Festival fashion: what goes round comes round
Picture the scene: you are at an outdoor festival of your choice. You are clothed in colourful layers topped with a granny-square crochet waistcoat, a denim bucket hat, much beaded jewellery and a sequinned slouch bag. We’re talking 2024, of course. But wait … guest blogger Sandra Stafford has been revisiting photographs from festivals that are 50+ years gone, and she’s really not noticing much style difference. Let’s deep-dive!
It's 1970, and the legendary Jimi Hendrix is performing at an iconic festival in an unlikely location: the Isle of Wight – a small island off the south coast of England. He is wearing flame-coloured flares, with a soft flowing long-length top that matches in hue. Now take Joni Mitchell at the same festival in a one-piece, yellow(ish) wide-leg jump suit. I’ve found crowd images of people with dyed purple hair and all manner of head adornments; people wearing granny square jackets, short-sleeve tees with waistcoats (btw, waistcoats of all kinds appear to be making a comeback, so start checking out the men’s sections in thrift stores), flowing tops over denims or loons, boots, sandals, plimsols, bare feet …
I think I’ve made my point: any of this clothing and accompanying accessories are “good to go” at any current outdoor festival today. Which is all excellent news for purveyors of vintage and preloved clothing – Trash Chic included. In fact, I’ve done a quick scan of the TC shop, and right now at this moment in time I can find l-o-n-g fringes (think Roger Daltrey’s suede top from the IoW), denim, sequins, florals, tees, tulle, knitwear … I’ll stop there before I run out of wordcount, suffice to say what goes round comes round, and if you’re dressing in thrifted original items, here is a very literal (although perhaps not technically accurate) definition of circular fashion – especially if your items remain in circulation.
The wisdom of “then”
I headed to my first big festival in the mid-70s with my mother’s (unwelcome) advice for attire ringing in my ears. I was feeling brave and hardcore, but in the decades that have passed I’m ready to acknowledge that comfort and practicality make an experience a whole lot better. So here’s me channelling a bit of her commonsense, but hopefully without the crimplene and elastic waistbands.
1. “Take a hat”
Oh yes. Definitely take a hat. If it doesn’t protect you from the sun (which seems to have disappeared in recent history), it will definitely protect you from the rain. I go for anything that flops over both my brow and the nape of my neck. And I do love a decoration on my hats – badges, flowers, a long scarf, brooches … you know the drill!
Check out my festival bucket hats
2. “Wear sensible shoes”
And yes. Doc Martens do count as “sensible” in my book – as long as they have a covered toe!! When you are giddy on atmosphere it’s easy to stub those little digits. That’s all I’m saying. Except … I’ll add there are also some wonderfully colourful rubber/plastic boots in the world these days – and if you have ever been caught knee-deep in mud at a festival, you may want to consider a pair.
3. “Make sure you’ve got a coat”
For coat, read “warm outer layer”. This could be anything from a lightweight waterproof to a knee-length jumper and even a long, thick shawl/throw. I’m a big fan of the latter; they truly are multi-purpose items.
Lots of festival style coats and jackets in the shop. Just use the filter to search your size.
4. “Think about layers”
This has been my mantra for some long while, and I know that Jane at Trash Chic Towers concurs with this thinking. Not only does it create interesting ways of putting together textures, fabrics and colours, the practical benefits are that you can add or remove them. Your overall layered look can be enhanced with belts, brooches, chokers, long lengths of beads, multiple bracelets/wristbands and rings. Go for it!
5. “You’ll need a skirt”
My personal choice – not only for festivals but pretty much whenever I travel or, let’s get personal, in a situation where I may need to use tiny cubicles. So much easier than battling with a one-piece or garments with legs. Plus, there are so many beautiful skirts out there of all lengths and types.
6. “Get yourself a backpack”
This one really makes me laugh, because these days I don’t leave the house without a huge list of “must-have-with-me” items (including at least one large cotton or muslin square, which is possibly the most multi-purpose item in my armoury). Back in the day, I seem to remember having an open-top tapestry bag with a long shoulder strap – not secure in any way whatsoever – for cash, keys and fags! These days, I’m a big fan of the bum-bag–rucksack combo – phone, card and sunglasses in bum-bag; everything else in rucksack. If bum-bags aren’t your thing – it happens – TC has a small range of Japanese knotbags, which would work equally well.
7. “Don’t forget a flask and sandwich …”
OK, slightly frivolous – although I am notorious in my family for my flask collection. At today’s festivals you can actually get decent coffee and sourdough toasties on site. In the past, though, I recall feeding myself solely on ice-cream, because that was pretty much the only vending opportunity. And as a potential addition to Baz Luhrmann’s “Sunscreen Song”, do take water and some healthy snacks. Trust me on this!
Sandra Stafford is an author, editor and long-time Trash Chic customer. To view TC’s range of preloved/vintage/retro clothing, return to the Shop and take a look at all the fabulous items on offer.
