Fun Festival Fashion

Hey there peeps I’m back! Did you miss me? Sorry for the extended hiatus, I’ve had quite a few major changes happening lately and I’m just now feeling like I’m getting back into the swing of things. Special thanks to those who took the time to ask if/when I was going to come out with a new post, it means more to me than you could know.

Alright now that the mushy/personal stuff is out of the way, on to more exciting and important fashion focused forethought! As I’m sure all of my Austin, TX readers know this is an incredibly HUGE weekend for music, fashion, and all around good times because The Austin City Limits Music Festival is finally here! I say finally like it didn’t completely sneak up on me. I’m so incredibly bummed that I won’t be attending this year but that won’t stop me for a second from covering all of the fun festival trends that are (luckily for you!) so perfectly trendy right now!

I’d like to start by saying this blog is special because it’s my first giveaway! That’s right; one of you lucky readers could enter up to 3 times to win a piece of Desert Flower Designers pieces of eccentric, handcrafted jewelry! Can you tell I’m pretty stoked? So let’s get down to the nitty gritty; what is Desert Flower Designers? What do they stand for? Why do you care?

One of Erica's pieces I've been sporting recently



My good friend Erica Alcocer has been making handcrafted, cruelty-free jewelry out of all recycled materials (along with her business partner Rylan) under the company name Desert Flower Designers and more than deserves a shout out. The company’s mantra is "To let nature guide us in our creations, to recycle what earth has given us, to use our gift to help others bring balance and harmony into their hearts." Each and every stone they incorporate has its own unique energy and every pressed insect wing, flower, sea shell, or feather used is a way to preserve and immortalize the beauty and grace of those once earth-bound creatures. The energy, creativity, and hard-work they put into their pieces are something to behold - and the added bonus? It’s all incredibly fashionable and affordable with all of their pieces falling in the $20-40 price range. Not only do they produce earthy items featuring beautiful feathers and stones, there are a ton of badass metal pieces, most of which I’m personally drawn to, that integrate everything from Dia de los Muertos-esque skulls to bullets. Every single piece made, no matter how delicate or pretty it may be, is incredibly durable and is designed to last as long as you do rocking out at ACL or wherever the wind takes you.

*Note: Although most of the models in the pictures are women most if not all of their pieces are gender neutral.

 

 



Desert Flower Designers offers everything from head pieces and body wraps to bracelet/hand pieces, earrings, and necklaces while also offering the option of custom made jewelry. Erica will be attending ACL on Friday fully equipped with and ready to sell many of their harmonious pieces and you can find her by following DesertFlowerDesigners on Instagram where she’ll be updating her location and pictures frequently and all day long.

 

3 tiered piece on left hand of model is the giveaway item!

 

If you’d like to win the three-tiered pewter hand piece featured above all you have to do is one or all of three things. 1. Go to the Desert Flower Designers Facebook page and like it (that’s one entry) B. Follow Desert Flower Designers on Instagram (that’s 2!!) and lastly, share the link I post to Facebook for this specific blog post. That’s three separate opportunities for you to enter to win one of Desert Flower Designers pieces that is sure to put the cherry on top of your fabulous festival fashion. The deadline is Saturday October 13^th at 12 pm and I’ll be announcing the lucky winner at 12:30 pm. This giveaway is short and sweet, so get to following, liking, and sharing!

Now that I’ve given credit where credit is due let’s talk about clothing, shoes, and accessories regarding any music festival. Weather is obviously always a factor at any out-door event and I’ve given a few examples for cooler and wetter weather (just in case) for all of the following categories. Another thing you always want to take into account at an outdoor festival is that you don’t want to wear the most expensive or best materials that you own in your wardrobe, however appropriate and festival worthy they may be. YOU WILL GET DIRTY. Whether you like it or not it’s going to happen. Let’s just say it’s a beautiful semi-sunny day at the perfect temperature and there is lush green grass as far as the eye can see in every direction so sweat, dirt/mud, and rain aren’t even factors. There’s still a huge chance someone is going to accidentally spill beer on you or you’ll get food on yourself or any number of scenarios that could ruin/damage your clothing.

 



 

 

That being said let’s start with fun festival fashion tops! As I said before, luckily for you and I, festival fashion is incredibly trendy right now and can be found just about anywhere. A few basics that are always appropriate are bandeau tops (either by themselves or under a chiffon blouse), chiffon shirts, any and every kind of tank-top, anything crocheted, *your classic blue jean button up shirt, any kind of flannel patterned shirt/shirtdress, and a poncho (for cooler/wet weather). All of these can be paired with any of the bottoms I’ll be listing below not to mention over or under a dress.

 

Now for fun festival fashion bottoms, let me just say this is a little tricky. My go to trend for festival fashion bottoms right now, I’m sure you’ve guessed it, are the high-waisted extremely short cut-off shorts. There are a few body types who can really wear these and if you’re not one of them don’t waste your time or money trying to pull them off. Although I think they are incredibly cute and I love the idea, you’ll never catch me in them because I would look just….weird. Alternative are available, however, and look just as not cute if not more cute than a cut/look that doesn’t work for you body type if that may be the case. So, here are a few examples of bottoms one should gravitate towards for an out-door festival. Cut-off shorts (any color, any pattern, go crazy), maxi skirt (one length, hi-low, cotton, chiffon), skinny jeans (any and all patterns/colors), and I’m a huge fan of any type of leather bottom (shorts, skirt, leggings, etc…). The leather bottoms may be a little bit hot for 75 degree and above weather but as you’ll soon find out leather is going to be huge this fall/winter and it’ll be an item you can wear all season.

 



On to my favorite category, dresses! I love, love, love the idea of pairing a sweet, short, flowy, floral dress with biker/combat/bootie boots and would highly recommend it for this type of festival. The combination of hard and soft is really very beautiful and becoming. Having addressed that, basically any pattern is great (although I tend to be attracted to tribal/aboriginal, Native American blanket style, and floral prints regarding music festivals specifically) and the styles you want to look for are maxi, fly away skirts, and anything flowy.



 

 

And now my second favorite category, omg shoes! What’s the secret slime action word Bob? BOOTIES! They are the go to shoe for outdoor festivals and the whole fall/winter season in general. They do have a tendency, just like any shoe that cuts off at the ankle, to make your legs look short so keep that in mind. A few other shoes that I’m really diggin’ for festival wear are rain boots (just in case), oxfords, gladiator sandals, and of course any true hipster must have a pair of TOMS.

 



 

Last but certainly not least are accessories (not including jewelry obviously) and these are must haves! Tights; crazy colors, fish nets, holey tights, ect. Wear them under shorts or dresses and you’ll be looking funky fresh. Hats/Headwear; pretty much anything goes here but a true staple of festival fashion is the wool wide brimmed hat. It will keep the sun and rain out of your eyes and off your neck. Vests: blue jean, studded, different materials all are pretty fun and cute additions to any of the aforementioned items. Bags: probably the most important because you want to make sure you can fit all of your necessities inside while simultaneously feeling free and light. Style wise I’d go with a Native American blanket print or anything with fringe- very festival friendly.

 



I hope this helped and furthermore I hope everyone going to ACL this weekend has a blast! Good luck to all who enter to win, I can’t wait to reveal the lucky person this Saturday. As always know that confidence is key in whatever outfit you choose, and stay tuned for my next post on how to be the office fashionista!