Festival fashion: boys

The male must-wears for 2009

United Kingdom | 21 April 2009

For boys, looking stylish at your festival of choice can be a tricky conundrum. Not only are the elements so often against you (and let’s face it, nobody looks particularly cool in a pair of crusty old wellies, greasy hair and an orange poncho), but combining practicality with designer chic can be a thankless task.

Occasionally, the festival itself dictates your dress sense. Bestival, with its 2009: A Space Oddity fancy dress theme makes the decision of what to wear easy for you, whereas that decade old black Iron Maiden tee will still go down a treat at Download.

For the rest of us, it’s difficult to remain trendy in the festival field. However, with MGMT set to dominate the festivals again and the likes of Florence and the Machine, Empire of the Sun, Late of the Pier and Klaxons all set to play prominent roles, the main thing to remember when picking your festival wardrobe is: make it colourful.

When both Topman and H&M launch their summer range this spring it’s going to be a cacophony of colour and, weather permitting, the festival trends are sure to follow suit.

So by and large, black and white are a no-no this season while anything coloured with a bit of character - think pinks, yellows, greens, reds and blues - are set to be all the rage. Topman are even selling luminous red, yellow, blue and pink trousers which, it must be said, look far better than they sound. (Topman £20-£30).

In particular, anything with a larger than usual V-neck is sure to be in, whether it be jumpers, cardigans, shirts or t-shirts (and we do mean the larger the better). Pick eccentrically highlighted t-shirts to go with the cardigans but make them a classier take on nu-rave prints, this purple number crosses acid house with printed motifs nicely (Topman, £14).

And don’t forget your accessories. It may sound obvious to say take your sunglasses, but make sure they’re big and the rim is striking. Scarves and neckerchiefs are also going to be popular, especially if they are skinny, not too overbearing and decoratively tinted. But please note – under no circumstances roll up with glowsticks and UV paint. That was so last year. For the affluent a pair of Carrera sunnies should do the trick (ASOS.com, £80), elsewhere Primark will have some Ray Ban look-alikes for around £1.

If that all seems a little bit too far out and hip for you, or you just don’t fancy looking like a walking bag of Skittles, then all is not lost. A more conservative, but no less stylish repertoire will be en vogue come the summertime thanks to the re-emergence of an old favourite – the blazer. Following Vampire Weekend’s preppy stamp on the scene last year they are best worn with the sleeve rolled up, over button down polo t-shirts and tailored trousers, that is if we’re not forced into wellies and ponchos again. This blazer and similar jackets are available from River Island for around £50-£80.

Comments

Related Events