What to Wear (and Not to Wear) to Outside Lands!

Outside Lands Festival is back in just a couple of weeks and your friends at Broke-Ass Stuart are here to help you get ready for the big weekend with everything you should wear, not wear, and pack along with you for a hassle-free event!

Photo by Marlene Sanchez

Coming up on August 11-13, 2023, Outside Lands is a 3-Day Festival featuring music, food, wine, beer, art, and cannabis. It highlights everything the Bay Area is famous for, and is held on very unique terrain in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

Photo by Alive Coverage

Speaking of terrain, whether you’re coming in from out of town or you’re a first timer to Outside Lands, there’s definitely some need to know info regarding how to dress for a weekend among the hiking trails, polo fields, and redwood trees of the City’s largest outdoor space, so let’s break down what to wear to Outside Lands:

Don’t forget to grab a picture with the Park Rangers! Author’s own photo

Advice for Groups: stick to a theme, color coordinate, or have fun with altar egos!

Outside Lands is notorious for large groups arriving together in coordinated looks and is a great opportunity to take advantage of a themed squad aesthetic. Famous annual local costumed events like Bay to Breakers also inspire a lot of creative clusters of festival goers to arrive in character-inspired looks, like in the photo below.

Photo by Alive Coverage

Don’t want to lose your friends? Utilize color coordination!

Golden Gate Park is both broad and vast, so if you attend as a group, I cannot stress how much easier a simple wardrobe theme can make it to keep track of each other. Unlike a lot of other festival spaces, there are a good amount of hills scattered among the grounds. You can use them as lookout points to see across the polo fields if you need to rejoin forces with your friends.

Photo by Alive Coverage

Whether it’s choosing a specific color theme like in the photo below, or everyone wearing a different head to toe rainbow color like in the initial photo of this article, the brighter a color palette you choose, the better chances you have of being seen from great distances – in the daylight at least! So consider that when thinking about what to wear to Outside Lands.

At night, it’s a really good idea to think: Disneyland and bring along some sort of LED headband, necklace, or glow stick necklaces/bracelets to keep the group together in the dark. Pro tip: toggle the setting to “flashing” whenever folks are trying to find you!

Photo by Alive Coverage

Please keep in mind that glow sticks are NOT allowed at the festival but glow “jewelry” is still ok. Check out the event info page right here to scope out all the items you’re allowed, and most importantly not allowed to wear and bring with you.

Furthermore, everyone wearing the same bright color, or picking a single head to toe rainbow color to wear is a very budget friendly option. Most folks have an outfit that’s all one color in their wardrobe, or, y’all could easily thrift or borrow from a friend to pull it off.

Author’s own photo

Outerwear that double duties

Think about this when pondering what to wear to Outside Lands: it’s very possible to experience all four seasons in one day. Therefore, a brightly colored, neon, furry, or textured coat not only keeps you highly visible, but also gives you something you can sit on in a pinch. It gets pretty cold and windy at nighttime, so a medium weight jacket is a must whether it’s denim, faux leather, flannel, faux fur, or puffer.

Key tip: Put the lining side on the ground so you don’t accidentally stain the outside of your coat!

Photo by Alive Coverage

There’s always the merch booths if you need something in a pinch like long sleeve shirts, hoodies, and commemorative throw blankets. I often see festival goers shrouded beneath them like the Great Cornholio as the day turns into night and the wind chill picks up. You can easily avoid this costly outerwear error by renting an onsite locker to stash all your stuff in!

OSL happens in the middle of Fogust, so you can also come prepared with some BAS Fogust gear.

You can also stash leggings, a change of clothes or shoes, light up stuff for after dark fun, hats, and other valuables in your locker. Splitting the cost by sharing with a friend makes the rental price more affordable, and an entire day spent in the park a lot more manageable.

Wear durable shoes!

I will say it again: Wear. Durable. Shoes. And not just your favorite pair of Converse: combat boots, hiking shoes, all-terrain running shoes with treaded soles, Timberlands, and other thick soled boots are your best bet on the varied turfs of Outside Lands Festival.

Expect to find lawns, redwood mulch pathways, dirt/dust, mud, (near the port-a-potties esp – gross!) grass, bushes, trees, wildflowers, and other assorted vegetation; plus walking both up and down hill, several times a day as you zig zag from stage to stage.

Allergy alert: if you’re sensitive to things that grow, you may want to pop a Claritin each day.

Author’s own photo

Keep your shoulders and lower legs covered!

Like I stated above, prepare for a lot of standing in the sun and hiking around in the dirt all day long! To compensate for all the dust, weeds, random brush, and other contact with the elements, be sure to wear pants, tall socks, tights, leggings, etc. Draping your coat over your shoulders like I did in the photo above will help to prevent sunburn. If that’s not your style, you can always roll your garment and throw it over your neck like a beach towel, which is better than nothing.

Wear a wide brimmed hat!

When considering what to wear to Outside Lands, a wide brimmed, foldable, or drawstring style hat is always your best bet at an outdoor music festival for the 360 degree coverage they provide. No matter what style you choose, a lot of time will be spent in the direct sunlight, especially on the polo fields, so plan accordingly. Also don’t forget your sunglasses!

Shady Behavior: Sabrina serving Wednesday Addams in VIP. Photo courtesy of Sabrina Raphael via Jarisse Moore

Bring a cross body bag you can strap and snap things onto:

The bag policy is pretty strict and doesn’t allow drawstring backpacks. Therefore all bags have to be small purse size, or clear, so plan accordingly if you want to bring along a beach towel or throw blanket to sit on. Refer to the festival FAQs for exact rules and and bag dimension allowances. If you’re into body harnesses, they’re also a great solution to attach, strap, clip, or toggle things onto so you’re hands free all day.

Photo by Alive Coverage

Now that you know what to wear to Outside Lands, we can’t wait to see what everyone wears this year! Don’t forget to tag #CityStyleOutsideLands with your best festival looks throughout the weekend, and your friends here at Broke-Ass Stuart hope you all have a safe, fun, and stylish time at Outside Lands 2023!