How To Dress For A Night On The Town

My Top Tips

Now, I don’t profess to be a huge club fan but I have been known to lay down some moves on the odd occasion, so I do understand what things we need to consider. Below are some of the key things you should be thinking of when putting your outfits together.

• Unless you have spent a small fortune on entry you aren’t going to find yourself in one of the clubs you see in the movies (even if you have spent a fortune you’re still going to be in what is essentially a big, dark, loud and dirty hole.) There won’t be anywhere to sit down, the dance floor will be a seething, writhing, compact mass of bodies and you will probably leave feeling a bit worse for wear and with exceedingly dirty shoes. Dress accordingly.
• I have a friend at home; we like to say that you know you’re having a good night when this particular friend starts spilling his beer. Nearly everyone that enters a club has the potential to be that friend. Drinks will be spilt and stains are an absolute certainty. Don’t wear your Sunday best. If possible, have cheaper clothes that you are happy to wear out clubbing – not your new, £90 white shirt.
• Clubs are hot and sweaty places, so grinding away on your chosen partner will not only bring out the worst moves in your repertoire but also a certain degree of perspiration – think carefully about your layers and the materials your clothes are made of. Lightweight cottons, knitwear and thin layers will serve you much better during the summer (or just forgo any outer layer and suffer the cooler temperatures). And just pay the extra to put your coat in the cloakroom during the winter, no-one enjoys pneumonia.
• Consider very carefully your chosen venue. The vast majority of clubs in student towns won’t really give a damn what you wear but as you venture towards the higher end you will start to encounter stricter dress codes, and you don’t want to be the one left outside.
• If experience has taught me anything, your footwear will suffer the worst of the abuse: high heels, drinks, grime and the toilets. Wear something wipe clean or washable – think lightweight canvas or leather. Leather shoes are actually a godsend in this situation because you can just polish them up the next day.

Example Looks

Look 1

Local club? Razzle with your mates? No special occasion? There really isn’t any need to go overboard, particularly when you consider the issues that I have raised above.
Keep things clean, simple and easy with a look that works for everyone but isn’t actually worn by that many. This is a look that is lightweight enough to handle the warmer summer temperatures, is inexpensive, can cope with any wayward liquids and can easily be made more individual with the use of a Henley, patterned tee or some unique jewellery pieces.

• Allsaints Hitchen Henley
• River Island Victor Skinny Jeans
• Nike Blazer Hi Vintage – Size? Exclusive

Look 2

Using a style of footwear that is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but is seemingly on the decline (at least in my experience), this outfit makes use of lighter weight cottons and the current pattern trend to make a statement.
A pair of navy chinos will be much better able to deal with stains than anything in a lighter stone or mustard, and you could easily bring the colours up a notch with a roll of the hem and some loud socks.
Short or Long sleeved shirt is your choice, tucked or untucked it’s all fair game.

• Topman Coral Palm Leaf Pattern Short Sleeve Shirt
• Topman Royal Blue Cotton Slim Chinos
• Asos Boat Shoes In Tricolour

Look 3

In this instance I would suggest you still aim for lighter layers and keep the colours muted; there is still the risk of flying beer. An unstructured blazer is a great way to mix in some smart/casual elements and gives you lots of versatility with the under layer (white is safe here because you have the outer protection of a jacket). Keep it more casual with a tee or dress things up with a shirt.

• Asos Stripe T-shirt
• Topman Peoples Market Blazer
• Nudie Jeans Thin Finn Dry Ecru Embo Skinny Jeans
• B Store Eton Leather Penny Loafers

Look 4

Another clean, simple, easy yet refined look, this is perfect for any degree of club.
A pair of white leather pumps gives you a casual edge and wipe clean practicality. Some tailored trousers are a very subtle way of adding some individuality to an outfit and will formalise almost anything from a polo shirt to a tee.
With your upper half keep things a little more casual and play with patterns and stripes to make the outfit more interesting. Once again your accessories could really help you take your outfit to another level.

• Reiss Ridich Printed Short Sleeve Polo Shirt
• Canali Slim-fit Wool-flannel Trousers
• Converse Jack Purcell Leather Sneakers

Conclusion

What to wear on a night out can often be a rather daunting affair; it is actually quite a pressured environment where everyone, without exception (well maybe one or two) has taken time out of their day to make themselves look presentable. It requires a lot more thought and preparation than you might have at first appreciated and the wrong decisions could result in some disastrous consequences.
Intelligent fabric and colour choice could mean the difference between being able to wear your favourite top and trousers again, whilst also stopping you being the sweaty one banished to the corner.
Whether you like to dress up or down on your nights out, I hope this lookbook has helped some of you. Maybe we will one day be lucky enough to meet in person. We can have a robot contest.