Part of the Coachella mystique is the fashion blog coverage of what the beautiful people wore to party in the desert. There's an entire genre of clothes that now exists, thanks to Coachella and Glastonbury et al: Festival Style. Perhaps it's because we went the second weekend, and all the glam people go the first weekend, but I observed that most people wore as little clothes as possible. We're talking just walking around in bikinis and sports bras. Not particularly fashionable. I get it. It is so hot there. I envied the bikini chicks. Also, this is not a place you want to take a Chanel bag, which I saw in some of the blog slideshows. It's dusty and vomit-y. Fashion people be trippin.
Here are the main trends I observed: high-waisted booty jhorts, crop tops, floral crowns, disgustingly dirty Toms, crop tops, baby doll dresses, crop tops. Did I say crop tops? I'd like the record to show that I predicted this trend's revival back in 2009. Maybe Coachella is the only place it's really taken off.
Anyway, before the trip I evaluated my wardrobe for Festival Style and found it lacking, which resulted in a mini-shopping spree. I bought four new things to wear and assembled three Festival Outfits. But then disaster struck, when my flight was delayed and I missed my connecting flight, which caused my suitcase to go missing. Wouldn't that be rich, I thought, if I lost my luggage and had to wear the same t-shirt and pair of jeans every single day. That would serve me right. But thank God, because somehow, against all odds, my little suitcase turned up behind the desk at the Yuma United Airlines counter.
New for Coachella: Bag from Levi's (similar), Sam Edelman Louie boots (on sale here!)
Here's what I packed for Coachella. Nothing too groundbreaking but I tried. My issue was that I wanted to keep cool but avoid strappy or strapless tops in an effort to avoid getting a sunburn. The maxi dress with the cutouts was probably the best choice, in terms of being breezy but covered up. The second day I wore an ultra-light see-through shirt with a swim top underneath, and the last day I wore my boots and a pair of bright blue shorts I bought from the vintage/resell shop Meeps in D.C. I thought, "Yeah, I'm going to get some cool high-waisted vintage shorts to wear to Coachella, look at me." But then I took them home and looked more closely at the label. It read "The Gap." Vintage shopping fail. Bah.
The shorts did come with a neat fabric belt with geometric shapes, and judging by the whip-stitching, it looks like someone may have made it. I also thought that these shorts were scandalously short, but damn, compared to the other girls at Coachella, they were practically Mom jhorts. I saw so many butt cheeks hanging out of high-waisted jean shorts. That was standard issue.
And I bit the bullet and bought the fringed boots I was debating in an earlier post. No, I didn't go with white. These were comfortable enough to make it through most of the last day, although I was happy to have brought along flip flops too. And the suede survived the dusty, muddy field. Phew! My poor friend Emily was leading the way through the crowd and she stepped in a pile of vomit. That is a very Coachella story, I feel. And that would've been game over for the fringe boots. As luck would have it, Emily had on sneakers so it wasn't as horrible as it could've been.
I tried to look for fashion inspiration from my fellow concertgoers, and don't get me wrong, there were a ton of beautiful people there. They looked good. But it wasn't anything I couldn't see in D.C. on an Urban Outfitters mannequin. Except for one outfit I spotted, which I will try to replicate below:
PacSun Eyelet Bustier Tank, Minkpink Bustier, Nasty Gal Oversize Denim Vest via R29, N_8 Draped Knee-length Skirt, Steve Madden Troopa Boot, Young Frankk Peak Brass Ring
One girl wore a bustier top with a knee-length mustard yellow circle skirt and a tough pair of boots, and she looked so fresh. I thought it would look good with a black or white top, and maybe you could throw an oversize denim vest on top of it for some D.C. modesty, and add a streamlined, bold ring to finish the look.
I would love to try to rock this, just need to find a cheaper skirt... Thanks for reading my Coachella fashion post!
