Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Budget

Festival Fashion on a Budget  

Music-Festival-Infographic

If you couldn’t already tell from your Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook feeds, festival season is upon us. This means that said social channels will soon be inundated with flower-crown-wearing, EDM-womping pseudo-hippies as they flock to the nearest festival to pay homage to the music Gods. This ritual is mostly expressed through nonstop partying and impressively dexterous hula hooping.

I can’t wait.

Although I’m reluctant to pigeonhole a segment of my generation, the increasing popularity of music festivals among millennials is undeniable. According to an Eventbrite survey, a staggering one in five millennials attended a music festival in 2014. That was enough for Eventbrite to label music festivals as “one of young Americans’ favorite pastimes.”

Festivals are quite an expensive pastime for a generation as indebted, underemployed and underpaid as we are. Between the ticket, travel expenses, food and water, party supplies and dressing the part, you’re down anywhere from $500 to $1500 when you commit to a festival.

In the name of student loan debt and stagnating wages, I’ve decided to put my crafting skills and inner flower child to good use. Here are some DIY fashion tips to save you a few cherished bucks this festival season. Because we know that it costs a lot of money to look that free-spirited.

1. DIY Jewelry – $10

Why spend money on delicate little finger rings that you’re inevitably going to lose when you’re flailing around in a Foo Fighters mosh pit?

Rock the bejeweled look at a fraction of the price by making your own jewelry. Head to your closest craft store and buy a roll of bendable craft wire, pliers and a pair of wire cutters. After a few hours of practice,  you’ve basically set up our own jewelry shop with an unlimited amount of rings in unlimited styles. For a DIY tutorial, click here.

And remember, when all else fails, flash tats.

2. DIY Jean Shorts – $2 to $5

The coveted Levi Strauss high-waisted jean short: some love it, some hate it, some write angry opinion-style blogs about how horrible they make your butt look. Whatever your stance on them, they’ve grown to be a music festival staple. Instead of dropping $50 on a pair at your favorite store, keep your cash and buy a pair from the thrift store instead. Follow these five steps to complete the transformation from frumpy thrift store mom pants to your go-to festival outfit you don’t have to feel guilty about.

shorts-graphic1

     1. Layer a pair of your favorite shorts over the thrift store pair to get an idea of where to begin cutting.

     2. Measure the inseam of the model pair and add a few inches to that to leave room for error. Mark the length with fabric chalk on the inseam of the thrift store pair.

     3. Make a small cut in both layers of the thrift store pair.

     4. After making the initial cut, adjust your scissors so you’re only cutting the top layer of the shorts. Continue cutting at a slight upwards curve and stop when you get to the hip seam. For the back of the shorts, cut at slight downwards curve until you match up with the inseam.

     5. Try on the shorts and make alterations accordingly. Once you’ve got the length right, add any embellishments you want!

3. DIY Hair Chalk – $12

Urban Outfitters, eager to jump on any “bohemian” trend, once sold what they dubbed, “festival hair chalk” for a whopping $30. Don’t let the visual appeal of a conveniently pre-packaged festival kit fool you; “festival hair chalk” is simply soft art pastels with clever marketing and a hefty price tag. You can get these for half the price at your local craft store.

Simply pick the color of chalk that you want and brush it onto the ends of your hair. For a more dramatic effect, wet the pastel before applying the color to your hair (stay away from water if you’re blonde: it can dye your hair! Unless you’re okay with that). Keep in mind that this is a bit time consuming—it took me around 45 minutes to do my ends. After one shower, all the color washed out of my hair completely.

3. DIY Flower Crowns – $10

They basically won’t admit you unless you’re armed with some form of floral headpiece. Using woven floral wire, thin floral wire, floral tape, wire cutters and the silk flowers of your choice, you can create up to ten custom made, festival-ready flower crowns for only $10. For a step-by-step tutorial, click here.

Are you going to any music festivals this year? How do you plan on saving a quick buck? Let us know in the comments below or check out our Facebook page.

12 Comments

You May Also Like

economy

In the early 2000s, I remember watching a game show, and the grand prize was a million dollars. I thought to myself, “Wow, that’s...

economy

When starting college and choosing a major, it’s important to know which college degrees will make you the most money. Since last year’s quarantine,...

2016 president election

In a political climate dominated by a two-party system, Libertarians are constantly confused as off-brand Republicans. Although the two groups sometimes align on issues,...

Business

What is the gap between culture and technology? According to Damas, entertainers have passions that brands and companies may not be aware of, and...

Copyright © 2020-2021 GenBiz. GenBiz is owned and operated by owned by the Foundation for American Content and Entertainment, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.