Total Guide to Festival Fashion

Finally the long awaited festival season is now here! Fashion blogger Kate Jefferies from Deerbrains and Your Collective is here to give us our Festival Fashion Fix.

Whether you're wading through mud in England or jetting off to catch some rays and tunes abroad, you'll want to make sure you look the part. Bearing in mind you're more than likely going to be stuck in a small tent camping and desperately trying to cramp all your clothes into a backpack, it’s important to only bring the essentials.

Starting with footwear, obviously taking in to consideration the weather forecast, I would suggest always covering your feet! Flip flops and sandals are the perfect summer footwear, but from previous experience walking around a festival with thousands of people leaving their rubbish on the floor it wouldn’t be hard to swish your toes into a half-eaten burger or get a cigarette butt stuck between them! Wellies are classic festival footwear but if it its dry I’d suggest to stay on trend for summer with a pair of flatform shoes, creepers or go sport with some trainers.

Moving up you really can’t go wrong with a pair of trusty denim shorts. Whether you’re rocking your vintage Levi’s or some modern colourful, patterned, shorts are always a win. If it gets cold you can easily put on a pair of tights. I love The Ragged Priest range of shorts this year, the studs give a rock and roll feel then the dipped dyed colours give the whole summery hippy vibe! Dresses and skirts are also a great festival wear; they keep you cool also they are so easy when it comes to using small porta-loos, trying to get out of dungarees and playsuits in a smelly portable toilet isn’t fun!

Crop tops are big for summer and perfect for layering; you can throw a tee and jacket on top, and then if it gets hot, strip off. I’d pair them with a high waisted pair of shorts or skirt to not have too much flesh on show.

Jackets/knits are an essential for when it gets cold at night so make sure you pack chunky knit, leather jacket, hoody, camo jacket or anything else similar.

Accessories-wise, headwear is always a big feature at festivals! Flower headbands/crowns, floppy hats, Indian feathered head dress, five panels and others. Festivals are a wonderland for headwear! Bag-wise, I’m in love with bumbags at the moment so would advise to go retro with one. If not, a plain or printed backpack would give off a laid back summer vibe.

The best thing about festivals in my view is that anything goes - tassels and fringing, tie die, Aztec prints, studs, spikes, unitards, boho vibes, sport luxe… list goes on. And don’t forget your makeup; the wilder the better. It’s the perfect opportunity to try all the creative beauty looks you’ve seen in high fashion shows but are too over the top for everyday wear. Bundles of colourful eye shadows and lipsticks, decorative eye lashes, stick on gems and glitter!

The important thing to bear in mind is that basically all styles / trends are acceptable at festivals, always over the top and there is always someone who’s more OTT than you, so don’t worry, go all out and get into the festival spirit!