Festival dressing
Festival and rave dressing that survives the weekend
Fishnet, faux leather and sequins photograph well and behave badly. How to put together something you can still stand up in at two in the morning.
The rave section of this catalog is honest about what it is. Ten to forty dollars a piece, built for a couple of loud days, not for a decade in a wardrobe. The trick is choosing the pieces that hold together through a night of dancing rather than the ones that look best on a hanger.
Ties beat elastic
A halter that ties at the neck, a drawstring waist, a lace up side. These stay where you put them and can be tightened at midnight when everything has loosened. A plain elastic band on a cheap knit will have migrated by the second hour and you will spend the night adjusting it.
Fabric behaviour in a crowd
Faux leather
Looks right, does not breathe at all. Fine for an indoor night in winter, punishing in a field in July. If you want the look in heat, take the shorts rather than the trousers and pair them with something open on top.
Fishnet
Cool, forgiving and it snags on everything. Bag straps, watch clasps, other people. Bring a spare pair if it is a two day event, because one catch ends it.
Sequins
They shed. Expect to find them in the car, the tent and your other clothes for weeks. They also scratch a bare arm when you dance, which is why sequin skirts survive contact better than sequin tops.
Mesh
The most practical of the four. Airflow, cover, and it dries in minutes if you get caught out.
Test it before you go
Put the whole outfit on at home a week before, then move properly in it. Sit on the floor. Reach up. Walk fast up a flight of stairs. Cut out pieces that look fine standing still will tell you very quickly whether they are wearable in a crowd, and a week is enough time to order something else.
Layering for the temperature swing
A field goes from thirty degrees at four in the afternoon to something that needs sleeves by eleven. Build the outfit so the warm layer is part of it rather than an afterthought carried in a bag. An oversized shirt over a crop and shorts works at both ends of the day.
What goes in the bag
- Safety pins, which fix a strap, a hem and a broken tie.
- A spare pair of fishnets if you are wearing them.
- Adhesive cups or fashion tape for backless and deep V pieces.
- A packable rain layer that does not need to look good.
- Shoes you have already walked five miles in. Nothing new.
Afterwards
Everything from a festival needs a cold hand wash rather than a machine cycle, because mud and glitter both grind at fine fabric in a drum. Rinse the worst out in cold water first. Hot water sets a mud stain permanently.
Buying sensibly
Two or three pieces that swap around beat five full outfits. A pair of shorts, two tops and one thing with sequins on it covers a long weekend, packs into a small bag and costs less than a hundred dollars in this range.