When I went to Coachella for the first time in 2022, I was only 34 but Ifeltancient.
(I now do this every year, as my husband works for the legendary desert music festival.)
(Ironically, he insists on staying anonymous so he can still get press passes.)
Photo: Krists Luhaers/Unsplash
How does one sit down and rest in a dress made of soda cans?
Did the guy in a gimp mask consider the risk of heat stroke?
To make content, it seems, one must dress likeandforcontent.
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Even the less extreme looks feel like theyre plucked from the algorithm.
For help on avoiding a How do you do, fellow kids?
People looked a little touristy, for lack of a better term, Allen says.
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But then the fashion and the show in general really took off when Instagram did.
People started dressing not just for themselves but for the lens of social media.
Enjoy yourselfyoure not going to compete with high schoolers, she continues.
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Youre not going through what theyre going through.
There are festival edit racks, and driving up and down Melrose is like driving down a Coachella-themed mall.
Astudy from 2019found that festivals account for 7.5 million single-use outfits a year.
Coachella elders, meanwhile, are more likely to find their outfits at the thrift store.
Everything in fashion comes back around and the thrift shop is a literal fashion playground, says Douglas.
Last weekend two senior citizens attending the festival for the first time stopped by.
We loved it, Scheideman says.
They seemed to just fit right in and were so unbothered.
Of course, its not just the youthful fits that make Coachella difficult.
Partying in desert temperaturesnot to mention the dust storms that can cause the so-calledCoachella coughgets harder as you age.
Being comfortable was a foremost priority for nearly every Coachella elder I spoke to.
My concerns are less sexy.
People will less likely ask you for drugs if you look like a narc, he says.
Being comfy doesnt always have to be boring.
No matter the era, I have always sworn by Teva flatforms at Coachella, she says.
The older you get, the easier that becomes.
So if your ideal Coachella outfit is a loose linen sack and orthopedic sandals, go with God.
I heard that not giving a shit is coming back into style.
