2016 Festival Must-Haves
The temps are rising, along with the hem lines, and fishtail braids and flower crowns are back on the scene. It can only mean one thing — festival season is upon us!
This weekend kicks off the first big musical event of the year — Coachella Music Festival 2016.
This will be my seventh year in a row attending the 3-day extravaganza, and although I’m a year older and less tolerant of lines, blisters, and sandstorms, I’m also a bit wiser — i.e. I’ll be wearing comfortable boots, packing Band-aids, and carrying a bandana in case of said storm.
Looking for tips to have a happy, healthy, successful festival season? Here are my 2016 festival must-haves should you be headed to the desert this weekend, or any other musical celebration this summer.
1. Water
It’s getting hot in herrr. The temperature in Coachella valley usually hits the 90’s during the day and that means hydration is essential. Play it cool with a refillable bottle to avoid paying for overpriced water bottles inside the festival grounds.
This one from S’well is chic and will keep your bevie cold for practically the entire 72 hours.
2. A Wide-Brimmed Hat
I used to hate hats — you know, the whole hat hair issue. But as I’ve gotten older, there’s something I like even less — wrinkles. Protect the sensitive skin on your face while you’re rocking out with hip sun-protecting headgear.
This straw fedora from Rag + Bone is ultra chic and perfectly breezy for daytime wear. Looking for something more affordable? Try this one from H&M.
3. Non-sticky Sunscreen
So we’re still on the sun-protection topic, but this one is the most important! Before you even address those UV rays with your fashion, you gotta protect your face with your products.
Finding a good face sunscreen can be hard, especially when you need something that’s lightweight, high SPF, and not greasy to wear with makeup. Currently, I’m loving this one from Radical. It lives up to all of those requirements and it’s chemical-free. It also has a built in primer so makeup goes on seamlessly over it.
4. Fringe Everything
It won’t nourish, hydrate, or protect you from the sun but fringe is almost as essential to festival success this year as those other must-haves.
Fringe is popping up on everything from shoes to bags to hats. It’s in — in a big way.
Scoop up a pair of the adorable suede fringe booties from Elyse Walker above (down to $161 from $595!!), an easy breezy crossbody bag (only $28), a fringed cover-up from TopShop, some fringed gladiators from Sam Edelman, a fringed bikini, or a fringed crochet tank.
5. Snacks
Did you think I forgot about the most important thing to bring to a festival?! Oh course not — sustenance should be number one on the list!
Sure, you can always pick up a a fried funnel cake if you forget to pack snacks, but with a little prep/planning you can be the hero who supplies your pals with healthy, delicious grub to help fuel the festival dance-offs.
Here are a few of my favorite healthy, portable snacks:
Dark Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Granola
Wishing you all a happy, healthy weekend and a wonderful festival season!
Patti Cakes says:
Never been to Coachella, but reminds me of a modern day Woodstock. Gotta try those roasted chickpeas and blueberry granola.
Whitney English says:
I’ve never been to Woodstock but I would guess it was similar :)