Coachella is one of those things where you feel its presence and magnitude even though you’re not there physically in California. The countless festival looks that flood your feed, the countless, countless recordings of Beyoncé, Destiny’s Child and Haim on Instagram Stories – it is not difficult to allow your mind to be transported to its muddy grounds and golden skies.

In fact, with the mad heat that has descended upon our very own island, one might be ever-so-slightly incline to tap on festival wear, whether as a means of escapism, or plainly because it is just darn hot.

Festival dressing has a reputation of being, well, clichéd. Stereotyped. Fringe, suede, cowboy boots, barely-there tops, denim cut-offs, studs, leather, flower crowns, sparse knits. While there is a certain fun in just going with the flow – like wearing ugly sweaters on Christmas Day and sequins on New Year’s Eve – there are ways to let your festival freak flag fly without falling back to the run-of-the-mill.

Take the looks we’ve rounded up above, for instance.

Dainty blouses paired with roughish boots and a tight, neat chignon instead of the expected bedhead.

Fringe, but tiered and in leather so it looks more city than desert.

Floral blouses that are little more polished than boho, worn with jeans instead of cut-offs.

Bloomer-like shorts in place of cut-offs.

Baggy trousers that could very well fit into an office setting on another day instead of threadbare or bohemian palazzos.

White shirts instead of blousons (though blousons are super comfortable in an open-air environment, we’ll give you that).

For those of us living in thick heat and humidity, we thankfully – unthankfully? – don’t have to wait for a music festival to bust out the hot-weather wear. (Knee high cow boy boots are probably not the best idea unless it’s raining amid the heat, though.) Take notes from the women above, then start building your arsenal with spring and summer with the pieces below.

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Maison Margiela point-toe knee-high leather boots

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Balenciaga Santiago distressed-leather boots

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Isabel Marant ruffled broderie anglaise cotton blouse

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Zimmermann cropped off-the-shoulder floral plisse chiffon top

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Sandy Liang polka dot chiffon blouse

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Johanna Oritz cropped bow-embellished striped linen top

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Double Rainbow cropped printed poplin shirt

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Erdem cropped embroidered duchesse satin blouse

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Isabel Marant one-shoulder fil coupe silk-blend mini dress

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Isabel Marant one-shoulder ruffled broderie anglaise cotton mini dress

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Zimmermann floral print linen maxi dress

 

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Attico ombre silk georgette maxi dress

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Self-Portrait cut-out lace pleated metallic oil coupe chiffon maxi dress

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Rosie Assoulin cutout checked voile midi dress

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Zimmermann printed silk georgette midi skirt

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Chloe embroidered cotton-blend velvet straight leh pants

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Nanushka printed cotton-crepon wide-leg pants

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