5 Things You Should (Or Shouldn't) Do At A Nightclub

Recently I and my friends boogied our way on down to a nightclub based in the heart of London's shopping district. The club (Piccadilly Institute) literally a few minutes away from the popular hotspot Piccadilly Circus, is likely to be filled with your average 20+ club-goer and plenty of tourists. I myself am not an avid 'club bunny' only frequenting clubs on rare special occasions, so the entire experience could simply be from a clubbing-novice's point of view. But from the few times I've been, I've been able to construct a small list of things you should watch out for when 'shaking what your momma gave ya' in London.

1. MAKE FRIENDS

I know for some it may sound a bit weird to make friends at a nightclub, but it's actually not that bad. Most people go to the club to have fun, and let off some steam and so are already getting ready to shimmy with a positive mindset. One of my peers (the guy on the far left) got plenty of attention on the dance floor, which led us to dance with a bunch of people. We circulated the dance floor at least once, doing headbangs in one corner, shaking our shoulders like a bollywood dancer in another...

Thanks to my obsession with South Korea I was able to over-hear some Korean party-goers speaking and decided to introduce myself. You'd be surprised at how excited people get when you can speak a little of their language, haha! After exchanging some 'Annyeonghaseyeo's' (Formal greeting) and exclaiming a couple of 'Domo choayo' (I really like it) and 'Ah gwee yeo wo yo' (Aw you're cute), we  quickly became acquainted and proceeded by dancing the night, and a few hours of the morning away.

2. KNOW YOUR LIMITS

For some reason a significant amount of club-goers think that getting drunk out of their wits is the definition of fun. Boy are they wrong. I and my buds had drunk guys and gals slurring at us incomprehensibly with their alcohol infused breaths pointlessly attempting to cause a little controversy. You definitely need to keep calm and maintain a thick skin. You can either simply 'shake it off' laugh a little and avoid eye-contact or argue back.....I don't advise that you do the latter. I don't drink often, only on special occasions, but I drink in moderation when I do. You wouldn't find me chucking up my guts and last night's dinner, for example but you will find plenty of that in London. So beware.

3. KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON

Once a few people have gotten their drunk on they'll attempt to, like I mentioned before, 'paint the town red' and if you're a female, they'll try to get quite touchy feely. The perfect antidote for their illness is to simply create a human barrier for the 'victim'. One of my friends was being approached and so with our newly acquainted Korean peers we created a human forcefield with half-forced smiles, and ignorant dancing and that's usually enough to fend those beasts off. But if that doesn't work, there are usually a few bodyguards or security members around who'd help you out if things were to get serious. If something like that does happen to you, just shrug it off and keep dancing, most people will get the hint that you're not interested.  

4. EAT BEFORE/AFTER YOU PARTY

If you drink on an empty stomach you're more likely to get intoxicated faster. The alcohol will stay in your bloodstream for a longer time than if you had eaten before drinking, and this can cause your body some serious long-term harm. Also, you'll need energy to dance and sustain your body through the unforeseen challenges that a night out brings. DON'T BUY FOOD AT THE CLUB. If you're planning on dancing, the food will just be bouncing around in your stomach and you would most likely start to feel a little restricted.You should also drink plenty of water after you party to increase your hydration level as alcohol and the potential heat and sweat will 'cause potential dehydration. And with dehydration comes a wandering soulless mind. 

5. HAVE FUN

Plenty of people go to clubs dressed to the nines, potentially in pursuit of a partner...who knows? But you should be going out to have some fun and get down. So get rid of any preconceived thoughts, and the fact that the creepy guy in the corner is still staring at you. And dance until you can't dance anymore. Even if the songs aren't that great, if you're with a good group of people you're sure to enjoy yourself. The whole point of your little excursion to the club was to have fun right? So don't let anybody ruin your night over a spilled bottle of brandy, or a broken heel. At the end of the night the only memories worth saving are the one's in which you were enjoying yourself. So get down and bu-bu-bu-bust a move. Oh, and drink safely and in moderation.....just saying, I don't think you'd want to be stranded in the cold London streets with vomit as your signature perfume. Not cute.

CHINESE CRAVINGS

One of my peers told us before we went to the club that we'd eat some Chinese food afterwards. Obviously he didn't take into account the fact that we left the club at almost 4am and that most Chinese takeaways in the area weren't to be open for 2-5 hours.

Lisa exclaimed that her stomach was growling for some McDonalds, and to be honest everyone's stomach was growling at that point. So we trekked quite a bit in the pursuit of the Golden Arches. I typically don't eat at McDonalds but after the failed attempt at finding an open Chinese takeaway we hopped onto a bus and sped all the way out from Central London to Stratford. 

We arrived pretty early so had to wait like hungry savages outside the reflective glass doors. The poor McDonalds workers must have been panic-stricken from the intense famished faces we were pulling, I'm sure they thought we would devour them if they didn't get that door open in time, haha!!

I hadn't eaten a McDonalds breakfast in over a decade...seriously. The experience of once again biting into a succulent Sausage, Egg & Cheese bagel was quite nostalgic, and I totally felt an unwavering sensation of guilt that was over-powered by how devilishly good fast food tastes after a long night out.

WHAT HE WORE

Excuse my buds borderline grimy mirror haha.  I wore an all black ensemble, except from my socks everything was pretty uniform. The picture isn't that great so I'll leave some links further down below so you can get a better look. 

Mesh Sleeve Sweater // Boohoo

Imitation Leather Skinnies // Topman 

Buckled Suede Creepers // T.U.K 

I hope you enjoyed my post on The 5 Things You Should (Or Shouldn't) Do At A Nightclub!

Happy clubbing!!