Excitement is in the air for music-lovers across the UK as the festival season gets underway: Download, V, Bestival, Isle of Wight, Exit and the God of all Festivals - Glastonbury. You've got your tickets and a tent, you've decided on your top bands to see and you're counting down the days - what more is there to consider? For the girls, it's not just about the music at the summer festivals, the fashion is also high stakes. Check out these must have items for the festival circuit this summer....

Festival: Cut-off Denim Sorts & Sunglasses by Tres Lola featuring American Eagle Outfitters

Sunglasses
Retro, trendy, over-sized: they are all at home at the festivals. Protect your eyes from crazy sunshine, hay fever inducing pollens and if you're not down with embracing dark circles makeup free then sunglasses are the perfect cover up for a makeup-free face and that horrid hangover you're rocking.

Cut-offs
Very on trend, very budget-friendly... very festival appropriate whether the weather plays nice or not. Give your winter denim a second lease on life by taking to them with a pair of scissors and if you've not got any of your own denim you'd be keen to sacrifice to the DIY God's, then just pop down to your local charity store where you'll be able to pick up a pair of second-hand jeans for just a few quid. If DIY is not your forte, Topshop and other high street chains have their ready-made denim cut-offs too.



Hats & Headscarfs
To hide day 3 hideous hair (frizzy, check! dirty & greasy? check! not going to see the light of day? *hello headwear* check!). From on-trend fedoras to hippy style head scarfs and everything in between.

toolbelt
Originally uploaded by treslola

Tool Belt!
It's like a bum-bag... without the dorky tourist vibe. Make sure yours has got loads of pockets to fit all your bits & bobs: camera, phone, sunscreen, gum, cash, torch. Festivals are no place for big handbags and back packs leave you at risk of having your stuff stolen right off of your back. While it would be nice to be free to wander about bag-free, there is some stuff you'll want to keep on you (Lose your mates? A phone is handy. Spot your favourite band? You'll want your camera. Find a potential pash partner? Gum is your best friend. Trying to find your tent after dark? A torch will help you a whole lot.) ...because, lets face it, not everyone is as fabulous & well mannered as yourself, it is entirely possible that the things you leave in your tent are not necessarily going to be there when you come back.

Gumboots / Wellingtons
This one goes without saying, doesn't it? The only shoes you'll need for the festivals and the only shoes that will save you from mud up to your knees should the skies open and land you in a monsoonal down-pour a la Glastonbury 2005. Hunters boots are undeniably the cream of the crop but plenty of the high street chains have done their own version too and you'll find a selection too at the Camden markets. If it's a bargain you are looking to bag, stop by ebay and gumtree and pick yourself up someones pre-loved wellies - sock up & you're good to go!

Festival: Gumboots & Sunscreen by Tres Lola on Polyvore.com

Sunscreen
Now, it's not fashion, but no smart & fabulous lady would head to the festivals without equipping herself with sunscreen. Covering up with a hat is great & will save your neck from the red raw pain of sunburn but be sure to slap on a coat of sunscreen every 2 - 3 hours to avoid coming home a glowy shade of red, then bubbling and peeling and upping your risk of developing skin cancer. Be sun smart and stick to bottle or spray tan this festival season - a tan is absolutely not worth dying for!


Are you hitting any of the festivals this summer? What will you be wearing? (...or what would you wear?)