The Ultimate Festival Fancy Dress Survival Guide

Festival season is upon us once again so it is time to start preparing your festival fancy dress outfit for some unforgettable weekends spent partying the night away. You should know the basic essentials, but here is a quick run-down of things you will need, all in a handy checklist.

Essential Festival Checklist:

• The most important of all, your ticket!
• Water/beer/cider
• Tent & sleeping equipment i.e. sleeping bag
• Toilet roll
• Wet wipes
• Dry shampoo
• Wellies and waterproof clothing
• Sunglasses & sun protection (just in case you are blessed with good weather)
• Torch
• Camera
• Bin liners
• Deodorant
• Towels
• Brush/comb
• Clean clothes and underwear – pack layers and a hoody.
• First aid kit – Paracetamol, plasters, insect repellent
• Survival extras – lighter/matches, penknife, bottle/wine opener, cooking equipment, cutlery, blanket and food!

If you plan to get some sleep…

Take a pop-up tent, so if you meet some new friends and want to camp with them, you can move house in a matter of minutes. A blow-up mattress will help if you end up camping over tree roots, making anywhere comfy.

Once you are all set up, you may want to make your new living quarters recognisable from the sea of tents that are surrounding it. You may be able to spot it now, but wait until it is the dead of night and when you have had a few too many beers - chances are you will be utterly lost. Make your tent really stand out by topping it with a country or pirate flag.

Fascinating festival fancy dress fashion

With the boring stuff out of the way, let’s look at some fashion accessories and festival fancy dress costumes that you can take with you to help you stand out in the crowd. If you are looking for something a little more practical, then the poncho is right up your street.

Novelty ponchos will not only make you look the part, but they will also allow you to throw some major shapes to some of your favourite acts and will keep the rain out when the heavens open. We recommend the Duck Poncho or the classic Mexican!

It is important to find out if there are any special themes attached to the festival you are heading to. Bestival has a theme each year (such as Animals or Sci-Fi) so be sure to find the perfect fancy dress costumes to fit the festival - this year’s theme is Desert Island Disco. Think of tropical inflatables such as palm trees and sharks that you can wave around in the crowd or beach costume kits.

Festival fancy dress costume kits include everything you need to pull of your look to a T. The Hawaiian or hula accessory kits mean you can team them with your own clothes and festival style – how handy!

If you are going to a dance/electronic heavy festival like Boomtown then embrace the old-school raver look. Get yourself someUV face paint, 90s Scouser tracksuit, a retro T-shirt and some mirrored sunglasses, then add a bum-bag and a backwards baseball cap to finish the look. You could even embrace the 90s vibe with a selection of fancy dress costumes for you and your friends representing 90s music and TV icons.

If your choice of festival is more like Sonisphere, then you have plenty of silly (and therefore awesome) choices, as the rock festivals generally embrace fancy dress costumes in a big way. Superheros & Villains are always a good shout; popular choices include Batman, Superman, He-man, Hellboy and Gru, as well as other recent blockbuster heroes which are making plenty of appearances.

To really get attention from your fellow festival peers, create a storm with a group outfit. Demand attention and start some serious fun by dressing up as Oompa Loompa’s, dwarfs, minions or as a gang of Where’s Wally’s – a sure way to inflict confusion amongst festival goers. Second Skin costumes are quick, easy and cheap, plus you can add the accessories of your choice to make them unique to your group of friends.

If you are heading abroad, perhaps to the excellent looking Sonar Festival in Barcelona, then turn your hipster dial up to eleven and represent your home city in super styléé! Wearing your sharpest novelty sunglasses, sexiest wigs, bushiest beards (fake ones, if necessary), trendiest scarves, fanciest shirts and most elaborate hats. Get to it!

What festival fancy dress will you be choosing this summer?