What to Pack to Coachella- a guide to be prepared and chic to the biggest music and fashion festival!
Yes!
I finally am out of the broke-college-student situation and can finally spend the $$ on going to Coachella without starving myself
from shopping and food for months. I am beyond excited and have been reading on Coachella survival tips for months now. This post is a combination of the packing
tips that I have gathered with some added notes on my personal preferences.
A festival like Coachella is always tricky since you’d want
to always look chic and fashion forward while drenching in sweats from the 95+
degree and all the dancing, walking, stumbling activities. I don’t know about you but I would want to
actually enjoy the festival instead of always worrying about what I’m wearing
all the time. The items I packed with me are (in my opinion) the mecca of
comfort and chic boho style: light weight, loose, and colorful.
This post will be more of a pre-Coachella guideline of what
to pack with you. I will be posting outfits pics up along with survival tips when I come back from the valley .
Necessities (besides from the obvious)
·
Skin
o
Sunscreen: Face and Body
o
Aloe- to apply at night when you’re back to your
tent/hotel room
o
Chap stick with SPF please!
·
Ear Plug-
Take care of your hearings so you can still enjoy music in your 60s
·
Sun glasses
o
Bring 2 pairs in case you lost one. Buy some cheap (but cute!)
sunglasses and bring a back up pair as you are likely to lose at least one
pair. Don't bring your good sunglasses (anything that you love dearly and
treasure) You’ll probably lose them dancing, drinking, running, sleeping,
stumbling, etc.
·
Dust mask & clear goggles
o
I was advised that the dust storm in the dessert
after 8pm is nuts. So unless you want dust all over your face, and in your
eyes, nose, and lungs, bring something to cover your face up when night falls.
o
I am bringing thin scarves (picture above) to
wear as accessories during the day and to use as cover up for my face at night.
I’m also bringing eye drops and a small nasal wash jic
·
Sanitizer and tissue-
for the ladies after the Porta-Potties that are overcrowded and
under-tissue-staffed
·
Watch
o
Bring a watch. Your phone will die. You don’t
want to miss a show because your phone dies. You don’t want to be lost and not
know what time it is. Period.
·
Extra battery pack for phone
– Just in case you forgot your watch or Instagrammed too much throughout the
day ( Mine is a Marc by Marc Jacobs Boost Case with cute little frenchie on the
back)
·
Bandaid-
in case who knows, you were running to get to the next show, trip on someone’s
napping legs and fall down. Totally legit scenario.
·
Flashlight-
in case you drop your phone, shuttle passes, watch, ear plugs, etc at night
·
A basic toolkit
of some sort- mine is a Victorinox SwissCard with a scissor, tweezer and some
other stuff that I don’t know how to use (can buy here).
NOTE: that I took out the knife here and left it at home. They confiscate
“weapons”.
Now on to a more fashion related note...
·
A bag
o
Fringe crossbody – Big enough to carry all the
items noted above, small enough to not break your shoulder. You’ll be carrying
this for 3 days more than 10 hours/day ( if you forgot to get a locker like
me). Made out of cool looking suede is a plus.
o
Backpack – I would wear one if I had found one
in suede with fringe
o
On the same note with the sunglasses, or
anything else you’ll bring/wear. DON’T bring a bag that’s expensive, you care
about, or is easily ruined. Imagine if it rains or someone spills
something on you, and the leather is ruined, then the strap breaks and fail on
you. NO FUN. Totally legit scenario.
·
Tops – The different
choices and what I’m brining
o
Crop tops- Fun, flowy ones that are comfy to
wear all day for all types of activities. I brought 5 with me, in case an
outfit change is needed or what not. Ya know.
o
Bikinis tops – essentially at a place like
Coachella, you can just wear this as your top. I prefer wearing cute tops over
my bikinis, so I’ve gathered some of my favorite, bikini tops. I pair them with
each of the tops I brought to make sure they look good under the tops.
·
Bottoms
o
Shorts – lightweight fabric in floral and bright
colors are what I’m bringing. I made the conscious decision to not bring denim
or anything like that since it can get uncomfortable (tight?), is a pain when
it gets wet, and takes up space in my crossbody if I’m packing it as a backup
for the day or after I change out of it. Lightweight is the name of the game.
o
Flowy skirts- Normally I wouldn’t suggest this
since it’ll become a pain if there’s wind (and it will be windy), mud, or any
of the weather related kind. However, I’m bringing one this weekend (seen here). We’ll
see how it goes.
o
Bikini bottoms- same with bikini tops. You have
the choice to wear it around festival ground or under your shorts/shirts.
·
Outerwear-
I’ve heard it gets cold after the sun goes down. I’m cold nature so I’m brining
a light sweater jic. Will report back on whether or not I actually need it this
weekend.
·
Footwear –
I was told you have 2 choices when it comes to footwear at Coachella: 1. Hot
feet that might smell or 2. Dirty feet that might get crashed or broken. I went
with the former. Given that it’s highly unlikely to rain, I’m bringing an old
pair of Converse & an old pair of Toms. No feelings hurt if these were to
be ruined. In the case of possible rain, I would consider Crocs or my rainshoes
(mine is from Native- seen here:
Day 5 bike riding pics). There will be A LOT of walking so make your decisions
wisely.
·
Socks- extra pairs
encouraged. It will smell/ get really wet so bring plastic bags for these
babies’ trip home.
·
Headwear-
Big floppy hat or caps (if you’re going with a more sporty style)
·
Jewelery-
Cheap, lightweight ones will sufficiently do the accessorizing job. You don’t
care if they go missing. You won’t enjoy the smell of burnt metal mixed with
hot sweat on your neck/arms. So accessorize wisely. Again, I’m more about enjoy
the music and friends than dressing too much just for the camera.
Last but not least, bring your positive energy and enjoy the
festival. Make memories and great new friends.
I’ll see you on the other side my friends. Check back with
me for my Coachella outfit post.
Thanks for reading,
Marnie Thao,
Post Coachella addition:
- It is COLD at night. So I reccomend getting a locker and put your sweater, leggings, whatever your cold gear are, there. You can change or put these on top when it gets cold. The cold was ok when we were dancing but were unbearbale especially when our group had to wait for the shuttle for 3 hours. Not fun.
- There was a bad Dust Storm all day Saturday. We brought these medical masks and was able to enjoy the whole day without sand in our throats. Bandanas work too but they only block the dust and dirt, not the smoke. For those of you who are limited in height, non-smokers, or have respiratory problems, I highly reccomend the medical mask since it gets really hard to breath with all the smoke trapped in the tent (espcially Sahara). You can decorate your mask however you want if you'd like too! We didn't have clear goggles with us, but if we did it woudlve been better. All our eyes were red and full of sand until the next morning.
- Porta-Potties are really not that bad. Just make sure to bring hand sanitizer
- The Do Lab is a BLAST! Make sure to go there.
- The food is not that bad either. Explore! There are many vegan and gourmet options too!
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