Etiquette & Dresscode
Balls in Lund are unique events which only happen once a year, or in Storaste Kroppkakan's case, once every two years! As a result, correct etiquette, behaviour and etiquette are a requirement for being admitted through the entrance doors!
Etiquette
Pre-drinks will be held in Café Athen (bottom floor of the castle) before the main event. This will be an excellent time to mingle with your friends. We recommend covering your shoulders at this point (an especially useful tip if you are wearing a ball gown). Do not bring any alcohol into the castle, for it will be confiscated upon being observed.
After the pre-drink and the ensuring ceremony, you will be invited to walk into the great hall (Stora Salen) and take a seat. The proper way to do this will be by observing the seating arrangement (which will be hanging at the entrance to the hall), and then entering together with your seating partner (usually the person that you wished to sit next to).
At balls in Lund, talk with the people you are seated with: looking at your smartphone can be done in another time. You may begin to eat when at least eight people at the table have received their food. When placing your cutlery back on the plate, place them with the fork at 5 o'clock and the knife at 4 o'clock. Which set of cutlery to begin eating with has already been well-described in other literature and will not be mentioned further here.
When raising toasts, raise the glass while you turn to your side to face your partner, look at them in the eye, and say "Skål". The procedure is then repeated with the person on the opposite side and then the person sitting opposite to you. After drinking from the glass, this process is repeated in the reverse order, making eye contact but this time without exclaiming "Skål".
Two older ball guests illustrating correct example of raising toasts at Storaste Kroppkakan 2019.
During speeches it will be expected of you to be quiet and not to eat anything. Failure to comply will result in a Marshall telling you off. Repeated infringements of the rules may lead to an invite to leave the ball, so make sure to follow instructions!
Honourary Member Kristina Bergendal giving a speech at Storaste Kroppkakan 2019.
Should you have to leave for the bathroom, please try to do so during the breaks. Leaving for the bathroom during a serving or during a speech is possible, but please note that you will not be allowed in again until the next break begins.
Mingling around with other guests (and attending the bathroom) is best done during pre-drinks, breaks and/or intermissions.
Dresscode
As with Lund’s other student balls, the dresscode for the dinner during Storaste Kroppkakan is strict with little room for interpretation. Officially, the dresscode is known in Swedish as akademisk högtidsdräkt m.a.o., equivalent to white tie – however medals, ribbons and decorations from academic societies are allowed (and almost encouraged).
While there is no dresscode for the dancing that usually begins once the orchestra packs up and the DJ arrives after midnight, the dresscode is mandatory during the dinner. In Lund, the white tie dresscode is interpreted to allow one of the following:
Frack: a black tail coat worn over a white piqué waistcoat, with a white bow tie worn around a a white shirt with French cuffs and a standing wing collar. Mid or high-waisted black trousers with one with two black silk stripes that conceal the outer seams of the trousers. Polished oxford or court shoes. Accessories may include a black top hat, white gloves, a white scarf, a pocket watch, a white pocket square, and a boutonnière. See the image below for example.
Ball gown: a full-length ball or evening gown (covering the feet) and if preferred, jewellery, a small handbag and evening gloves. If gloves are worn, they should extend past the elbow. See the image below for example.
Folk costume: it can be the ornate costume introduced at the beginning of the 20th century in Sweden (search for it on Google if you are unsure of how it looks) or a folk costume from your home country.
Military full dress uniform: any appropriate military dress from your country.
An example of correct dresscode, represented here by John Middleton (left, wearing white tie with his Kalmar lapel pin, Kroppkaka medal as well as the Kalmar and Vasa Nation ribbons) and Mee Lindberg (right, wearing ball gown with the Kalmar, Vasa and Kalmar Nation in Uppsala’s ribbons next to her Kroppkaka medal). The Kroppkaka medal depicted is the Grön Kommendör (5th grade).
