Early evening, and I’m sitting on a scuffed carpet in a college bedroom with plaid curtains, listening to a tinny speaker and drinking from a warm bottle of Tesco’s white wine. One friend sits doodling in the corner, another makes dhal in an air fryer. We might be able to see the tip of the Radcliffe Camera out of the window, arguably the locus of Oxford’s almost 27,000-strong student body. But here, inside Staircase 25, Bowra, in Wadham College, we could just as easily be a strange commune.
Studying at Oxford is an experience of extremes. There’s the isolation of sitting within a fortress of books with three essays to write in five days; then the constant socialising, as everyone tries to fit six months’ worth of activities into an eight-week term. There’s the drudgery of the library grind that’s inexplicably tied to the joy of spending a tutorial trying to make sense of the sexual dynamics of The Trial with one of the world’s leading experts on Kafka. Meanwhile, the astounding, thrilling weight of history: it’s widely rumoured that Thomas Hardy wrote much of Jude the Obscure in my favourite local pub, the Lamb & Flag on St Giles’ street.
Grace wears Chanel wool/cashmere pullover, £2,570. Vintage denim jeans and desert boots, both stylist’s own. Throughout: Annoushka gold hoop earrings, £1,590; all other jewellery, Grace’s own
You’d struggle to deny the city’s timeless beauty. Even battered by November winds, the limestone buildings and ancient trees seem to sparkle with a self‑assurance of their own. The meadows and rivers beckon you for a dip, undeterred by alleged E. coli outbreaks. And yet, as I come to the end of four years of studying history and German, my memories of Oxford are as dominated by recollections of late-night pesto pasta on the floor of a student dorm as they are of dreaming spires.
The prevailing image of Oxford – from the outside, at least – is still one of hypocrisy and snobbery. Many people will have seen Saltburn, only confirming images of careless students in formal dress, drinking champagne and occasionally propping open Marx’s Communist Manifesto before taking a lunch break at 11.15 in the morning. In Brideshead Revisited, it’s all dessert wine and teddy bears with Latin names.
My experience was much more defined by late-night library trips. As for the snobbery? I can thankfully say that that is (mostly) the stuff of the past. Tradition still looms large, but much of it is less abrasive: there’s a particular delight in watching 20 students jumping in the river having just finished their exams. Or the May Day morning celebrations, when you wait up to watch the sun rise and hear Magdalen College Choir at dawn.
Vintage Celine c1970 wool blazer, £195. Vintage cotton ribbed vest, from a selection at Rellik. Vintage c1970 denim skirt, from a selection at Traid in Brixton. Vintage Gucci leather loafers, from a selection at Oxfam
Rather than gowns, I found the predominant fashion to be defined by the bin bags of secondhand clothes in Unicorn on Ship Street, where students must wrestle items off the owner, who doesn’t seem to want to part with anything at all. They reappear in outlandish outfits, which are cooler, often cheaper and more sustainable than the items in the nearby shopping centre – as we’ve shown in this story, styled almost entirely with preloved clothes.
More importantly, Oxford is a place where people care: about the things they’re reading, about the people in their lives, about the world around them. Much still needs to be done to improve Oxford as an institution: despite student mental health issues being on the rise, it seems somewhat proud of the workload and pressure, which is such a strain. But, in terms of the students, for the most part I have met only kind, interested, creative people. One of Oxford’s greatest joys is to sit and discuss everything, from general elections to Jacqueline Wilson novels to the location of the closest sheela na gig, through the day and into the night. I expected to learn a lot from my professors. But it’s my friends – eccentric, motivated, engaged – from whom I learn every day.
Grace wears vintage c1970 silk-chiffon dress, from a selection at Karen Vintage Boutique. Grace’s friends wear their own clothes
Vintage Gianni Versace c1990 silk crepe matching dress and top (over dress), from a selection at Found And Vision. Vintage leather belt, from a selection at Trinity Hospice. Vintage faux-leather cowboy boots, from a selection at Oxfam
Grace wears vintage 1960s cotton sweatshirt, from a selection at Silk & Rope Vintage. Vintage faux-fur skirt, from a selection at Found And Vision. Vintage Gucci leather loafers, from a selection at Oxfam. Pringle cotton socks, £9.99. Grace’s friends wear their own clothes
Vintage denim jacket and jeans, cotton polo top, and patchwork bag, all stylist’s own
Vintage c1970 faux-fur jacket, from a selection at Goldsmith Vintage. Vintage LL Bean denim skirt (just seen), from a selection at Cancer Care
Eres recycled polyamide Lydia Soyeuse bra, £250, and matching briefs, £150
Vintage c1930 silk satin slip dress, from a selection at Found And Vision
Grace wears vintage c1970 faux-leopard-fur jacket, stylist’s own. Chanel wool/cashmere embellished pullover, £2,570. Vintage denim jeans (just seen), from a selection at The Salvation Army.
Sunspel cotton ribbed tank top, £70. Jacket and jeans, both as before. Grace’s friends wear their own clothes
Ralph Lauren plaid linen/silk jacket, £649, and matching trousers, £399. Vintage cotton shirt, from a selection at British Red Cross. Vintage Gucci leather loafers, from a selection at Oxfam. Velvet graduation ribbon (worn around neck), Grace’s own
Vintage c1980 cotton sports top, and vintage Gucci c1980 cotton tracksuit bottoms, both from a selection at Lime Green Bow Vintage
Vintage Marc Jacobs embroidered silk/cotton jacket, stylist’s own. Graduation cap, Grace’s own. Throughout: Felix wears his own clothes
Talent, Grace Clover at IMG. Friends and students, Allegra, Alexander Kahn, Amelia Hughes, Felix Foot, Hansa Batra and Yasmine. Hair, Neil Moodie Studio using Pureology. Make-up, Sarah Reygate at Carol Hayes using Ilia Beauty. Special thanks to Wadham College, Oxford, and its students, and the Lamb & Flag pub
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