Monday, September 25, 2017

How To Dress For An Outdoor Festival

 In early August my husband and I attended an outdoor music and arts festival.  The festival started in the wee hours of the morning and lasted to about midnight.  We got there sometime around  lunch and stayed till about 11:00 p.m. before we pooped out!  We had so much fun that day!  It was one of those days where we were having such a blast that I never bothered to document much of it.  Have you ever had one of those days?  As a blogger, especially a travel blogger, I try to photograph and Instagram everything!  But some days, I just want to enjoy the moment and not have to worry about "preserving" it so I can write a blog post.  This was one of those days.

Because of my lack of pictures, I decided not to do a separate blog post about it, and just share a few snapshots below.  I also forgot to photograph my outfit at the event, and I had to recreate it in my garden!  Here is what I wore:


It was hot and sunny during the day so I wore a lightweight sleeveless blouse by Liz Claiborne and a sun hat to keep the sun out of my eyes and off my face.  I chose cropped boyfriend jeans instead of shorts because I knew the temperatures would drop drastically at night (And they did!  I was quite cold, which was one reason we left before the concert was over).  I used a cross body bag for security reasons, and I picked a lightweight utility coat so I could easily carry it or tie it around my waist when it was hot.  Sneakers were chosen for footwear because A LOT of walking was involved.  They are Adidas Courtset Sneakers in Nude.


I really love this top.  It's cool and comfy, and I like the peplum and eyelet detail.  Even though it's new this season, I couldn't find this exact one on-line anymore, but THIS ONE is very similar.


Here is a close up of the unique eyelet detail;  I like the little buttons too!


It is sheer, so I did wear a tank top underneath.


For jewelry, I wore a choker at the Festival but forgot to put it back on when I re-created this outfit for the photo shoot.  Silly me.  I also wore this fun teal and silver cross bracelet.  

I carried my essentials in this silver cross body bag.  Cross body bags are the perfect bags to use for festivals.  I think just about every woman at the festival was carrying a cross body bag.


I love this straw baseball-style hat!  It's fun and pretty at the same time.  I picked this up at JCP this season.


And although I didn't take enough photos of the event to do a full, separate travel post, I did take a few snapshots to share here.  The outdoor festival is called "Ashley for the Arts" and is held every year by Ashley Furniture.  Their factory and corporate offices are located about an hours drive from our home.  It is a three-day charity event that brought over 50,000 visitors and raised more that $425,000 for area school districts and non-profit organizations.  It only cost $10.00 for a three day admission ticket, and everything but food and drink is free to enjoy!  There are displays, concerts, arts and crafts, artistic performances, hot air balloons, fireworks, and the largest bouncy house assortment for kids I have ever seen.  Musical performers range from Three Dog Night, Chicago to Neal McCoy.  This year, we were there to see Need To Breathe, but we also really enjoyed Gavin McGraw and Walker County.  We actually went into the pit to watch Walker Country and I was able to take the picture of them below.  I normally do not like country music, but I really liked them.  They had beautiful voices and harmonies, and I really loved that they were a family music group.  The girls are sisters and that handsome young man in the picture is their father...if you can believe that!


Here is a little taste of Walker County singing.


I could not believe how many people were at this festival.  We've lived in this area for about 24 years and never even knew about this festival!  Now that we know, we plan on going back every year!


We enjoyed watching non-musical performances too!  There were so many fun side shows going on in addition to the concerts!


I really liked this carved wooded sculpture in the play picnic area.  Isn't it amazing?



And here's my proof that I actually wore this outfit!  Ha-ha!  Yes, my fashion posts are always outfits of what I actually where (with an occasional rare exception) and that's also why sometimes they are very boring :).  You can also see my choker in this picture that I forgot to wear in the recreated photo shoot.  This was at the end of the day, when the sun was going down and it started to get cold.  Off came my hat and on went my jacket.  It was so funny because all I day we were sweating and I started to regret wearing jeans.  But by evening, I was freezing and wished I wore a heavier coat!  What a difference the sun makes!


I will have to say that the best part of the evening was the fireworks.  They were the best fireworks I ever saw in my life!  They did them to music.  Here's a little snippet:



We had such a great time, that next year when we go back I will do a far more thorough job of documenting it so I can do a full travel post!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!
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23 comments:

  1. I think your outfit was just perfect, pitched somewhere centre of the day's heat and the night's cool. And you were so thorough to recreate it for us, so thanks for that. The music sounded good and the fireworks were amazing! Great post, Amy. Hugs, x.

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  2. Sounds like a fun festival and how nice that they raised so much money for local schools!
    Great outfit too, and longer pants are a must if I am out in the evening hours (because of mosquitoes!) Love the jacket!

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    1. It was Elli! And I didn't mind spending money on an event that went to such great causes too!

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  3. Perfect outfit for a fun day! Thanks for linking up, xo

    Patti
    http://notdeadyetstyle.com

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  4. Looks like you had a BLAST Amy! I hear you on just wanting to enjoy the moment without planning a blog post. Good idea to recreate you're outfit in your garden. Love the eyelet detail on your blouse!

    ❤️carmen

    https://fashionableover50.wordpress.com

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    1. Thanks Carmen, we did have a blast. It is hard knowing when to put the phone down and just live in the moment!

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  5. We have so many outdoor festivals here and we never go to them! I don't know why, because I know we'd really enjoy them. Maybe this is something we can work on!! Your outfit looks perfect for a festival, with the layers, a hat, comfy shoes and light colors. And it is def. all cute on you! :)

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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    1. Thanks Carrie. We have a Rock Fest and Country Fest in our area but we never went to them because I have heard they are not family friendly and very expensive. This festival was just the opposite!

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  6. I love days like these in Summer. There are a lot like this where I live in London.Casual comfort is key I think. I love the cute hat. xx
    www.vanityandmestyle.com

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  7. We love outdoor festivals in the summer too. This is the perfect outfit for one! I love the hat. Definitely a necessity :)

    Shauna

    www.lipglossandlace.net

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  8. You look spot on for a festival - bet you had fun. Shame you got cold hope it didn't spoil you day. x Jacqui
    www.mummabstylish.com

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  9. This looks like so much fun! And your outfit is perfect for it!

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  10. This looks like so much fun and you look really cute! Love the jacket.

    Amy Ann
    Straight A Style

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  11. What a fun festival! I'm jealous that you got to see Chicago! And your outfit looked perfect for the event. Thanks for linking up with The Blended Blog!

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    1. Oh no, Chicago was at least year's festival. I wish we got to see them. We heard they were amazing.

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  12. That looked like a good time! I saw them years ago too. love the utility jacket and jeans for your outing and your hat looks so cute on you.
    thanks for linking!
    jess xx
    www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com

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