Welcome to the Gen Z Mood, where I—Who What Wear UK's 27-year-old social media editor—keep you updated with my mood of the month and the most exciting things I’ve spotted on the scroll. I'm always looking for new and thrifty ways to shop trends, and I'm taking you with me.
There’s nothing quite like festival season in the UK. Something about throwing on an overly-optimistic outfit, braving the blisters and watching your favourite artists with a warm beer in hand defrosts my chilly english heart like nothing else.
And, aside from the star-adorned line ups descending on the UKs rugged countryside and the back-to-back hangovers (before you do anything, pack electrolytes), it also brings with it one of my favourite style conundrums: festival dressing. It’s a term flung around a lot, especially as summer starts to roll in. Whether it’s your favourite fashion brand popping up in your inbox telling you these pieces are ‘destined’ for the fields, or a stream of Coachella ‘celebrity-approved’ festival outfits populating your feed from early spring, it’s easy to get overwhelmed from the off.
But if there’s anything years of outfit planning before festivals has taught me, it’s the more you try–the less fun you’ll have! Besides, there’s always bumps in the road (the weather, long queues and glitter will always be there to humble us) so we may as well have a bit of fun along the way. So this year, I’m determined to take a more holistic approach, calculating the trends i’ve spotted on the scroll with some of my favourite all-time references–yes, Kate Moss 2000s Glastonbury wardrobe will be featured here–and items you probably already have in your wardrobe to create moods for each festival aesthetic I’ve seen trending already this summer.
With a little help from my TikTok for you page and a lot of scrolling, keep reading for a thrift-friendly, jam-packed festival edit for every aesthetic.
First, the essentials
Taking notes from 2024’s brat summer, this easy-to-put-together, sporty meets rave uniform feels perfectly primed for festival season. Think vintage track jackets, simple tank tops and techy bags, oh and probably something fuzzy or shiny to keep you warm until the wee hours too.
Straight out of the 2000s Chloé-girl playbook, we've been following the boho resurgence for some time now but something about this nostalgic, '70s-inspired trend feels right at home with festival season. It might feel a little cliché to turn to layered lace and tasseled suede when planning how to dress for a music festival but right now the offering is simply too good to miss. I'll be channeling Sienna Miller's 00s style, with a pair of good walking boots, floaty skirt and a textured vintage jacket.
Whether you're going for a day festival in the city or travelling down for a weekend at the Glastonbury farm when taking on a festival, glitter is inevitable. So, my advice? Embrace it. If you've always wanted to re-create Kate Moss's iconic gold shimmering dress moment (I've found the exact Topshop piece below!) or want to be the disco bell of the ball, this joy-inducing, sparkly aesthetic is the perfect fit for your summer plans.
I'm a firm believer in, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it!' and this is a festival vibe that has seriously stood the test of time. Loved by style favourites Alexa Chung and Daisy Edgar Jones, the wax jacket, pretty dress, welly combo is a British festival mainstay–and not just because of the unpredictable weather. There's something fun about keeping it simple and dressing for your surroundings, frolicking around as you see fit, and keeping your feet dry while you do it! Scroll on for my field-approved picks for summer 2025.
Whether your point of reference is Alexa Chung and Alex Turner, Kate Moss and Pete Doherty or Dua Lipa and Callum Turner, rockstar couples tend to have the coolest approach to festival dressing, maybe because they're the headliner, or more likely too hungover to give it that much thought. You can't go wrong with a casual graphic tee paired with denim cut-offs or these simple silhouettes with hardware details.
