Do’s and don’ts of festival fashion

Junior Amanda Dee models the most important part of the music festival look: the fanny pack. COURTESY OF AMANDA DEE

By: AMANDA DEE – Social Media Manager

Writer’s Note: If by this stage of your life, you do not understand why flower crowns are funny, go buy a flower crown or don the Urban Outfitters headpiece you already display in your elegant-but-chic bathroom design based on a Pinterest board and stop reading.

Forget everything you’ve heard about fanny packs.

Summer music festival season is upon us. And you need help.

Heed these do’s and don’ts while you prepare to lightly sweat on the outskirts or profusely bleed in the mosh pit.

BAGS
Do: Consider the fanny pack. It androgynously hugs your body and guards your dearly beloveds (phone, keys, wallet) like a reliable lover. Backpacks, although not as liberal, are trusty but a little clingy. They are also typically searched by security. Check the festival website to see if it allows large backpacks.
Don’t: Lug an oversized tote bag around unless you are camping out on festival grounds— or you’re a mom.

WEATHER
Do: Wear swimsuits as clothing. They’re waterproof — and, therefore, sweat-proof. Wear hats. Sun hats. Baseball caps. Beanies. They protect your scalp from the evil sun and give you an opportunity to wear a hat if you’re too afraid to wear one on a non-festival day.
Don’t: Spend your savings on Givenchy high tops just to witness their destruction by mud or dirt.

COST (RUNNING CHEAPLY WITH SCISSORS)
Do: Explore Goodwill, Salvation Army and local resale shops. Cut old jeans into cut-offs or high-waisted shorts. Explore your closet. Cut ratty T-shirts into muscle-tees and crop-tops. Rip and tear holes into clothes for DIY air ventilation.
Don’t: Flaunt $100 Ray-Bans unless you’re willing to pay the price. I’ve seen good pairs die by the butts of crowd-surfing musicians.

ETHICS
Do: Use trash bags as rain ponchos.
Don’t: Not use trash bags as rain ponchos.

YOUR MUSE
Do: Look at magazines, photography, art, websites, old photos of your grandparents — anything that could inspire your look. Or use Google or Tumblr searches if you have specific style icons in mind. (If you want to be like me or be me, I’m tracking the musician FKA Twigs and checking fader.com for ideas.)
Don’t: Visit teenvogue.com and copy the “absolute best” festival styles slideshow. It’s time for you to grow up.

Tweet @FlyerNews your questions or arguments about the ethics of using trash bags as rain ponchos, flower crown politics or summer music festival fashion.