Everyone has that moment when they look around and realize they’ve been doing something the hard way for way too long. Mine occurred while I was standing in the pouring rain at Reading Festival six years ago. I was wearing a look I had proudly assembled piece-by-piece from Target clearance and thrift stores, fully confident that I had mastered the art of budget festival attire.
That was until I looked over at this kid rocking muddy skinny jeans and a basic gray hoodie who looked ten times better dressed than me, despite probably spending five dollars on his outfit. Turns out, I did spend way more than five bucks on mine. Also turns out, I thought way too hard about what to wear to music festivals.
Not only had I put considerable effort into blending DIY Appalachian Woodsman with vintage-give-a-crap-less grunge, Jessica also knows the EXACT amount I spent on my “aged” flannel shirt. Forty dollars.
On something branded WITH the store name, ironed, and THEN distressed to look old. “You paid to have someone else ruin a shirt for you,” she said.
I will never forget that. Anyway. My big realization about festival fashion that day also applied to many other areas of my life.
Effort equals cost, which when you’re living on a teacher’s salary also equals frustration. So I started over with my festival wardrobe from scratch. If I was going to look financially depressed or take three months planning out my “lazy” outfit, I might as well just be broke.
Here’s how I put together a festival wardrobe that can handle rain, shine, mud, and budget withdrawls alike. All while spending actual reasonable amounts of money. Rule #1: Festival clothes need to WORK.
Work like you’re going to be camping in them for three days and they actually MATTER what happens to your shirt. My first festival shirts were garbage I picked up on super-sale at Target. They looked fine, but didn’t survive two days of festival abuse.
Buy stuff that’ll last multiple festivals. You’ll save money in the long run. Rule #2: Start with your feet.
Literally. Nothing kills a festival vibe like sore, wet feet. I learned my lesson my first Bonnaroo when I spent $20 on a pair of Target shoes that literally fell apart in the mud.
I wore sock feet for half of Sunday. It sucked. These days I rock a pair of beat-up Converse high tops.
Got them on clearance for like $35 bucks three years ago, and they’ve only looked better since. They dry quick, they look ok dirty, and honestly looked cooler day one of festival season than when I bought them. When you find that level of quality at that price, USE IT.
If you think there will be mud, you can get away with basic rubber boots. Not pricey Hunter ones – I can spend more than that on jeans in a month. But knock-off black or dark green rubber farm boots from Tractor Supply or even Walmart will do the trick.
They’ll keep mud off your feet just as well as $100 boots, and NO ONE is looking down at your feet to judge them. Once you have your feet sorted you can build the rest of your outfit around that. Festival shirts are pretty straightforward.
Basic tee, flannel or light hoodie, rain jacket. Boom. Done.
Cost me probably $80 total spread out over however many years, but will take you from hot sunny days to thunderstorms with ease. Start with the tee. Sounds easy, but there are tricks.
You need something that can get dirty and not look terrible, so no white shirts or pastel colors. That means darker colors. Black, dark gray, navy.
Cheap t-shirts from Hanes or Fruit of the Loom are fine. Doesn’t have to be your “soccer team” tee, but it shouldn’t be something you care about ripping apart either. Bonus points if you’re rocking some band merch, but ONLY if you actually like that band.
Please don’t walk around wearing merch for bands you’ve never listened to, you look dumb. Your middle layer flannel or hoodie can be something a little nicer. I picked up this Old Navy flannel for like $12 on clearance years ago and it’s been to god knows how many festivals.
It’s faded to this awesome pale blue color, fits great, and people actually compliment me on it regularly. Nobody asks where I got it because it just looks like it’s supposed to be there. Rain jacket is probably the place you’ll need to spend a little money, but not as much as you think.
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Mine is just a basic black windbreaker from Target’s Goodfellow collection. Maybe $25 bucks on sale, and it hasn’t let me down in the three years I’ve had it. Packs down small, keeps you dry, and doesn’t scream “LOOK AT ME I’M TRYING TO HARD!” Pants are pretty straightforward too.
Denim is pretty much your best bet for festivals. But again, a few tips to making them work. Dark wash hides dirt/grass better than light.
AND MAKE SURE THEY FIT. Skinny jeans are bad news for concert/festival bathrooms. Baggy jeans just look sloppy after day one.
Get yourself a nice sturdy pair of jeans that you can camp in, walk around in, and spill beer all over without crying. I like Levi’s 511s and they frequently go on sale. Wait for the sales and stock up.
Don’t feel like you need to go wild on hats and watches and jewelry and whatever else guys try to cram into their outfits these days. Fuck that. All you need is a plain whiteish baseball cap to keep sun off your face, a pair of sunglasses you don’t care about losing, and some kind of basic watch.
Nothing fancy. Caps – just make sure it’s flat-brimmed. You’re not going cowboy on me.
Sunglasses – I got these from Amazon a few years ago and they’re awesome. Light, cheap ($15), block most of the sun, and don’t make me feel like I’m trying to be in a music video when I wear them. Watch – I got this Timex for $20 on Amazon and it does everything I need a watch to do and survives dunks in the mud just fine.
Used to be all about wristbands. Loved collecting them at festivals, had a huge chunk of wood on my wrist from last year’s Firefly just haunting me in my wallet. Looked stupid.
Feels weird. Stop doing it. Investing in “festival shirts” you only wear camping and to concerts has made a WORLD of difference for me.
Doesn’t have to be expensive, special shirts. But if your camp shirt is also your every day Sunday best then you’re going to be stressed about getting it dirty. Wear things you don’t care about to festivals.
They’ll get destroyed anyways, might as well start them off that way. Lastly, you need a good bag. Something to hold your phone, wallet, some snacks and water, but won’t take up both of your hands.
I use this Target canvas messenger bag that cost like $20. Seriously works, holds everything I need, and doesn’t get in the way when I’m dancing or walking around. Backpacks work too, but can be annoying.
Especially if you’re constantly hopping from stage to stage. One of my buddies uses this basic black nylon cross-body bag he got online for like $15 and it’s awesome. Doesn’t feel like a purse, but keeps everything nice and secure.
So there you have it. Aim for about $150 for a full festival wardrobe, but don’t feel like you need to buy it all at once. Dark jeans, white shirt, flannel, windbreaker, comfortable shoes, simple bag.
Doesn’t sound like much but when executed correctly you’ll blend right into the bois and they definitely won’t be judging your outfit choices.
Trust me. Only thing they care about is if you’re having a good time (and probably if you’ve got beer).
Hell, last festival I was at someone COMPLIMENTED my “vintage” flannel. We were talking and he asked where I got it. Straight up told him I spent all my money on shirts at Old Navy three years ago and it was on clearance.
Kid looked at me like I grew that flannel in my backyard. Summer’s coming, y’all. Lineups are starting to drop and I am legitimately excited to dust off my tried and true festival uniform and just go have fun.
Sure, it’s not super stylish or “wow everyone I know this shirt” kind of outfit. But it works and I know that going in. Let’s just focus on the music and having a good time, guys.
Peace.
