How to dress like a KCL English student

It’s a 9am post-war American Fiction lecture and everyone looks like they’ve stepped off the set of “Rebel Without a Cause”.

Hair is vertical, reaching for the sky like Nimbus 2000s, their fountain pens are poised over miniature leather-bound notebooks without any lines. When the first book on the reading list is Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road” I would expect nothing less.

English degrees attract guys with dreamy give-a-fuck expressions who worship every member of the Beat Generation. That bloke on The Strand with a cig hanging out his mouth and a “the lecturer can wait for me” attitude? He probably does English.

So if you’re doing a course a bit less romantic like Chemistry or Physics, and you want to know how to pull of this “beat-chick” look, here are a few easy steps to become a bit less Ernest Rutherford and a bit more Ernest Hemingway.

This is Gus. He’s going to start off as a happy History student in a plain white t-shirt and jeans. But I’m afraid Gus is going to have to wipe that smile off his face if he wants to pull off that tortured writer look.

That’s a bit better. But I think we can look a bit more morose. The classic black polo neck does a world of good in giving off that sophisticated, pensive artist vibe.

Time to show some skin. A pair of ripped, black jeans is not only an analogy for a torn soul waiting to reveal interior feelings but they also look way too badass.

As soon as someone sees those bare knees they’ll be aching to know what’s behind that bad-boy exterior.

If you’re going to go on an angsty, artistic journey, you’re going to need the right shoes.

Of course we want to balance that edgy, ripped look with some more sophistication, and what can be more sophisticated than a pair of Chelsea boots. And you better damn well make sure they’re suede.

You’re almost there Gus! Just one step away from becoming a Kerouacian style King. Leather jackets are the perfect way to round off this beatnik look, and the all-black motif we’ve gone for here just adds to the mystery of Gus’s persona.

And finally, nothing says “Yeah, I read poetry, so what?” than a pair of hard-framed glasses, the rounder the better.

After all, was it not Mark Twain who said: “I confessed to age by mounting spectacles for the first time, and in the same hour I renewed my youth”?

Of course, you’ll want to show off this new look at a house party where perhaps you can find some Allen Ginsbergs or William Burroughs to join your gang.

This party will rival those of Jay Gatsby’s, where you’re ready to drink more than Fitzgerald and dance wilder than Dean Moriarty. Make sure you name the Facebook event something that crosses a classic book title with your love of seshing.

All you have to do now is click ‘send invitations’ and wait for people to bow down before your coolness.