Festival season is upon us. You can tell this as it hasn’t stopped raining for the last week.

This year I probably won’t be attending any festivals, lack of cash, means I can’t afford the increasingly expensive ticket prices of the main festivals, Glastonbury, Reading and V, though there is always the chance I might choose to attend a smaller one at the last minute!

If you are cooler, braver and/or richer than me and ARE attending one or all of the festivals this year then you’ll be planning your capsule wardrobe I’m sure….

Festival fashion has moved on from the days when bin bags taped up to your knees was de rigeur for a rain spattered Glastonbury and photos of Kate Moss and her ilk looking glamorous, yet casual in wellies and hot pants has raised the bar for everyone. But how do you look stylish without a VIP lounge and flushing toilets?

If you’re camping you’ll want to pack light, you’ll have to lug everything you have half way across the site, possibly in mud, so you don’t want a suitcase on wheels! My focus here is on looking stylish, so skimming quickly over your essential easy eating lightweight foods, tents, sleeping bags, bin bags and toilet roll, I would reckon that these are essentials to keep you feeling cool and relatively presentable, regardless of the weather.

• Baby wipes – Lots of them; I once cleaned up 2 very muddy cold miserable friends with a tub of these after they had been photographed rolling in the mud for the cover of the NME. They laughed when they saw I had them on arrival.
• Dry shampoo or talc and a comb – greasy hair feels rank. Keep it tied up or take an alice band
  
• Deodorant- obviously. I’d go with a spray rather than roll on.
• Multi purpose make up – You don’t want much, but who wants to go bare faced? A foundation stick or concealer, mascara and lippy to double up as a blusher is all you need
• Moisturiser - When you wake up feeling awful, in a tent after a night of excess this will help bring back some humanity.

So as long as you are feeling vaguely clean, you’ll want to not look like a total mess. With the British weather you need to be prepared. Long sleeves in light fabrics can be warm in the chill and keep you safe from the sun, if there is any. A pair of flip flops or gladiator sandals are lightweight to stick in a bag in case of sun, and a pair of wellies are an essential must for 6 foot of mud after 3 weeks of rain, they are also easy to slip on for late night toilet trips, ugh.

If anyone has any amazing hints and tips for being the belle of the ball then I’d be delighted to hear them. Every little helps!

Here’s my top 2 festival outfits, one for sunny weather and one for the rain.

If this sun is shining this vintage 1970s Long sleeved floral maxi dress, £19.99 from Retro Chick has splits up the side for a flash of leg and ease of movement and long sleeves for protection from the sun and to keep you warm into the evening.

Skip the fussy accessories and just add a chunky carved bangle from Retro Chick, comfy but funky gladiator sandals £35 from Top Shop, A hippy tooled leather waist belt $48 from Urban Outfitters
Pick a roomy leather satchel bag to carry all your essentials round in. This one is $795 from J Crew but you can pretty much buy identical ones in vintage stores everywhere!

When the rain starts falling we hope it’s not going to last.

This vintage floral shift dress, £14.99 from Retro Chick means if the sun does come out you won’t be stuck sweating in a big heavy jumper, team it with leggings to keep your pins warm, vintage gloves for warm fingers to hold your beer and a pair of funky wellies, these are from Joules Clothing and cost £19.

A hooded trench will shield you from the rain and keep you warm and snuggly for £65 from Top Shop, then the final essential is the bag big enough for your toilet roll and baby wipes, £35 from Top Shop.