Here’s an experiment: Stand by the main entrance to the Coachella Arts & Music Festival and tally cowboy boots. In three minutes, there were 33 pairs.
OK, now big, boho belts. Twenty-three in three minutes. If an alien had dropped in for the festival, it might have thought it’d arrived early for Stagecoach.
Rest assured, alien: This is Coachella, where Lana Del Rey, Tyler, The Creator and Doja Cat are headlining and every year delivers an oh-so-interesting capsule of what people are wearing.
And in 2024, the trend seems to be cowgirl, boho, less-is-more (clothing-wise, yes, but also money-wise — more on that later).
“This year is kind of country, but also more stylish,” Abigail Mason, who is attending the festival for the first time this year, said.
We’re not relaying anything revolutionary when we say that Coachella is as much a music festival as it is a catwalk: On TikTok, the hashtag #coachellaoutfit has racked up almost 60,000 posts, and “get ready with me” style videos flood the search results for the music festival itself.
“Fashion does come first,” 30-year-old Dizreal Castillo said. “That’s the first thing we thought of before we came here.”
Castillo wore belted leather pants with Calvin Klein boxers poking out of the top, a yellow cross-body bag, a red bandana, sunglasses and a backward hat. No shirt.
Mason, who attended the festival with Castillo, matched in leather shorts with a silver chain, a pink, studded belt, a top with a tennis graphic and a trucker hat that touted the logo of Castillo’s Santa Monica-based brand, “RAGS.”
“I definitely want to be fly; it’s just part of it,” Mason said. “Everyone’s looking good.”
Mason and Castillo went on to share an unspoken Coachella rule for outfits: Your best outfit is for Friday, a comfortable outfit is for Saturday and your second-best outfit is for Sunday.
Make of that what you will.
No shame in thrifting
Festival-goers agreed that while fashion is a priority, dressing well doesn’t have to be synonymous with expensive.
“I’ve had this T-shirt for the longest time,” Kylie Adegoke said as she looked down at her shirt-turned-dress that read “I (heart symbol) hot DJs.” “Literally, it’s a 3XL shirt. I tucked it into my bandeau, and then I put on, like, a thousand accessories. Cost like 20 bucks.”
Fashion influencer Grace Brinkly, followed by almost 800,000 people, posted her Coachella Day 1 outfit on TikTok this year, declaring that the whole thing was thrifted.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise: Thrifting has long been “in,” with the hashtag “thrifttok” boasting over 230,000 posts on TikTok and thrift hauls often captivating a wider audience than expensive, designer hauls.
Isabella Borden, who attended Day 2 of Weekend 2 in a black bikini top, jean skirt and black boots, also made the case for thrifting, saying that it led to a more unique outfit.
“You don’t have to get the most expensive things,” Mason explained. “Like, you can have one piece that’s expensive, or something that’s standing out, and then just put other things together.”
She went on to explain that one of her least favorite Coachella looks is when people wear head-to-toe designer.
“Gucci is OUT!” she declared.
Comfort? That’s a debate
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The aforementioned cowboy boot count doesn’t mean that everyone magically found a way to rock them with comfort.
Coachella-goer Mads Aguirre wore a knitted white dress, a boho belt, a floral scarf draped around her shoulders, gold jewelry and, of course, cowboy boots. She said she was going for Vanessa Hudgens’ viral bohemian Coachella looks.
Aguirre admitted that on Day 1, she made the mistake of wearing a brand-new pair of boots, which she said hurt her feet. Saturday’s boots were much more broken-in, but no Orthofeet.
“Still kind of uncomfortable, but better than yesterday, and it’s a festival!” Aguirre said. “You need it. Who cares about being comfortable? Oh well.”
As it turns out, there are some who care about being comfortable.
Morag Myerscough, who wore an eccentric, colorful outfit that matched her equally colorful art installation, Dancing in the Sky, said dressing for the heat and the long walks was a top priority.
For the heat, she recommended loose clothing. She wore pink linen pants, a flowy, neon dress top and a rainbow-colored kimono, paired with green circle glasses, a knitted bucket hat and sporty flats by the brand ECCO.
Myerscough explained that being creative with what you’re wearing “on top” leaves flexibility for a comfortable shoe. To her, that translates to a guarantee for a better time.
Rapid fire: Ins and outs
IN: Rockstar streetwear. Jorts. OUT: Airforces and Jordan 1s. – Abigail Mason
IN: Dressing up. Being a different personality. OUT: Dressing lazy or not really trying. – Kylie Adegoke
IN: Chuck Taylor ’70s. OUT: Skinny jeans and graphic tees. – Dizreal Castillo
OUT: Denim shorts. – Josie Brenan
IN: Being super expressive. And a lot of silver. Individual style. OUT: Stringy clothing. – Morag Myerscough
IN: Thrifted pieces. OUT: Anything bought as a set. – Isabella Borden
IN: Be a try-hard. OUT: Being casual. “It’s Coachella. Like come on.” – Mads Aguirre
