Festival Fashion: Feathers and Fishtails by Natalie

Meet this weeks guest blogger Natalie Grogan of Leather and Lace.

Festival season is looming, which can only mean one thing – get shopping! Even though every festival has a completely different vibe, I’ll show you a few key pieces that can be interchanged depending on the weather or theme. It’s important to take some staple neutral pieces, which can be worn more than once with statement pieces to change it up. This year it’s all about mixing prints and fabrics, think tie-dye, kimonos, fringing, crochet, lace, denim, fur, flowers and leather.

During the day at festivals is when I tend to wear an outfit that is tight on the bottom half (like my leather skirt or denim shorts) and then something baggy-ish on the top so I stay comfortable, like a vest top (with a bikini underneath for any unexpected sunbathing opportunities).

Festivals are all about accessorizing so you can zsush up an outfit by adding a headscarf, 60s style sunglasses, vintage belt and lashings of necklaces, rings and bangles or even a bright pop of colored lip stain or all of the above! (I’ve recently bought Nars ‘velvet matt lip pencil’ in Damned, which works wonders. It’s like a really thick lip liner that can be used to color in the lips that stays put, and the color is like a deep raspberry.)

In the evening at festivals I love to combine dramatic makeup with casual clothing for a laidback festival look, think Pocahontas style face-paint, bright lip stain, feather eyelashes and graphic eyes. (I use Topshop liquid eyeliner pen that’s really easy to control and comes in a variety of great colors).

This year, my festival-wear top picks are…

1. Sheer maxi over layers (see NastyGal)
2. Doc Martens: They are versatile and not as outfit-ruining as wellies, yet they are still thick soled so you won’t sink into the ground
3. Fishtails and tousled hair: Take dry shampoo but if that runs out, embrace greasy hair, slick it back with some of your boyfriend’s hair gel and backcomb the ends slightly. If you don’t know how to fishtail, check out the tutorials on youtube.com, they’re really helpful.
4. Playsuits: They are easy to wear and so simple to pack
5. Floppy hat: ASOS has great felt floppy hats (I have one in black). A floppy hat is such a 60s & 70s festival staple – wear them with big round shades
6. Fish net tights/stockings: Pair them with a really pretty lace tea-dress and fur for an edgy festival look

Most importantly – always remember to have a sensibly sized bag to take into the festival site. You might be there all day, and you wouldn’t want to remember in the middle of your fave band that you forgot your disposable camera or lipstick. This year I will be donning my small leather Aztec print rucksack bought in Peru, which I’ll be able to fit everything in. On the plus side, it’ll be on my back and out of the way with a tie and buckle (which will deter anyone from wanting to steal anything!!) If your more into bum-bags, there are tons of lovely ones on eBay, just search for ‘vintage bum bag’.

Don’t forget to make a checklist and I’ll see you at the festival (I’ll be the rowdy one with the pint of Strongbow)!