Charli XCX's Style Is All The Festival Inspo I Need
Brat summer lives on!
I can’t be the only one who’s feeling more and more uninspired by festival style every single year. It feels almost impossible to avoid micro-trends because you often want to feel your cutest and best self in a brand new outfit, which inevitably leads to buying pieces that just end up rotting at the back of your wardrobe never to be worn again. I also think your perception of festival style drastically changes as you get older, long gone are the days of stumbling around Leeds festival in ripped fishnets, platform Dr Martens and a slightly stinky sheepskin coat you bought on the first day (accurate description of me 10 years ago) - comfort becomes the number one priority. You want to somehow achieve that perfect balance of feeling more dressed up than your usual day-to-day self, but without wearing something you’re unsure about. There’s nothing worse than trying out a slightly risqué look at a festival and then spending the whole day readjusting your skirt so your bum cheeks aren’t falling out, or having to unbutton the shorts that didn’t really fit you to begin with but you just thought they were cute, because your post-pint bloat has made them drastically too tight.
I’ve even stopped searching “festival style” into Pinterest anymore because it seems to just constantly churn out the same inspo over and over again. Old Coachella photos of Vanessa Hudgens, or Alexa Chung and Kate Moss at Glastonbury in Topshop mini dresses and Hunter wellies. Even though these will forever be iconic, it seems like we haven’t quite figured out what festival style really means right now because we’re so caught up in this insane trend cycle that’s moving quicker than we can keep up with.
Unless you’re fully off grid, you’ll most likely be aware that for the last 6+ months Charli XCX has been on her worldwide brat tour. Despite being in awe of the whole album and Charli’s undeniably incredible stage presence, the one thing I’ve been obsessing over the most are her outfits.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Every night she comes out in something different and even has multiple changes, yet somehow every single outfit is better than the last. They’re always the perfect mixture of grungy and girly, with just the right amount of naked-ness to make you feel confident. A perfect example is the outfit below, the baby tee over a long sleeve combined with ruffled satin hot pants is juxtaposition perfection.
Charli’s stylist Chris Horan told Vogue that “Charli’s style is now either very boyish and baggy or streamlined and simple; it’s a hoodie and hotpants; amazing jeans and a messed-up T-shirt; it’s effortless, but it’s always from YSL or The Row; that’s the essence.”. He also said that while brainstorming for her tour looks they referenced hundreds of images, majority of which were shots of Chloë Sevigny in the 90’s. So it’s no surprise at all that the looks turned out so cool.
Whenever I see a tour video pop up on my TikTok I instantly find myself manically zooming in to see what she’s wearing, and every time I think to myself - “That’s would be so good for a festival”. It’s gotten to the point where I’ve been saving each outfit as a reference of my own, to go back to when summer properly begins and we can embrace a sheer skirt without being worried the sun will suddenly disappear.
I don’t know about you but after reaching my late twenties I definitely don’t have the same body confidence that I did when going to festivals in my teenage years, so wearing next to nothing doesn’t come quite so easily anymore. So as I mentioned earlier, the main thing I take major inspiration from is that Charli always manages to hit that perfect middle ground between showing enough to feel sexy, but not self conscious. I love all her teeny tiny shorts and how she pairs them with over the knee boots, I find that extra bit of coverage on the leg can make you feel drastically more comfortable when you’ve got something mini on.
This outfit above is another perfect example that’s really stuck in my mind, the worn-in t-shirt combined with the asymmetrical skirt is giving effortless cool girl, and the leather boots really bring it all together.
It’s not just her stage looks either that I’ve been obsessing over, her everyday style has also been giving me tonnes of inspo. I’ve noticed she wears a lot of this skirt shape which I adore and think would be incredibly flattering on everyone! It’s also a piece that could be integrated super easily into your daily or holiday wardrobe so won’t be a one hit wonder. I’m not 100% sure what brand the one above is, but I’ve found two great similar (and affordable) options!
Crinkle Asymmetrical Midi Skirt by Abercrombie & Fitch £34.99 (On Sale!)
Asymmetric Linen Blend Wrap Skirt by Weekday £27 (On Sale too!)
Another trend we can get easily sucked into for festival season is patterns, usually just whatever is viral at that time. I personally try not to buy too many patterned items that aren’t classic variations like stripes, checks or polka dots because I know I’ll end up getting bored of them too quickly. Despite this, I’m not a die hard monochrome girl either and wearing all black at a festival doesn’t feel fun enough for me. So I’ve been really enjoying seeing the way she styles block colours together, because even though it’s fun it doesn’t feel too trend-led.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
(Apologies to her camera man for having to include the video of him stacking it, I couldn’t find another clear shot of this amazing colour combination)
This outfit literally just reminded me that I own the perfect yellow t-shirt and an amazing baby pink ruffled skirt, but never would’ve thought to pair them together! If you’re feeling stuck for festival style inspiration this summer, then I highly recommend deep diving into Charli’s brat tour style for yourself - and don’t forget the wrap around sunnies!