here), pirate or, of course, oktoberfestthingyperson.  The ribbon came from a pot in my room, left over from sewing mons onto my old jitsu belt last year.

Don’t ask me where the glasses came from, I ‘borrowed’ them from one of the lads who was out with us.  I already owned the dress and just got a cheap primark top to wear over the top part and fit in with the colour scheme.  The plan was to have arty slashes on the front but it looked so so so very stupid so I ended up rolling it up and pinning it as a crop top.  Add in a pair of stripy stockings from the fancy dress shop in Vic Centre (student discount ftw) and you have a wally outfit.

I actually won the majority of this outfit at a BioSoc charity quiz last year – just dragged a shirt and jacked out of the back of my wardrobe and we were ready to roll.

I hope I’ve managed to show you guys that fancy dress doesn’t have to cost you a bomb and that you can get some great outfits without opting for the premade ones that leave a hole in your wallet after the first two.  And you don’t have to wear a onesie, yes I did just say that.

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