Question - Is a Durham student more likely to spend hours researching, creating and talking about:

• a) Their formative essays?
• b) Fancy dress?
• c) Their summative assignments?

The answer is, in fact, b) Fancy dress. Surprised? You won't be for much longer! Fancy dress is an important part of any Durhamite's social life, and even those of you who hate the idea of dressing up will soon be relishing any chance to get your neon tights on (yes, I'm talking to you, boys!)

Worried that you're not prepared for the Durham fancy dress extravaganza? Here are some great tips for fancy dressing on a budget, and examples of popular themes!

Top Tips for Fancy Dressing on a Budget:

• Use what's in your wardrobe! Coloured t-shirts and plain bottoms make a great base for an outfit, and you'll often find that you can fashion a whole costume entirely from clothes that you already own and a bit of creative face-painting!
• Go with a group! Get together with your new friends and think of a group fancy dress theme. This means that even if your Daphne costume isn't particularly convincing, everyone will know who you are from the giant Scooby-Doo walking beside you! Going with a group also means that you can look as ridiculous as possible without feeling self-conscious, as there are other people dressed as ‘off the wall' as you are. And finally, working together on a group costume is great fun and will help you get to know your new friends better. What says bonding more than making a robot costume out of an old box, tin foil and some glow sticks?!
• Buy together! Don't buy expensive bits of costume before you arrive in Durham. Often, by buying online items with friends you can make savings by dividing the postage costs.
• Beg, borrow and steal! (Well, maybe don't steal...) Borrowing items of clothing from new friends is perfectly acceptable, so long as you are happy to lend something back! Remember to look after other people's belongings and give them credit for contributing to your amazing look!
• Re-use! There is no reason why that metre of shiny yellow fabric you bought to make a Snow White skirt from can't become a lion dress, or a Teletubby body, part of a clown costume or a hippy sarong!
• There is no such thing as too silly! Promise!

Popular fancy dress themes:

• Cops and robbers! Police hats, robber eye-masks made of old tights, handcuffs, swag-bags.
• Disney! Mouse ears, smart dresses for princesses, fake fur for animal characters, face paint.
• UV! White t-shirts, glow sticks, neon body paint, day-glow leg warmers, think 80s revival!
• Wild, wild West! Checked shirts, plenty of denim, cowboy hats, toy guns.

Fancy dress is a great way to let your Blue-Peter side run wild and show how nifty you are with a pair of scissors and some safety pins - something that a degree in Maths just doesn't showcase! You can buy costume specifics in local fancy dress shop Mr Cloth (27, Silver Street), shop online with Amazon or party websites, or even take a trip to Primark at the Metro-centre near Newcastle!

Dressing up is a great way to get to know people, there's no better conversation starter than "I love your toga!" and it's better to be remembered for your really convincing YMCA costume than not be remembered at all! Let fancy dress put you at ease and help you get to know the people you will be living and learning with for the next 3+ years!

Remember, fancy dress is all about fun!