Figuring out what to wear to music festivals can be frustrating sometimes, especially if it’s your first time.
I attended Governors Ball, which is the annual music festival held in New York City. In 2021 the festival was held at Citi Field, Sept. 24-26. What I figured out when planning my outfits is that, above all, you want an outfit that’s comfortable. You won’t enjoy the music and artists you want to see if you’re uncomfortable the entire time.
Another thing that you have to take into consideration is the weather. If it’s supposed to be cooler you’ll want to wear pants and probably layers, unless you don’t get cold, which on that hand wear whatever you want. Also, if it’s supposed to be sunny and warm, I’d advise wearing a short sleeve or sleeveless top at least. Another thing if it’s sunny, wear sunscreen! I made that mistake on Day One, I didn’t wear sunscreen and I was super red by the end of the day.
For Day One, I knew that it was supposed to be sunny and in the 70s, so I chose to wear a halter top that was kind of thin so that I wouldn’t get too warm. I decided to pair that with black ripped jeans. Although it was supposed to be warm, I knew that I would be really uncomfortable in anything but jeans or other long pants because chafing is the absolute worst.
The biggest key to being comfortable throughout a music festival is shoes. I wore my very old and very dirty white high-top Converse and they worked great. My feet were a little sore by the end of each day, but it wasn’t unbearable and I had also been standing all day everyday so it was reasonable. My friend, on the other hand, made the mistake of wearing heeled boots on the first day — they were very cute but not very efficient when we were standing and dancing all day.
For Day Two, I wore regular denim jeans and a neon yellow bodysuit along with my converse again. The outfit was definitely very comfortable, but if you’re someone who needs to use the bathroom often, I wouldn’t recommend wearing a bodysuit. The bathrooms at music festivals are just porta potties and while they were pretty nice and spacious, they are still porta potties afterall. Also for Day Two, I had my friend braid my hair and it was one of the best decisions I made all weekend. If you’re someone who has long hair, having it braided or even just pulled back away from your face and off of your back makes everything so much more comfortable, especially if it’s really warm.
Day Three was the one day that I had a little bit of trouble with choosing my outfit. I had the pants I wanted picked out, a pair of white, ripped jeans, but the top was a bit of a struggle. I had one picked out but I realized it was probably not the best idea when I was going to be jumping and dancing around a lot — if you know what I mean. So I switched between three different choices before I settled on a black bodysuit which was much more comfortable. Again, I wore my converse because they were the most comfortable pair of shoes I had.
If you’re looking for something fun to spice up your outfit or to just make some really cool memories, wear a pair of white pants and bring colored markers and have people sign them, which is what I did. It was such a fun idea and now it’s something I’ll be able to remember the weekend with. I would recommend you use a pair of white pants that are cheap or you don’t care about because you most likely won’t be able to get the marker off.
One last tip for what to wear, add lots of accessories! Accessories such as earrings, necklaces and hair clips can really spice up an outfit and make it look ten times better. When I was getting ready I was always a little iffy about how I looked and then when I put the accessories on it made it so much better.
Remember, the most important part about going to music festivals is that you have fun and make the best memories you can. Whether you dress up in crazy outfits or just dress casually, no one is going to judge you because they’re all there for the same reason, to enjoy good music and your favorite artists.
APN 