What I Saw Deep in the Golden Gate Woods
Imagine sitting on wrap around porch while drinking sweet tea and listening to the likes of Robert Earl Keen and Los Lobos while rocking in a chair swing. It’s dusk on a breezy summer day, and what what you are wearing while crooning along to your favorite tunes is what the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival evoked in its fashionistas this year. There were a few key trends that are worth mentioning and you will find them here.
First and foremost: vintage tees. So many great tees were to be seen on people roaming the sylvan grounds of Golden Gate Park. For one thing, it didn’t matter how old, what size, or what color the person was, but those rocking a vintage band tee or college alumni tee, much like my handsome companion did, walked with an air of carefree confidence that made you want to go up to them and ask them the story behind their shirt. Now how’s that for a conversation starter? I’ll be rummaging the racks at Buffalo Exchange this weekend, even better, I’ll ask my grandpa to dig what he can out of his closet when I visit my hometown in Texas this weekend!
A must have tech accessory featured over the weekend are some wireless Bluetooth headphones! The kind that make you look like you can pilot an old Piper airplane right into the sunset. Even babies were wearing them (although, I’m sure this was more of a safety precaution than a fashion statement)! Hardly Strictly had a “Silent Disco” featuring (very sanitary) free rentals of these popular headphones to a multitude of festival goers who danced the day away in a clearing of towering trees to the beats of two DJs. It was my first time ever experiencing this type of “disco” and I highly recommend the following game if there are two DJs on different “stations” you could tune your headphones into. Here’s how it works: you and your dance partner tune into different stations and improvise a dance based on what you hear individually. It can be challenging depending on how sober you “aren’t”, but overall it’s pretty fun!
Another accessory that really stood out to me in the sea of groovers and high tech babies, were among the vendors there. You had your merch-tents, and you had food trucks, you even had your friendly man, who delightfully resembled a genie, selling marijuana chocolate truffles in beautiful gold pots. I’m at liberty to NOT disclose which of the above mentioned I may or may not have bought , but what I will admit is that I found the most beautiful handmade necklace with an intricately carved metal pendant. The vendors were a married couple who made these delicately rugged leather necklaces and bracelets featuring pendants or hardware made of precious stones or carved metal (the one I bought had a hexagonal lattice in a brass color and will be my new favorite accessory). Simply stated the jewelry was elementally interesting enough to compliment a vintage Led Zeppelin tee and jeans, stunning enough to be a statement piece with a long black or white maxi dress and boots, and sexy enough to wear with your favorite bikini at the beach or pool.
Now that we’ve touched on the accessories , we can finally discuss my favorite of the nostalgic mode at Hardly Strictly : overalls. Overalls seemed to tie the whole outdoor festival fashion together in a classically durable way. My eyes lit up each time I saw a pair of denim overalls, conductor pinstripe overalls, and yes, even overalls featuring the distinguished Stars and Stripes of the great American flag; whatever your statement was, you could say it with overalls. Although it could go unsaid, I will say that overalls are NOT flattering to the form of anyone but a toddler, but then again what toddler cares if their outfit is figure flattering? That’s a rhetorical question. The thing I found intriguing about the overalls I saw at Hardly Strictly was that they seemed to allow people the freedom to just hang out on a picnic blanket in the middle of the woods with their friends and listen to good music. They are comfortable and have pockets to hold stuff. Also if you just so happen to spill a Sam Adams Boston Lager all over you and your date while lounging around in the sun, you don’t have to worry about the stain coming out cause overalls are the kind of outfit you can just throw in the wash and call it a day! That being said, anyone know any three year old size 26 in jeans looking to downsize their wardrobe? Didn’t think so! Thank goodness for Urban Outfitters.
Overall, I was overwhelmingly entertained and aesthetically pleased with the styles trending at the Hardly Strictly Music festival. Just goes to show, that when you get people together to listen to good music in the beauty of nature the ambiance vibes well, and it was cohesively reflected in the style.
