Even though I've lived Chicago for years, I've never been to Lollapalooza. Don't get me wrong, I love live music, especially outdoors. But the idea of Lolla has quite frankly seemed like my worst nightmare come to life. Standing in sweaty crowds listening to bands I've never heard of, or better yet, standing two miles away from the stages of the performers I have. Exiting Grant Park like a herd of cattle. Accidentally slipping into a muddy puddle and being tackled by the "mud people." Would I have loved to have seen Rihanna's surprise performance with Eminem? You bet, but from the comfort of my seat in a music venue. Thanks but no thanks.
However, the one aspect of Lolla that I have adored from afar is the fearless fashion! So this year I decided to take on Grant Park and see it for myself... First and foremost, one of the widest spread trends that I saw were fanny packs. That's right, they are back (at least amongst the Lolla-ites). For guys it was all about tanks, and girls it was crop tops and washboard abs. No big surprises here, as those are both very on trend and appropriate for the August weather.
As a Lolla novice, I was pleasantly surprised to see that literally anything goes when it comes to outfit choices. When I say anything, I mean ANYTHING. Basics, athletic gear, "Rasta" wear, backpacks of every size, shape, and color, sliced and diced graphic tees, underwear as outerwear, any and every kind of hat, Hawaiian shirts, bohemian anything, the list goes on and on. The idea of dressing for such an event can seem intimidating, as you want to look effortlessly cool, which let's be honest, usually takes a lot of pre-planning and effort. But what I realized is that nobody cares one bit what you wear. It's all about the music and having a great time. The excitement was palpable, and the attendees where truly psyched to be there. I was 100% won over by every one's positive energy and carefree attitudes, so much so that I may dip my big toe into the Lolla mud puddle next year.
Who better to survey for the big Lolla trends than the attendees themselves? Here are some of my favorite ladies and gents that I came across!
A huge thank you to all of the awesome guys and gals that let me photograph them. You guys are rockstars!
