I know that this a fashion blog and I should be telling you how to look fabulous at Warped Tour, but the fact of the matter is that Warped is simply not the time or place for your best outfit. It’s far more important to be comfortable. Standing on your feet in the hot sun all day can be brutal even if you are properly dressed. Here are some practical tips on how to dress for Warped Tour:

Footwear

• DO wear sneakers like Converse or Vans, preferably a beat-up pair.
• DO wear socks because your feet will be sweating.
• DON’T wear heels, you are going to be on your feet all day and you will inevitably regret this.
• DON’T wear flip flops, it’s too easy to lose them.
• DON’T wear boots, they’ll make your feet sweaty.  Plus I never wear my combat boots to shows because I love them and don’t want them getting beat up!

Tops

• DO wear light colors.
• DO wear something loose.
• DO wear a t-shirt, tank top, or other cotton top.
• DON’T wear tube tops, it’s too easy for them to fall down.
• DON’T wear a polyester blouse, it doesn’t breathe.

Bottoms

• DO wear shorts.  You’ve got lots of options here from denim cutoffs to tie-waist styles.
• DO wear bike shorts underneath if you choose to wear a skirt.  Personally I would feel overdressed in a skirt since Warped is very casual, but I do think it’s possible to be comfortable in a flowy skirt.
• DON’T wear jeans or other pants.  About the only pair of pants that won’t make you sweat are wide leg linen trousers.

Etc.

• DO keep your hair off your neck.  Ponytails and buns are easy options while side braids or braided pigtails may be more stylish.
• DON’T wear any valuable jewelry.  Personally I would not wear any jewelry at all.
• DON’T wear anything that gets in the way of you having fun! If you’re afraid to get to close to the stage because you don’t want a crowdsurfer kicking their dirty feet on your brand new straw fedora, you shouldn’t wear it.

I’m gearing up to go to Warped Tour tomorrow, so I thought I’d share some tips on what you should pack.

A tote bag or backpack
Some people go bag-less but if you plan on bringing food or buying any merch, it’s good to have a bag. A cheap tote will do, though I prefer a zippered tote so that you can swing it around without anything falling out. A lot of kids bring backpacks as they are much easier to mosh with! Definitely don’t bring your fancy leather purse.

Plastic bags for your electronics
On my first Warped Tour, I put my digital camera in my bag next to my water bottle…Big mistake! The perspiration from the water bottle got on the camera and it was ruined. So put all of your electronics in ziplock bags. Double bag it to be safer.

An empty or unopened water bottle
No matter what the venue rules are normally, Warped Tour will make sure that you can bring in an empty or unopened water bottle. They don’t want you to die. And I’m not being overdramatic here, people really have died of dehydration at Warped Tour so please do not be that person — keep hydrated! There are free water fill-up stations, but the lines can be long so I recommend you stop by a gas station on your way and pick up a full disposable water bottle. Just make sure you don’t open it! The venues don’t want you bringing in alcohol so they won’t allow any open beverage. A lot of venues will open it and toss the cap so bring an extra cap if you can.

A sandwich
As with water bottles, normal venue rules don’t apply here. You can’t bring a cooler or a giant stash (I’ve seen boxes of cheese-itz get trashed), but you shouldn’t have any problem with a sandwich and a piece of fruit. Bringing food saves you money and saves you time spent waiting in lines.

Sunscreen
It’s not absolutely necessary to bring it with you, but you definitely want to cover yourself in sunblock.

Toilet paper
I’d seen this tip floating around the internet for a long time and I never needed it until recently, it all depends on the venue. But you don’t want to find yourself in a porta-potty with no toilet paper so play it safe on this one. Stash some tissue or toilet paper into your bag.

An eyeglass case
This is only if you wear glasses, of course. I’m always nervous about breaking my glasses at shows, but if you can put them in a hard case in your bag then you know they’re safe.

Cash
This should be pretty obvious, but be sure to bring some money to buy merch, food and water. Some bands will accept credit cards, but everyone takes cash!

That’s all that I plan on bringing. Leave a comment if you have any other tips you’d like to share.

This is part two of my Warped Tour fashion series. View all posts from Warped Tour.

disclaimer: these are just my personal opinions, feel free to leave your own in the comments

The Best: Ash Costello

I remember hearing about New Years Day years ago, and I actually didn’t even realize they were still a band until I saw them on the lineup for this years Warped Tour, so it was a nice surprise to see lead singer Ash Costello wearing lots of cute stuff (they were only on the tour for two weeks and are gone now). I love oxford shoes, and perhaps I’m biased towards this outfit because I almost bought her exact pair at H&M and didn’t only because they’re too much like a pair I already have. While I prefer lace-topped thigh highs as far a lingerie goes, her all-black pair look much more casual and less “trying too hard to be sexy” (like a certain someone on Warped). The studded shorts are cute, and although I would feel way too naked wearing that bodysuit with just a bra under it, it does look good on her. The black on black looks much better than when she wore that same black bra under a white lace bodysuit. Overall, cute outfit.

view the post about this outfit with links to buy her shorts and bodysuit

The Worst: Juliet Simms

Juliet’s fashion is very hit or miss for me. A lot of times I think the individual pieces are tacky, but with the way she puts them together with piles of jewelry I end up liking it. But if anything could end up saving her mom shorts, it’s definitely not a crop top. I do like some high-waisted shorts, like the ones with a wide waistband two or three buttons stacked on top of the zipper instead of a fly the size of Texas. But these are literal 80′s/90′s mom jeans with no updating, and the crop top just makes it worse. I get that crop tops and retro denim shorts are “in” right now, but these are bad, bad trends that need to stop. It’s not really figure-flattering on anyone, and it’s just not attractive. Sorry Juilet, wear more outfits like this one please.

Lots of bands on Warped sell rubber bracelets for $5 with words on them like a song title, album title, or just the band’s name. And while it seems really egotistical to me, it’s actually quite common for band members to wear their own bracelets. Charities such as the breast cancer organization Keep-A-Breast also sell wristbands to raise money — Tay Jardine owns one of their “I Heart Boobies” bracelets. Of course there’s always the option of buying bracelets from Jac Vanek, who has a booth at Warped Tour, if you want to spend twice as much and have your money support a groupie rather than a charity or a band.

On Tour

Tay Jardine, Sierra Kusterbeck, and Ash Costello wearing their own bands' wristbands at Warped Tour 2010

• Tay Jardine wears We Are The In Crowd’s ‘Guaranteed to Disagree’ bracelet
• Sierra Kusterbeck wears VersaEmerge’s ‘Versa Vulture’ bracelet
• Ash Costello wears New Years Day’s ‘Let’s Get Dead’ bracelet

Online

You can buy band wristbands from Hot Topic, District Lines, Fueled by Ramen, or individual merch stores. The “I Heart Boobies” bracelets are available at Loser Kids. Jac Vanek has her own webstore.