December 1, 2009

Longing For the Gutter

There's certainly nothing original about stressing over what to wear to a festival, afterall, festival attire is in a category entirely of its own. It's not your typical night-time wear and it's certainly not what you'd wear to lunch with the girls but rather it's an eclectic adaptation of fashions tailored precisely to these summer time events.

Festival wear worldwide has it's own unwritten, unspoken codes. It's encapsulated by celebrities at major international festivals and reviewed after Glastonbury and Coachella by the glossies and scrutinised by we in the blogosphere.

One stand out theory I relate most to festival wear is 'Nostalgie de la boue' or rather a longing for the gutter. It's the idea that the fashion concious scribe higher values to people and cultures considered lower than oneself, i.e. the romanticisation of the primitive: Hence fashionistas with enough money to buy expensive gowns opting for ripped denim, tattered hair, and bare skin.

The aim of dressing for a festival is to make sure you are appropriately dressed and prepared to look like hell by the end of the night. No one wants to see the girl who started out the day in gorgette silk with perfect hair and expensive heels only to bump in to her again around 10pm to find she has her Prada heels in hand, broken straps tragically tied together and make up running down her face. She would look ridiculious next to a subsequently wasted girl who was wearing an old band tee, distressed denim shorts and beat-up military boots jumping up and down to The Hives or Crystal Castles. Profound, oui? It's a case of which of the two looks more appropriately wasted.

Images: The Cobrasnake, Facebook

10 comments:

Xmas Dresses said...

I love the looks here!Love the outfit in the last pic

Feisjanter said...

Festival outfits are the best, it's the perfect excuse to go really grunge if you don't usually dare

rebecca said...

festival wear just gets me excited! its so much fun and so edgy and everyone looks the same, just crazy and indie! topshop are great for this, a pair of cute wellies are great and some seriously mini shorts and skirts are essential! oh and how could i forget the cool sunglasses?!! x

JULIA said...

true. i never wear nice things to concerts. the tee i wore to one got slashed aaaaall across the front... no clue how.
things just don't turn out well, its best to spare the clothes and focus on the music.

Anonymous said...

how is everyone looking the same a good thing? these pictures are so boring and uninspired. indie girls in denim shorts and midrifs. yawwwwn

thimbles and gingham said...

nice one for mentioning the hives. the hives are ace. i like the last playsuit but the girl should cover her boobs!

Anonymous said...

yup i with the other anon... yawwwwwwn - i am over blogs just posting the same pictures with the same pretentious right up about being wasted and hot at the same time.. boooooring

Daughters of Dawn said...

I love scouting the fashion trends during festivals. Sure there is a homogenization amongst youth culture but that is found everywhere. During festivals the truly interesting people stand out from that crowd.

ps.
Love reading your blog, just wanted to spread the love. I tagged you on my blog with an award

http://daughtersofdawn.blogspot.com

Everyday Dress Up said...

party outfits in the suN!

Miann - Fashion Falsehood said...

Hahahahahahahahaha the same pityful person pretending to be anonymous.. twice!

Aim a little higher next time babes