What not to wear to festivals

Summer is quickly approaching, which means two things are coming. Firstly, a tonne of exams that we’d rather not speak about, and secondly, festival season.

In Britain one thing for certain is that summer is unpredictable, especially the weather, and that means deciding what to wear at a festival can be pretty tough. On top of this stress is the pressure of trends and fashion, telling you what you “must” wear, or else you won’t have the best time ever. For example, according to some of the latest pics at Coachella, unless you have a perfect ‘summer body’ (God knows what that is), a pair of £100 wellies and a professional photographer (in case you need to catch the perfect selfie for your Instagram page), you aren’t doing festivals in the right way.

From my experience, festivals aren’t about fashion and looking your best – they are about having a laugh with your mates, embracing the rain and mud, sporting your best pair of sunglasses and a novelty headpiece that hides your greasy unwashed hair and, most of all, the MUSIC!

Here’s a list of things you shouldn’t wear at festivals, to ensure you have a good time:

Long skirts or dresses

Impractical and are bound to get stood on. The last thing you want is to get the tassels of your skirt caught on someone’s zip and end up getting dragged into a mosh-pit. Think about it, what’s better, a long, trendy skirt and a broken nose or an average pair of shorts and being able to smile without experiencing extreme pain?

Anything white or expensive

Don’t bring any of these, it’s not worth it. Remember you’ll be leaving these in a tent and things occasionally get stolen. Also, don’t wear anything that you wouldn’t be prepared to get sick on (these things happen).

A hat

Whether it’s a bucket hat, floppy hat, or you want to look a bit like Jason Mraz, be aware that people will see that hat and decide it is theirs to claim. Don’t ask why – who knows what people are thinking when they’ve been living on a diet of beer, cereal bars and house music for a couple of days. All I know is that people at festivals can be savage and will most likely want to take that hat. Someone I knew dropped their hat in the middle of a set and when she crouched down to get it, she was trampled down by the crowd. The only way she got up again was when a guy scooped her up after she bit on his ankle as a means of getting his attention.

An expensive, top of the range tent, usually covered in some Aztec/retro print that cost an arm and a leg

This one is a lot like the white/expensive clothes rule. Would you be angry if someone threw up/urinated on your pretty new tent? Yes? Well don’t bring it – get a cheap one that you can leave while you go and watch your favourite headliner and then come back and crash in after you can barely stand up from all the dancing or alcohol you’ve consumed. Yes, a cream, velvet tepee might look impressive in the background of a picture on Tumblr, but in reality, would you rather have something pretty to look at or somewhere to shelter you from the incessant rain? Also, my friends and I decided to leave our empty tents at the festival (to save carrying them home in our hungover states) and we even decided to bring one extra tent as a toilet cubicle/storage unit – don’t ask, but it worked. If you leave them behind, they get collected by several charities. That way, you’re doing everyone a favour.

Stop letting people tell you what you “must” wear, and wear whatever you like. Festivals are about having a laugh with your mates, seeing all your favourite bands and drinking too much vodka in public but somehow it’s acceptable because you’re at a festival. What’s not to like? So, if one day you want to wear a giraffe onesie that you slept in the night before, but some magazine is telling you that tiny denim shorts, a tie-dye T-shirt and a tonne of make-up is the ONLY thing you should wear at a festival, ignore it and wear whatever the hell you like. Don’t let people tell you what to wear at festivals, ignore them and go have some fun. In fact, don’t ever let people tell you what to wear – embrace the festival spirit all year round!