What to Wear to Folsom Street Fair

Now that Burning Man has come to its epic conclusion, it’s time for San Francisco to pivot and shift its focus to our next annual outdoor event. But the question for many first timers is what to wear to Folsom Street Fair?

Late September is traditionally the time for Folsom Street Fair to take over the SoMa district in San Francisco. Whether you’re a first timer, or a seasoned veteran of the largest outdoor leather fair in the world, we here at Broke-Ass Stuart want to help you figure out what to wear. And we’ve enlisted the help of local bespoke corset makers Dark Garden Corsetry.**

**All photos in this article are courtesy of Dark Garden Corsetry.

According to their website, “Folsom Street cultivates a safe, open, and inclusive environment for the kink, leather, and alternative sexuality communities while centering equity for BIPOC and LGBTQA2I+ people.” Spanning no less than 4 full city blocks, from roughly 7th street all the way to 11th, the Folsom Street Fair is an annual tradition that folks from all walks of life love to participate in: as a player, as a voyeur, or perhaps a little bit of both.

Figuring out what to wear as a first time Folsom Street Fair attendee can be quite daunting. To remedy this, we went straight to the experts over at Dark Garden who have been dressing local queers, kinksters, fashionistas, lingerie, and vintage lovers in their Hayes Valley boutique for over a decade.

Dark Garden owner Autumn Adamme at the Dark Garden Folsom booth in a previous year

Many think of Folsom fashion to be that of strictly leather daddies, drag queens, and dominatrixes (along with those who serve them) but the truth is, there is so much room to express oneself at the event, all while being as naked-y (or covered) as you’d like. All that said, here’s some tips, tricks, and savvy advice on what to wear to Folsom Street Fair this year.

Play up basic lingerie

If you’re attending Folsom for the first time, it’s ok if you don’t have a huge budget to spend or an extensive wardrobe of fetish wear readily available. Instead, have fun dressing up the lingerie you already have with fun stockings, garters, gloves, and other feminine accessories.

Photo by Joel Aaron

Nudity is allowed at the event, but how much skin shown is entirely decided by each individual. Putting together a lingerie, pin up, or other boudoir inspired look is a great way to experiment with one’s own personal style, while still remaining on the relatively safe side in terms of modesty.

Photo by Switch Thomas

Don’t forget that accessories can instantly transform a simple look into something unforgettable. In the image directly above for example, the use of a few key pieces turns a corset and shorts into an entire character concept. Speaking of characters…

Assume an alter ego, cos play, or fantasy character role

Photo by Gina Barbara

If brightly colored hair, wigs, clothes, and other adornments related to cosplaying or period costuming are your thing, then Folsom Street Fair is a great opportunity for be your favorite alter ego for a day. It’s true that the Furries, puppies, and other pet players will abound! But if those kinks aren’t exactly Up Your Alley, then remember that you can essentially be whomever you want to be that day.

Photo by John Carey

Remember: You can be as modest or un-modest as you’d like to be! Folsom Street Fair is very close to Halloween, so why not pull out your costume box to see what new life you can breathe into your old items?

Make it Feel Like Folsom All Year Long!

Get the Coitus Tower dildo right now!

Wear something sheer

Photo by Gina Barbara

Leather, latex, corsets, and upscale lingerie can be very expensive and not everyone’s cup of tea. A way around such a large financial investment for a one day event, however, is by wearing something sheer.

Photo courtesy of Annabelle Zakaluk

A sheer dress, top, or other garment that will give the illusion of the body’s shape underneath, and is a very sexy way to pull off Folsom fashion without having to walk around with a whip! (Unless that’s your thing…)

Photo courtesy of Victoria Vinyl

Another perk to a sheer garment is that one has total control over how much nudity (or not) is going on underneath it. It is not recommended that you walk from your hotel, public transportation stop, or parked car in various states of being nude already. It is definitely advised to wait until you arrive on premises before completely disrobing, with both lockers and a “pants check” available on site the day of.

Leather

Photo by Max Johnson

Whether you’re an experienced player or a wide-eyed new comer, leather, faux leather, and patent leather always fit the bill at Folsom. A classic, Femdom inspired look never goes out of style, or you can fold in a beloved leather jacket as a more personal twist.

Photo by Jason Stowes

Leather is not only sexy, but can also be extremely sophisticated if styled correctly.

Photo by Max Johnson

Latex

Photo by Oaktown Boudoir

Increasingly popular in mainstream fashion, latex looks great on it’s own but also blends in perfectly with other clothes for ideal mixing and matching.

Photo by John Carey

In fact, layering a corset/bustier over a regular dress or outfit is a great way to give it that extra kinky edge.

Don’t forget about the Kens!

Gender bending is the norm at Folsom, so naturally the possibilities are limitless when it comes to creativity crafting one’s outfit. Feel free to grab any number of accessories originally intended for womxn, play with makeup, heels, or wigs and more. Flamboyant creativity is encouraged!

Photo: Ish Brown

Feel free to modernize classic looks like in the photo above, or stick to tried and true favorites like below.

Most importantly, be yourself!

Rarely do we have such grand opportunities at the intersection of sexuality, creativity, style, performance, and identity to express ourselves and truly feel seen as the unique and complex individuals we are. Therefore, in a human way, even if one isn’t into “that sort of stuff,” the Folsom Street Fair is still an occasion worthy of celebrating with style. Now you don’t have to ask anyone what to wear to Folsom Street Fair!

Your author, at Folsom Street Fair 2022. Author’s own photo.

As for your author, she uses Folsom as an excuse to put clothes on, rather than to take them off. The irony of that is indeed, well, kind of kinky.

If you’d like more information about the Folsom Street Fair or any of the Dark Garden corset designs you’ve seen in this article, visit their websites. Please remember to be polite, respectful, and courteous to other fair goes, including refraining from all touching and photographing without asking for consent first.

Have a fun, safe and awesome Folsom Street Fair everyone from all of us here at Broke-Ass Stuart!