Practical Festival Dressing

Festival season is upon us yet again and the UK's biggest summer music events are looming and that means one thing - the weather is bound to get absolutely hideous. When I went to Download, not only did we leave our tent poles on the train which meant we had only a tent canvas (yes that really happened), we were left with a one-man pop up tent for three people, including one 6"4 boyfriend. Of course, it poured down and my friend ended up with her head outside the tent door with her face in the mud. Seriously, when we woke up it looked like she'd been for a swim and a mud bath. Someone also fell on top of our tent in the middle of the night and collapsed it and because we were so cold and wet, we just slept with it collapsed only to wake up the next morning to find someone had been back and put it up around us while we slept. Creepy or kind, you be the judge! 

Anyway, festivals are so much fun no matter what the weather, but let's be honest, some of the festival styles are just a touch impractical. It's very difficult to keep pretty white floaty dresses looking that way! I love the typical style of festival dressing no matter how impractical but it is nice to take a sensible outfit with you, just in case the British weather lives up to its bad reputation a little too much. 

So first thing's first - it's the accessories, namely the rucksack and the hat. Both are from Reef and there's no doubt that they're perfect for any British festival; they're edgy, a little bit geeky and fit for purpose. The bag can fit everything in for the long journey down to wherever you're going for your festival (plenty of room for snacks etc.!) - it's like Hermione's bag from the Deathly Hallows in there! (sorry not sorry for the HP reference). Hats are such an essential for UK festivals too. If it's sunny, you'll need something to protect your head from the sun as you'll be outside for the entire weekend and if it's not, you might want something to tame a bad hair day as there aren't any luxuries like straighteners or hair dryers! This bucket hat is perffff for a festival. It's so geeky but cool at the same time and has such a "festival" feel to it!

Shoes are another thing that can be tricky for a festival. Of course, if you're going to a festival in the north of England in the middle of a field, chances are you're going to need something sturdy. These CAT Footwear  boots are an absolute festival classic and even though I haven't yet been to a festival this year, living in the muddy countryside has meant I've definitely worn these in. It's tough to find shoes that are durable and not ugly as hell so boots like this are so nice to finally find. Comfort, style and practicality are such hard attributes to find together in boots so these baby blue Cat beauts have been a godsend. Also, I'm obsessed with some of the patterned boots Caterpillar have when it comes to festival dressing - just look at these flower boots! Not only are they the perf festival shoes though - they'll see me right through the year. I'm going to Iceland in November so need some really tough boots for hiking and what not and not only that, it gets bloody icy up north in the winter! 

You may look at my Reef flip flops here and think "I thought this was practical". Don't worry, I haven't gone mad! These are just practical for a different kind of festival. Last year I was lucky enough to attend Fresh Island Festival in Croatia with ASOS, Croatia Wave and Slydes and as that was on a beach, these would have been perfect. They're comfy, let your feet breathe, won't cut your toes open and are just all around the classic footwear for a beach festival. The little pink shoes, also from Reef, have become one of my favourite summer shoes too. They're kind of like trainers crossed with loafers and do I really need to say more? Whilst they may not be great for a weekend tredging through a swamp, they are super cute for a festival if (a) you know the weather is going to hold out (b) it's an indoor festival (c) it's located on a different surface than grass. I'd take these in my backpack no matter where I was going and whip them out as soon as I got the chance! Watch out for these in an upcoming outfit post too...

What are your go to's for festival fashion?

Amy x

*Post contains PR samples