May Ball is the pinnacle of the social calendar at St Andrews, and therefore requires more thought and preparation than any other event. Plans must be laid for the queuing as well as for your outfit. Factors to be considered when choosing your attire for the evening are the venue, the weather, and the fairground ride aspect. It is also important to remember that May Ball is the last event of the year, and everyone wants to go out on a bang.
First let’s consider the venue. Kinkell Byre is notoriously difficult to walk in, read narrow sets of stairs and sloping floors. What’s that you say? You can’t go to May Ball in flats? Not to worry, luckily for us, wedges are still in style, as are shoes with a chunkier heel that is easier to walk in. My suggestion is to go for a pair of statement shoes that you can then wear all summer long. Kinkell is also notorious for its muddy exterior (depending on the weather) and for the slime that forms on the floor after a few drinks have been spilt. I heard a horror story about a girl that stepped in a hot dog at last year’s May Ball. For this reason, I would recommend any length of dress except for maxi. You don’t want to wake up the next day to find two inches of mud or some hot dog on your favorite gown.
The next thing we have to think about is weather. Now, this being Scotland, we can’t guarantee the weather within a given day let alone a week in advance. However, it is May Ball. May implies warm, sunny, springtime weather. Tights are NOT an option for this event. If you must wear tights, make sure they are high quality skin toned ones. May Ball, whatever the weather, is a chance to showcase that summer dress you’ve had hidden away in your closet all year. Floral prints, pastel colors, as well as bright colors are all good options for a May Ball dress. I have had my white dress saved for May Ball since last summer. Another consideration that comes with weather is to fake tan or not to fake tan. This decision is up to you: embrace your English Rose complexion, go for the end of summer bronzed look, or shoot for somewhere in-between.
The last thing to consider when choosing your May Ball outfit is the fairground ride aspect. You don’t want your dress to ride up while you’re busy chasing your friends in the bumper cars. I recommend a dress that hits mid thigh or below, as this is a great length for sitting as well as for dancing.
May Ball can seem like a daunting challenge to every student. Most people would like the stress to end after the hours of queuing, but for most girls the queue is only the start of the madness. Hopefully our guide will help reduce the stress of dressing for one of St Andrews’ biggest events of the year.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at St. Andrews chapter.