Five Summer Festival Fashion Trends 2021 You Could Find in the Vintage Shops

This time of the year has now arrived - sunny days, long nights, loud music, and a lot of summer festivals. Festival fashion is a big business as a lot of retailers release lines that are specially made for the occasion. Festival fashion is usually outlandish, as it includes a lot of colours, glitter, flares, and accessories.

While everyone likes to look good and unique, this can be problematic, as most of the clothes and outfits are only intended for single use. It leads to a problem when about 7.5 million outfits each year are single-use ones purchased for the festivals. The result of that is that the fashion industry is now the second-biggest water polluter on earth, after the oil industry.

A change in mindset

With the ongoing situation around the world, it is a great time for consumers to reevaluate the impact of their clothing consumption habits. This has led to a situation where trends are shifting into a more sustainable direction and rather than buying entirely new outfits for each music festival, the vintage shops are getting more popular. This is the guide to shop sustainably for festivals in 2021, according to the latest trends, focusing on the '90s, tie-dyes, neon colours, chunky shoes, and funky sunglasses.

Gimme some shade(s)

Are you even a fashionista if you are not wearing rectangle-shaped sunglasses? Probably not. In summer 2021 for festivals, elevate your sunglass game with bright-coloured frames. Many vintage sunglasses like this could be found in Depop, ASOS Marketplace, and definitely in your local thrift shop, as the style comes from the spectacular '90s fashion.

Safari adventure

As animal prints are still going strong, due to the last year's cancelled summer trends, then it is your chance to rock ophidian fashion. You can wear different animal prints like cow, zebra, or leopard, or you can choose python print to stand out from the crowd. These prints are easily found in vintage shops, as it was a very popular theme in the '70s and '80s, and is still going strong.

Into the groove

Tie-dye themes have an association with history - Woodstock hippies in the '60s and its comeback in the '90s. The tie-dye print also became a favourite during the pandemic. So here's your chance to thrift an outfit and then DIY it with a tie-dye print. You only need a tie-dye kit, water, rubber bands, cotton clothes, and creativity.

Pops of colour

Festivals are also great places to shine bright, which means that you could wear these look-at-me neon colours and fit right in. Fashion got bright in the '30s, and has been a big part of summer fashion since then. It's a brilliant approach for the high-energy summertime festivals, and could easily be found in the thrift market or even in your closet.

On your marks

The most relevant approach to festival fashion this year is sporty looks. The pandemic has changed people’s fashion preferences a lot and celebrities like Kardashian's are partially credited with reigniting the sportswear trend which means that the '90s athleisure fashion is officially back in the business.

For accomplishing the cool and sporty look you could wear cycling shorts, chunky shoes, and colorful windbreakers. This aesthetic in festival fashion is definitely on the rise, as it is also seen on high-fashion runways and high street stores - who would not love to be trendy and comfortable at the same time?

In history, the trend was inspired by Princess Diana’s '90s style, and these kinds of garments and accessories can easily be found in second-hand markets such as ASOS Marketplace or a thrift store.