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Contact: Sophie Isbister, Life & Style Editor
Mlifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

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Bros, earth hippies, and candy pixie ravers

» Your guide to festival fashion

Sophie Isbister
Life & Style Editor
Mlifeandstyle
@theotherpress.ca

 

aybe you went to Coachella

(lucky you). Maybe
youre preparing to attend the
Squamish Valley Music Festival,
Pemberton, Sasquatch, or even
Osheaga if you can get yourself
to Montreal. Those events all
have three things in common:
Outkast, Chvrches, and festival
fashion clichés.

And that’s just the indie
rock festivals. British Columbia
is also host to a number of
electronic music festivals, most
notably Shambhala in Nelson,
and Basscoast (also known as
Babecoast for the high quantity
of babes), which takes place in
Merritt. So, festivals abound,
and with festival season comes
an uptick in sales of fuzzy
legwarmers, tutus, fanny packs,
faux (or real) fox tails, and
animal onesies.

There’s nothing wrong with
festival-goers having a specific
code of whimsical dress, but
for the rest of us, here’s a handy
guide to the types of clichés
you may find dancing in the
mud, drinking a yerba mate,
or deliberating between seeing
Outkast or Chvrches.

First, the scantily-clad

earth hippie. This look can

: be seen all over, but is most

: common at Shambhala, or on
: Commercial Drive loitering

: outside JJ Bean. The earth hippie :
: doesn’t wear much, but what
: they do wear is black, brown,
: or dark green—it may also

: include some kind of animal tail:
: orantlers. They probably have
: twigs in their hair, and go by

: River or Amethyst.

Sticking fora moment to

: electronic festivals, we also
: have the candy pixie raver, :
: famous for ‘gos-throwback neon :

: clothes, tutus, and giant fuzzy

: legwarmers in various rainbow

: colours. Their male counterparts
: are what I like to call generic

techno male, a designation

: which highlights exactly how
: much more time and effort
: women put into their festival

outfits than men. Generic

: techno male wears cargo shorts,
: a fanny pack, a SpaceTribe

: t-shirt, and LSD-face. At night

: they throw ona Pikachu onesie.
: Truly a five-minute-look.

Ina class of their own are
the cybergoth ravers. They

 

: rock lots of purple, black,

: and lime green. They can be

: found at all festivals, having

: a predilection for both dark

: psychedelic trance and Nine

: Inch Nails. Their defining

: feature is their hair, usually

: decked out with massive,

: synthetic hair dreadlocks, and
: sometimes containing other

materials such as rubber tubing. : of a speaker. They are the life

: of the party, the heart and soul
: of good times everywhere, and
: they can probably spare you a

: key bump of blow.

On the indie festival side,

: look out for the Coachella bro.
: This festival cliché is named

: after and born out of the epic

: festival-to-end-all-festivals, in

: California, land of the bros. The
: Coachella bro is likely shirtless

: and enthusiastically slamming

: a Four Loko or Lean. They rock
: American Apparel, fedoras,

: and ironic t-shirts when it gets

: cold. They’re actually super nice

dudes.

Woodstock throwback

: hippies have been a firm fixture
: of festival life ever since, well,

: Woodstock! These kids-from-

: another-era rock political slogan
: tees (handily available at your

: local Topshop and Forever 21),

: wooden jewelry, ‘6os frock

: dresses, and oval John Lennon

: sunglasses. They’re the ones

: hanging out at the acoustic

: stage, or handing you a single

: flower. Bless them, and their

: close cousin, that one guy with
: a guitar. He's great too.

And finally, showing up

: at practically every festival

: and club night in the known

: universe, is the club kid. They

: can be found wearing Black

: Milk legging, those bras that can
: hold two bottles of wine, and

: crop tops adorned with inverted
: crosses. They shop at Ardene

: and are usually the ones at the

: end of the night twerking on top

 

Friends with experience

» Forming cross-generational friendships in college

| Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

A we climb the ladder of
our post-secondary years
and enter the precarious place
known as the “real world,” we
form a variety of relationships.
Although the bonds formed
in high school are usually
with friends close in age, the
ones we make in college often
feature someone much older
(or younger). This is especially
true for a school like Douglas
College, where the students
have diverse ages and lives.
Your classmate could be a
40-year-old mom pursuing her

 

: degree, or a nervous 17-year-old :
: kid fresh out of high school.

A side-effect of being

: around people of different

: ages is developing a friendship
: with someone five, 10,

: or even 20 years older or

: younger than you. A platonic

: relationship with someone of

: a different generation may be

: unconventional, but it can also
: be very rewarding. The older

: friend offers life experience,

: different perspectives, and a

: mature look on situations to

: the younger. In turn, the junior
: friend can provide a youthful

; energy, encourage the older in

: facing new challenges, and a

: serve as a reminder of what it’s
: like to be a certain age.

An older friend is more

: likely to support you in

ways not always possible for

: someone your age, based on

: experiences they’ve had. For

: example, a recently engaged

: person might receive better

: advice about marriage froma
: friend who's been married fora :
: long time compared to a single

: one. Similarly, a student unsure
: of what to do in their studies

: would do better to talk toa

: friend who's graduated from

: university or spent more time

: in the institution, rather than

: someone in their exact same

: position.

Of course, the relationship

can work just as well for

: elder-to-younger contact. A

: mature student attending

: post-secondary school for the
: first time might have better

: luck talking to a current

: student, instead of friends who :
: may have been graduates for

: decades. This even works for

: dating, if'a mature adult finds
: themselves suddenly on the

: market again.

Significantly older or

: younger friends can be the

: best guides to talk with about
: certain situations, as they

: usually have no prior personal
: or professional relationship

: with the advice seeker. Being

: able to speak to someone who
: isn’t related to you can give a

: reassuring feeling of neutrality.

It’s an unconventional

relationship, but it occurs

: more frequently these days.

: Cross-generational friends can
: be some of the most trusted,

: pure relationships you have.

: They will teach, inspire,

An older friend
is more likely
to support you
in ways not
always possible
for someone
your age, based
on experiences
they've had.

: and lead in ways simply not

: possible with someone in your

: ownage group. Above all, the

: different perspective given by

: an unconventional friendship is
: invaluable.