I've seen a lot of bloggers, Youtubers and magazines cover festival style recently as its summer now and festival season is well under way, but I feel like they're not giving very good or genuine advice on the styling of your festival attire. Here's why:
I have been to seven festivals, some indoor and some outdoor, and at least seventeen gigs, mostly punk rock and a few embarrassing pop concerts that I'd rather not admit to. I have seen my fair share of festival and gig madness, I feel like I am perfectly knowledge of them to say what I'm about to say. And I'd like to say, before I say what I'm about to say, that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I'm not slating anyone or directing this post to some one in particular, nor am I saying that someone can't have their own style or do things the way they want to, but...
Most of the pictures and posts I've seen about festivals etc have mainly consisted of lacy and chiffon tops, long maxi dress along with kimonos and flower crowns among many pairs of sandals. And yes, that is the boho, festival style we all think of and love. But, in a more practical sense...you could never wear that to festival.
For starters, festivals are muddy. I live in the UK where our summers mainly consist of rain and more rain, fields get muddy, and with thousands of people trampling all over the grass for three days straight it gets REALLY muddy. If you go to a festival in a beautiful pair of sandals they are going to get ruined! And if you, like me, love to get right at the front of the crowd for your favourite artists and jump and sing and, for lack of a better word, "mosh" along with the other hundreds of people in the crowd, your feet with come out broken and bruised.
Secondly, chiffon and lace kimonos and tops. All beautiful things, all very bohemian, all rather expensive if you buy nice ones. Why would you wear them to a festival?! They are totally impractical, yes I imagine they would keep you rather cool which is a good thing because it can get rather warm in those crowds, but usually they come in white, cream or pastelly colours which spells a recipe for disaster at festivals because as I've said before, festivals can be quite muddy. If you get pushed over in a crowd or circle pit and you're wearing a cream chiffon dress it is going to get covered in mud, and good luck getting that stain out two days later when you return home a tired and smelly mess. Also how you could possibly keep anything chiffon uncreased in a cramped and smelly tent for three days I have no idea.
Thirdly, everyone seems to style their hair really beautifully for festivals, and thats fine for the first day, but when you've been there for two hours and some arsehole in the crowd has thrown a full cup of beer over everyone in front of him because he thinks its funny, your hair is going to get ruined! No matter how well you've styled it the beer will land all over your hair and dry, become sticky and smelly, destroying any hope you had of it looking acceptable for the next three days. And all those beautiful hair styles you had in mind? I'm sorry but its just not going to happen.
Now don't get me wrong, its not that I don't love the bohemian style, I do its brilliant and its not that I don't think the way that everyone has been styling these outfits are bad because they look amazing. I just don't see how anyone could wear them to a festival, they're too impractical and half of the pieces are too beautiful to be ruined by mud or beer. So, here's my advice, and how I dress for festivals:
Rule number one: Do not take your favourite, most expensive pieces with you.
Yes you'll look lovely in photos, but only the ones taken in the first five minutes of you getting there. Festivals are not the place to show off your beautiful summer outfits because if they are ruined at a festival you won't be able to wear them for the rest of the summer. Get a cheap pair of shorts from Primark and trash those ones. The ones I'm wearing in these pictures are actually Levis because all my other pairs are indecently short however I would never wear these to a festival. The shirt I'm wearing is my least favourite of all the shirts I own and it cost £7 from H&M last year. If this one got ripped or lost I wouldn't be as heartbroken as if it were one of my other shirts so it would be fine to take to a festival.
Rule number two: Wellies.
As I've already said, festivals can get pretty muddy. If you got in sandals or converses they are going to get destroyed and it is not worth it. Wellington boots were designed for this kind of thing so get yourself a good sturdy pair with either a classic Hunters aesthetic or a stupidly outrageous pair in a bright colour or print. Make sure they're adjustable as well because if they are too tight on your calves and you're not wearing knee high socks they are going to rub your skin throughout the day with all the walking you're going to be doing. My wellies are from Joules.
Rule number three: Tie your hair up.
Hair can be a bit of a nightmare at festivals unless yours is naturally beautiful and easily maintainable. Mine? not so much. I recommend keeping it tied up because of the gallons of flying beer that will get thrown over you in the crowd. If your hair is down when the beer hits its going to dry and leave your hair stuck in that position whereas if you have it up, the surface area of your hair to be hit is lessened and if you do get hit, its out of the way and you don't have to think about it. Also by having your hair tied up you're less likely to run your hands through it and play with it so it will stay cleaner and less greasy for longer.
Rule number four: Take your sunglasses.
Sunglasses are an obvious festival choice, they were designed for the summer. They are great at festivals because if you are lucky enough to get some sun they'll protect your eyes and after a few days when you're exhausted and hungover they can help to hide the massive dark rings under them. Get a good pair with UV protection but again I wouldn't recommend taking an expensive pair, you don't want to lose or break your Ray-bans. And don't do what Katie and I did at Leeds Fest and forget them, well done us.
Rule number five: Wear things that will keep you cool.
If it is a warm and sunny weekend you will be boiling, especially with all the jumping you'll be doing in those massive crowds. If its not a sunny weekend and it rains, wearing lighter items of clothing and shorts rather than jeans will mean the cold water won't be stuck in you clothes for as long and your legs won't weigh a hundred pounds and be an effort to hurl around the campsite with you. Also lighter things pack up smaller and take up less room in your tent.
So there you are, my advice for dressing for festivals and how I dress when I go to them. I really really want to go back to Leeds Fest this year because the line up is AMAZING but I don't think thats going to happen unfortunately. But if any of you are going to any festivals this year or have been to any already let me know which they are and if they were any good, I may get a chance to go next year who knows!
I hope you all enjoyed this post and they'll be more coming soon so sit tight! I hope you all have wonderful weekends and I'll see you all soon!
Love Holly x
Rule number two: Wellies.
As I've already said, festivals can get pretty muddy. If you got in sandals or converses they are going to get destroyed and it is not worth it. Wellington boots were designed for this kind of thing so get yourself a good sturdy pair with either a classic Hunters aesthetic or a stupidly outrageous pair in a bright colour or print. Make sure they're adjustable as well because if they are too tight on your calves and you're not wearing knee high socks they are going to rub your skin throughout the day with all the walking you're going to be doing. My wellies are from Joules.
Rule number three: Tie your hair up.
Hair can be a bit of a nightmare at festivals unless yours is naturally beautiful and easily maintainable. Mine? not so much. I recommend keeping it tied up because of the gallons of flying beer that will get thrown over you in the crowd. If your hair is down when the beer hits its going to dry and leave your hair stuck in that position whereas if you have it up, the surface area of your hair to be hit is lessened and if you do get hit, its out of the way and you don't have to think about it. Also by having your hair tied up you're less likely to run your hands through it and play with it so it will stay cleaner and less greasy for longer.
Rule number four: Take your sunglasses.
Sunglasses are an obvious festival choice, they were designed for the summer. They are great at festivals because if you are lucky enough to get some sun they'll protect your eyes and after a few days when you're exhausted and hungover they can help to hide the massive dark rings under them. Get a good pair with UV protection but again I wouldn't recommend taking an expensive pair, you don't want to lose or break your Ray-bans. And don't do what Katie and I did at Leeds Fest and forget them, well done us.
Rule number five: Wear things that will keep you cool.
If it is a warm and sunny weekend you will be boiling, especially with all the jumping you'll be doing in those massive crowds. If its not a sunny weekend and it rains, wearing lighter items of clothing and shorts rather than jeans will mean the cold water won't be stuck in you clothes for as long and your legs won't weigh a hundred pounds and be an effort to hurl around the campsite with you. Also lighter things pack up smaller and take up less room in your tent.
So there you are, my advice for dressing for festivals and how I dress when I go to them. I really really want to go back to Leeds Fest this year because the line up is AMAZING but I don't think thats going to happen unfortunately. But if any of you are going to any festivals this year or have been to any already let me know which they are and if they were any good, I may get a chance to go next year who knows!
I hope you all enjoyed this post and they'll be more coming soon so sit tight! I hope you all have wonderful weekends and I'll see you all soon!
Love Holly x
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