Gearing up for Coachella is a perfect mash-up of flossin’ and survival. The annual music mecca in Indio, California, attracts people from all over the world who come to see first-rate talent in the hot, hot, heat of the desert, while also aiming to look their finest. Among the headliners this year are Frank Ocean, Blackpink, Rosalía, Björk, Blondie, Gorillaz, and Bad Bunny, who will perform with dozens of other artists on multiple stages over two weekends in April.
“I start planning my outfits months in advance,” says Sierra Jessup, a 20-year-old college student from Palm Springs. “I usually go for a beachy vibe, but I’m thinking of whipping out some cowboy boots this year for photo ops, then changing into my Converse.”
“Cowboycore” is the hot look for women at this desert affair—a combination of a favorite pair of broken-in cowboy boots matched with the festival’s now-classic “brachella” look: a bikini top offset by faded fringed cutoffs.
For men, the fashion choices are generally less complicated: a tank top paired with a vintage Hawaiian button-down and floral shorts is one perennial look. And this year, a bucket hat is definitely de rigueur.
“Don’t wear pants,” cautions Angel Chavez, a Coachella whisperer, who has built a cottage industry out of Coachella hacks. “You’ll only regret it. Shorts all the way.”
If you’re a VIP and intend to only pose in the beer garden all day, go ahead and wear stilettos. But festival vets know that dancing for three days and nights requires countermeasures and so slip insoles into their Converse high-tops, Doc Martens, or Vans to pamper their dogs while keeping their fashion game high.
At dusk at Coachella, a ritual takes place. As concertgoers gather to watch the desert sunset, a cheer erupts when the moon finally lights up the night. Then, the merrymakers disperse, dressed in the latest earthy finery, to the evening’s festivities.
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