Festivals have always been popular among young people, and that popularity only continues to grow as the number of events continues to increase! Festivals feature live music, a wide variety of entertainment, dancing, and lots of great festival food!
Over time festival fashion has grown into its own unique clothing genre. Of course, there is a tremendous variety of Festival outfits available, and personal expression is always encouraged, but there are a well-loved few aspects that have stood the test of time like bold patterns, textured fabrics, decorations like rhinestones and glitter, and plenty of skin visible! The main thing is to have fun and look fabulous while doing it!
Let’s take a look at the evolution and rise of festival fashion through the decades:
The 1950s – This decade was totally square, nothing to see here! Let’s move on to –
The 1960s – Like a great many fun things, the youth festival scene got started in this decade of free love and flower power! The two really famous festivals that would get the ball rolling were Woodstock in the USA and the Isle of Wight Festival in the UK. The festival fashion of this time was influenced by Native American fashion with its beadwork and leather fringes. It also featured plenty of denim cut-offs, jeans, and jackets, vibrant colours in hypnotic tie-dye patterns, and lots of skin on display. Girls wore flowers in their hair, and men wore their hair longer than the girls did! Personal freedom and self-expression were celebrated and on display in this very festive time that continued on into –
The 1970s – Rock and roll was still going strong, but disco would give it a run for its money! Many elements from the 1960s fashions persisted like tie-dye and denim, bell bottom jeans were joined by a lot of leather, all accented by pins, metal studs, and badges. The hair remained long and a bit wild, and the feeling of freedom from the 1960s enjoyed a few more good years before-
The 1980s -It only took a few nasty wars to wipe out the hippie movement, and the kids of the day were angry, who could blame them? Punk rock began its brutal climb to the top of the charts, and Mohawk haircuts appeared on the heads of both sexes, often in lurid shades of green and purple! Black leather and cleated boots with straight-legged jeans were the survival gear festival-goers wore in the mosh pits of these turbulent times that only began to lighten up a bit in –
The 1990s – The Lollapalooza Festival tried to bring back the sense of joy of the Woodstock days and succeeded pretty well at it, with alternative rock acts echoing the mellow melodies of days gone by. Hoodies, T-shirts bearing various popular slogans, trainers, and bucket hats became the new look, and everybody was starting to have fun again, which continued on into –
The 2000s – Where we must take our leave with low-waisted trousers, tiny skirts, and lots of hard partying! Oh, and plenty of skin too, vavoom!
Whatever the decade, the main thing for festival goers is to dress like they’re having fun, then go have some!