What to Wear to a Music Festival – Summer Festival Style Guide

Deciding which festival to go to is the easy part. What to wear, on the other hand, is the hard ticket to score.

Seems crazy to worry about your look or festival style when you’re going to tread through mud and queue for lukewarm beer all week. But with crowds from 500,000 to 3.1 million,giving your festival outfit a bit of thought isn’t such a bad idea.

Get it right and you’ll not only up your selfie game (#Trendhim), but maybe even get confused for the headlining act of Coachella. Or at least the opening number.

Whether sleeping in a tent at Glastonbury or glamping near Tomorrowland, the main thing to remember is that festivals are fun.

This high-energy, fun attitude reflects in the clothing you wear.

• Lightweight, low-maintenance clothing for warm weather
• Comfortable and easy to move (dance all night!) in
• Quick-drying for rain and sweat
• Darker colours that won’t show how dirty you are
• When in doubt, stick to the classics: black, dark grey and blues over white or wild patterns

If the festival you’re attending is anything like the ones we know, it’s unlikely you’re going to wash for days.

Leave your finest clothes at home and pack loose-fitting crew-neck t-shirts (the ones with a round neckline and no collar).

While festivals are great opportunities to push boundaries and wear something you’d never wear at your normal 9-to-5, festival style for guys is about comfortable, lightweight pieces that can stand up to any party and any crowd… even in the rain.

We’ve all seen snaps of drenched tents, soggy party-goers and muddy fields. If you’re in Denmark, you’re practically guaranteed a rainy day (or several!).

But the party don't stop.

One of the essentials for this summer’s festival outfit is the 90s-inspired bucket hat.

Its circular brim keeps your face and neck protected from the sun. And considering that prolonged exposure to UV rays can cause hair loss… keeping your scalp protected is a very good thing.

Choose a waterproof bucket hat for those rainy days. Fawler's bucket hats are also crushable and stuff in your pocket when you’re not wearing it.

How to Buy a Bucket Hat When buying yours, choose a waterproof bucket hat with cotton lining and a sweatband. This keeps moisture (sweat) from getting trapped under your bucket hat.

Whether you call it a belt bag, bum bag, waist bag or fanny pack, this uber-functional accessory does more than add 90s style to your festival outfit.

The belt bag is designed to be worn as a crossbody bag or around your waist, and it's small enough to hold the holy trinity of must-haves – your phone, wallet and keys.

And since your hands are free, you can hold 2 beers at once. It’s a win-win.

And if you’re heading to a sure-to-get-rained-on festival, opt for a belt bag made with water-resistant fabric.

When it comes to men’s travel bags, there’s nothing more festival-ready than a backpack.

Choose a backpack large enough to hold your toiletry bag (you'll be glad you didn’t forget deodorant) and other basics, but is lightweight enough to carry as you travel.

If you’re travelling a longer distance, check out Lazy Bear’s foldable backpack range.

These lightweight backpacks fold and pack away in your luggage. And they’re water-resistant for inevitable afternoon showers… or when you get sprayed with beer.

What to Pack for a Festival – The Basics

• Water bottle – Between guzzling cold ones and sweating in the sun, you’re going to need to stay hydrated.
• Comfortable shoes – There’s going to be lots of standing, walking and maybe even a dance or two (at least jumping up and down), so leave the sandals at home.
• A bag for the day – You’ll need something to stash your
  wallet, phone and water bottle in. We suggest a belt bag.
• Toiletry bag – Besides your basic hygiene items, bring sunscreen! Your mom will be so proud.
• Clothes you can wear again – Who wants to miss out because they had to run do laundry?

This summer’s festival style is the perfect opportunity to experiment with accessories. And since you’re packing light, it’s these small accents that’ll make the difference.

From black stud earrings to men’s hoop earrings, don’t forget your lobes when planning your festival outfit.

And if a piercing wouldn’t quite fit your everyday look, opt for a magnetic earring. These earrings attach by, you guessed it, a magnet and won’t slide off when you sweat.

If you are looking for your first piercing, make sure it’s from a professional and not from the guy in the tent next to you.

Click here to read all about piercing and how to make sure yours doesn’t get infected.

Unless you’re off to Burning Man, you don’t have to go full Johnny Depp to make bracelets and necklaces look good.

Choose men’s bracelets that can handle putting your ‘hands up in the air’. A festival is your chance to go for bracelets that you wouldn’t normally wear to work and stack them like a pro.

And since you’ll end up with a festival armband, don’t be afraid of going for coloured bracelets.

Whether it’s dog tags or cross necklaces for men, the number one question we hear is how to wear them.

How to Layer Necklaces

1. Decide how many necklaces you want.
2. Wear different lengths.
3. Always match your necklaces.
4. Go for texture.
5. Match with other accessories.

The first step is to decide how many necklaces you want to wear and choose ones with different lengths. Wearing any more than 4 is a bit much and not the easiest look to pull off.

Aim for 2-3 to start with. And if your stainless steel cross necklace hangs down to your navel, then choose a pendant necklace with a shorter length.

Always match the colour and metal of your necklaces, but not the texture. Wear a black wooden beaded necklace with a black steel chain, for example.

Choose necklaces that aren't the exact same thickness and style. Wearing 3 thick, gold chain necklaces won’t look as good as 2 chains of different thickness and 1 beaded necklace with gold-tone steel accent beads.

And remember, if you’re wearing bracelets, rings or a watch – and why wouldn’t you? – make sure that all metals are matching.

If there’s one commodity more valuable than standing at the barricade… it’s your phone’s battery. How else will you make your friends jealous if you’re not reminding them constantly of the fun you’re having?

With a watch, you can save your precious battery and check the time the old fashioned way.

Look out for anything too valuable and be sure to find one that won’t stop when the first rain shower hits.

What festival look would be complete without sunglasses? Not only do they look good, but they also protect your eyes from harmful UVA and UVB rays and, if they’re polarised, reduce glare from any disco balls or shiny DJ booths.

Colourful mirrored sunglasses are always popular for festival style, and they help hide sleep-deprived eyes.

Check out polarised aviator sunglases with mirrored lenses for a classic look or try a pair of browline sunglasses that flatter most face shapes.

When choosing sunglasses, the first thing to consider is UV protection. If you plan on being outdoors, choosing a pair of polarised sunglasses will help you see clearer… even on bright sunny days.

Polarised sunglasses absorb light reflected or scattered from horizontal surfaces. We call this ‘glare’ and, beyond being highly annoying, it's dangerous when driving or working outdoors.

Polarised sunglasses are useful to block light reflecting off water, the shiny guitar on stage or the car in front of you.

• Lightweight, low-maintenance, quick-drying clothing
• Waterproof Bucket Hat
• Water-resistant belt bag and backpack
• Your stylish men’s accessories: Necklaces, earrings, bracelets
• Polarised sunglasses
• Your festival ticket
• Your camping gear
• Phone + charger

The main purpose of a hat in the summer is to keep the sun off your face and neck. If it happens to boost your style cred… so be it.

Check out flat caps for a dapper look. Make sure you get one made from cotton. This will be more lightweight and let your head breathe.

Panama hats are the quintessential summer hat. Made from real Ecuadorian straw, these lightweight hats have a wider brim that keeps your neck protected from the harsh sun.

Fedoras top off a bohemian-inspired look perfectly. Find one with a cotton lining to keep from trapping sweat and heat.

1. Rinse with warm water. This is especially important if you’ve been near the beach as sand and salt can scratch your lenses.
2. Wipe down with a microfibre cloth. All Waykins sunglasses come with a microfibre pouch that can be used for cleaning and storage.

Sometimes life is tougher than even the toughest sunglasses. When your polarised sunglasses need some love, follow these quick steps above.

Polarised lenses make it difficult to see LCD screens – like the one on your smartphone.

If your job requires you to work outside and look at your phone or other screens, polarised sunglasses may not be for you. Otherwise, if you find it difficult to see your screen clearly, take the shades off. It’s not that complicated.

• Waterproof means water won’t get through the hat, bag, coat, etc.
• Water-resistant means that the product will stand up against water… but water will get through it eventually.

The answer to the question is in the name. Clever how that works, eh?

If you have the core strength for it, wear as many necklaces as you want. But if you’re asking about how many men’s necklaces to wear to a party or a festival and still look stylish… the answer is 2-4.

Remember the rules above about different lengths and matching colours and metals.

1. Only bring what you need. Do you really need your most expensive watch? How much cash should you safely carry?
2. Check to see if your festival has lockers for rent. If they do, rent one! Only carry what you need for the day and keep the rest in your locker.
3. Download tracking apps for your phone. Make sure that if it’s stolen or lost, you can track it.
4. Set your lock screen on your phone to read ‘Contact xxxx if Found’. This way whoever finds it will know how to contact your group and return it.
5. Use the internal pockets on your bags to store things and make sure all bags stay zipped.