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Wilderness 2017 – What to Wear to a Festival

The Saturday Spectacle Wilderness festival

Wilderness 2017 – What to Wear to a Festival

Where? Wilderness Festival 2017.

Exactly? Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire.

Why? As you know I’m a huge lover of music festivals, so I was very excited to be invited to Wilderness Festival by Sorel Footwear last week. Festivals are such a great excuse to get dressed up in the craziest, shiniest, most bonkers outfits you can put together. So with a little help from Sorel and PrettyLittleThing.com ‘s festival shop I had a lot of fun creating my wardrobe for this trip!

This is a sponsored post :)

Bonnie rakhit style traveller wilderness festival street style

Above Bonnie wears full outfit from PrettyLittleThing.com and wellies by Sorel.

About Wilderness

It seems like every year the list of UK festivals just gets bigger and bigger. So it has become increasingly difficult to decide which one to go to.

I’m a fan of the smaller, less commercial, let’s call them ’boutique’ festivals. There’s so much more going on at these types of events, from lectures and forums, arts, comedy clubs, dance lessons to life drawing classes, fire juggling, random yoga sessions, healing fields for massages, the list goes on and it’s probably happening in a field near you.

what to wear to a festival bonnie rakhit streetstyle

Bonnie wears green jumpsuitmetallic coat and sunglasses all from PrettyLittleThing Festival shop & boots by Sorel.

I’ve been to Wilderness a couple of years running now and it is definitely one of my favourites. Basically the smaller the festival the nicer the crowd, the more people are smiling and wearing silly (but very cool) outfits and the mood is generally a lot happier than at other huge commercial festivals I’ve been to in the past, which can be so vast, inconspicuous, dirty and tiring to get around.

At Wilderness there are kids playing in the fields, people sharing dinner together at posh banqueting tables and the most important factor… the toilets are really clean!

bonnie rakhit what to wear to a festival

What to wear to a festival

Each year the rules of festival dressing just get crazier and crazier, for years it has been about generic fancy dress but in the past couple of seasons, as the festival goer has up’d their game, so has the high street, with stores and online retailers introducing whole new ranges of clothing specifically for the festival season. As festival-ing becomes more of a commercial and popular pass time, so do its sartorial rules.

The key essential items tend to be shorts, swimsuits, playsuits, jumpsuits, macs and anoraks. And the same pieces apply for boys too it seems! at least it does by day 2 of the festival once people have got into the swing of things. Bright bold colours are key and texture and pattern are all encompassing. As long as the pieces are metallic, sequinned, reflective, spangly and vibrant you’re on trend.

This year I spotted a lot of circus/animal themed outfits, woodland elfs and nymphs, angelic characters and lots of people with battery-pack-powered fairy lights attached to their bodies! If it would look fine on the set of Game of Thrones, you’ll fit in on this field in Oxfordshire. Make sure you take plenty of crazy accessories too from wacky sunglasses, feather and flower headdresses, scarves and glittery face make up. The rules are, to hell with the rules. Go wild in the wild!!

bonnie rakhit what to wear to a festival pretty little thing

Bonnie wears green jumpsuitmetallic coat and sunglasses all from PrettyLittleThing Festival shop & boots by Sorel.

bonnie rakhit what to wear to a festival plt

Where to Stay

We stayed in boutique camping, which I highly recommend if you’re not a fan of roughing it. It gets booked up super quickly so it’s worth booking your accommodation at the same time as your ticket. Boutique glamping comes in a variety of house types and styles, from luxury tipis and yurts, to gypsy caravans and airstreams and more.

This season we opted for a luxury woodland yurt, pictured below, which comes with a locked wooden front door, beds with mattresses and duvets, plug point and in room lights, dressing tables, towels and a festival essentials kit including snacks, torches and tooth brushes! It’s a world away from old school festival camping.

boutique camping wilderness yurt

My wardrobe area neatly packed in daily outfit order. It didn’t look so neat by the end of the trip!

boutique camping wilderness yurt wardrobe

Wilderness 2017 The Lake

Festival goers chilling out on the banks of the lake in the glorious Oxfordshire sunshine.

festival playsuit Bonnie Rakhit pretty little thing

Bonnie wears sequin playsuit, metallic coat and sunglasses all from Pretty Little Thing Festival shop and boots by Sorel.

festival playsuit Bonnie Rakhit pretty little thing feather headress
festival playsuit Bonnie Rakhit veuve clicquot WildernessVC

Saturday afternoon activities include a quick stop off at the Veuve Clicquot tent for a bottle or two of champers! :)

festival Bonnie Rakhit veuve clicquot WildernessVC

Two Door Cinema Club The Main Stage

Two Door Cinema Club performing on the main stage of Wilderness.

Wilderness 2017 love hotel

Followed by naughty antics and great eclectic tunes at the Love Hotel sounds stage.

Bonnie Rakhit Ella Catliff petersham nursery

Food and Drink

I have to say that the food and drink offering at Wilderness is exceptional. On Saturday and Sunday we were booked in to the banqueting table lunches. Saturday with chef Nuno Mendes cooking up some spectacular meat dishes and on Sunday we were hosted by the lovely Petersham Nurseries. Above me and fellow blogger and friend Ella Catliff enjoy a pre lunch tipple!

summer berry pudding petersham nursery

Above: Summer fruit dessert to share

Below: Charlie and I waiting to tuck into the mini crab donut canapes at Nuno Mendes’ feast.

Charlie Van den berg Bonnie rakhit nuno mendes wilderness

The beautifully transcribed menu at Petersham Nursery.

petersham nursery wilderness festival

afternoon tea bonnie rakhit wilderness

Fancy a cuppa? The brew bus serves all manor of world and herbal teas, with homemade cakes and treats of course! Much needed come Sunday.

Bonnie wear Pink ruffle swimsuit, metallic coat and sunglasses all from Pretty Little Thing Festival Shop, shorts by Levis and boots by Sorel.

what to wear to wilderness

bonnie Rakhit healing fields wilderness

Going for a swing in the healing fields.

wilderness fashion street style bonnie rakhit Charlie van den berg

By day two Charlie and I are sharing wardrobes! (I still haven’t got my orange coat back!!)

hot tub at wilderness festival

Time for some hot tub action by the lakes.

hot tub at wilderness festival night

Below: the legendary Grace Jones closes the festival with her mesmerising set on Sunday night.

Grace Jones The Main Stage with BBC Music

Bye Bye from Wilderness, thanks so much to Sorel and Pretty Little Thing for making me feel perfectly outfitted for the trip.

Bon Voyage xx

what to wear to a festival bonnie rakhit streetstyle wilderness

 

17 Discussions on
“Wilderness 2017 – What to Wear to a Festival”
  • Loving all the outfits! So much fun. It’s been years since I attended my last music festival. Not sure if I’m still up for it lol but wow it’s a blast.

  • I am not sure if I can strut that kinds of outfit you posted here, but I am sure that all those fits you so well! So stylish and trendy for a woman of today.

  • Great outfits here and very different to the traditional festival gear. I too love smaller boutique style festivals as you get way more for your money. Would love to try clamping sometime.

  • Your outfits are literally “Shine darling, that’s all.” I loved them, they look great on you, and the way you wear them with an attitude. I’ve never been to any music festival so I can’t be the judge but Wilderness festival looks tempting!
    B, xx | http://www.queenbsdiary.com/

  • I’ve only ever been to one festival and I certainly didn’t look this good over the weekend. I lived in my black band t shirts, shorts and my dr martens with my hair tightly plated! I’ll keep this post in mind for the next time I go to one though.

  • Love your pics and how who have styled those outfits! Th e sequined Jumpsuits are fab and is perfect for music festivals! You look stunning.

  • Oh wow! The Wilderness Festival looks amazing! I love the yurts, so much nicer than the traditional festival camping. Your outfits are amazing too, especially the first one. Sequinned short playsuits are perfect for festivals.

  • Omg Your style is very inpsiring. I love how comfortable you are in your skin. Took me way too many years to learn that! XO Via Bella Blog

  • Wow. You are living the life which I want to live once. But brutal honest truth is I can’t afford all of it. But I am glad you are enjoying all of these. If I ever visit, I will surely look out for you and take a help from you or take page from your book.

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