Categories: uncategorized
Date: 12 December 2008 11:55:41
Last night I went to my first formal. To unpick that I'll explain, as people may or maynot be aware Durham is one of the uni's where you belong to a college, aswell as belonging to the uni. Within that system we have a personal tutor within the college as well as having "normal" tutors via the university department we're linked to. The role of the personal tutor is basically to be a point of contact if we need it. Anyway, each personal tutor has a bunch of tutees they're responsible for and over the course of the term, in our college, there are 3 formal meals held for all the tutors to invite their tutees to, in small groups. In practice this means that once a term we get to go to a formal meal. Last night was my first experience of a "formal".
I had checked the dress code and been told it wasn't too dressy; skirt and top would be fine. Um, in my world this is translated as I have to go out looking properly girly, but not looking like I'm going to work. Arrgghhh, a shopping trip would be involved for a top to go with the all occassion (inc. interview and work) skirt I have. This actually clicked in my brain about 5:10 yesterday evening.
So it was I headed off to the Oxfam Boutique before they closed. Alas no luck, so off into M&S where I was sure I could find something, - um no, nothing that was suitable that (i) I would feel comfortable in, (ii) was prepared to pay that price for and (iii) most importantly, knew I'd be able to wear again. By this point I was starting to worry, but not panic - Dorothy Perkins was still open, arrghhh noooooo - nothing. Now I was panicing, absolutely nothing in any of the shops I normally shop in and only Top Shop open on the way home. (At this point I need to confess I haven't bought anything from Top Shop in about 15 years, having decided before Third Party was born I was too old to even attempt anything from there).
Anyway, I went in and saw lots I'd actually quite like to buy, but little which was suitable. Then I got a bit of "old fashioned service". The shop assistant actually asked if she could help me! I told her the issue and she found a top which normally I would have declined on the grounds of (i) it was thin material, (ii) it had a bow at the back and (iii) a little more than I'd normally spend on something I couldn't guarentee to get atleast 3 years regular wear out of. However, being desperate I went and tried it on and actually fell in love with it, despite it being the sort of top flesh colour bras are made for and it having those annoying bits you have to tie up at the back on. (People who know me in real life will appreciate how different for me this is).
So it was that I went home, shocked Third Party, and got ready to go out. Meal itself was good, although somewhat surreal. 250ish people packed into a sports hall for a posh meal followed by carols from the college choir. What was interesting was most of the other English students had gone for the same type of dress code as me, but the other foreign students had a much more smart casual thing going on.
I did enjoy it all, but it did remind me how different this world is to newer uni's most of my education had been in.