Hi. I’m back… again! It’s way overdue, but aside from my typical excuse of, “I’m busy with my day job and all I do is work on a computer and need a break from it”; I had a dilemma questioning if people even still read blogs? Or am I like 10 years too late? But then I realized, anytime I travel somewhere new, I research online and read travel blogs… so I figured yet again, it’s time to give it another shot.
In the spirit of the music festival season, and Stagecoach being this weekend, we’re here to talk about Stagecoach Country Music Festival. To say that I have FOMO this week – is an understatement! For those of you who don’t know, this is a 3-day music festival in the desert of Indio, CA where you essentially get to listen to several country artists for 3 days straight, wear your cowgirl boots for show, party with friends, and spend a little bit too much money on overpriced hotels, food, drinks (I’m kidding, but I’m not). It is SO WORTH IT!
Even if you don’t like country music, I always say that music festivals are the best time as long as you’re with a great group and go with the flow! My first piece of advice: plan ahead! Stagecoach is held at the same place the infamous Coachella is at, therefore, things are extra pricey and book up quickly! My next tip: go with a group! Not only is it fun to be with a large group of people, but it also makes bathroom/food/beverage breaks easier/safer, because you can divide and conquer. Additionally, unless you are well-off and can afford to spend a pretty-penny, going with a group helps ease the cost of hotels/home rentals and Ubers.
Which brings me to my next tip: stay at a hotel that has a shuttle too and from the festival grounds (or camp). Rideshare apps are always outrageously priced and a pain to get after a festival. You wait in long lines, for a long time, to pay for an overpriced car ride 2 miles down the road. Having a shuttle pass is SO worth the money. We always got there and back, fairly fast and saved some money compared to if we had used rideshare apps. Trust me, even if you have the time of your life, after spending the whole day in the desert on your feet, you just want to get a quick ride home. One of our shuttle busses was a party bus one night – FUN! Next tip: as always, hydrate. Drink some Liquid IV. Drink WATER (not just booze people). It’s hot and it’s long days… prepare yourselves for that! Eat something solid in the morning. I know a lot of us are trying not to bloat for those IG pictures, but trust and believe, you need to hydrate and nourish yourselves too.
Next tip: if money is tight – save your mula ahead of time! I know that sounds like a lame and obvious tip, but some people need to hear it. I think it’s so important that people live their lives and have fun regardless of your financial status. If you want to go to Stagecoach… go to Stagecoach!!! Be smart, plan ahead, budget your money, so that you can enjoy yourself. I repeat, everything is expensive, food, drinks, everything! Save up. Another obvious tip: wear that SPF! Even if you don’t get sunburnt and only tan, the sun doesn’t care. It’s stronger than us. Putting on SPF is good for your skin health, and wrinkles!!
Next tip: set a meeting spot with your group. There are thousands, and I mean thousands of people at this festival. It’s easy to get lost, especially if you/your friends are having a little bit of toooo much fun. The ferris wheel is good/obvious/central meeting spot! Next Tip: be nice, hold hands, when you’re pushing through crowds. Again, it’s easy to lose your friends and can be hard to get through thousands of people. I say be nice, because there will be plenty of people that will be rude and give you dirty looks for pushing by them, and vise versa. There will be plenty of rude people who trample you or stand right in front of you to where you can’t see the stage anymore (if you’re a shortie like me). So be nice and polite, if you’re shoving through a crowd, say “excuse me”, hold onto your friends, and keep it moving. Seems self-explanatory, but trust – you will encounter all of the above.
How to Dress?
Let me start this by saying – I do not claim to be a fashion guru or trendsetter/follower at all. If you’re looking for fashion advice from a professional, it’s not me! There’s plenty of influencers online for that. I just like what I like and enjoy a good theme! To state the obvious, wear that wester-wear, stereotypical country clothing that we find on Pinterest. You can never go wrong with: denim, lace, plaid, white and pastel colors, American flag, hats, and boots. As always: dress comfortable and wear comfortable shoes. I know they say beauty is pain, but it is also possible to dress cute and comfortable sometimes. Thankfully, I find my cowgirl boots to very comfortable and could walk in those all day long with no problem. But just in case – wear good socks, shoe padding, and bring Band-Aids!
More Outfit Ideas: You can never go wrong with band tees, pleather, snakeprint, cowprint, dresses, skirts, and floral patterns. I also think it is so important to accessorize! This can totally change an outfit. Hats could be cowboy hats, flat-brim rancher hats, and trucker hats. For those of you who are looking to help their boyfriend out – who isn’t country, I gotchu. If I were to dress my boyfriend, I’d probably have him in some sort of alcohol brand or musician tee/tank or even a plain tee, jeans, his work boots, with a trucker hat and maybe throw in an American flag bandana to be honest lol! Nothing too crazy or out of his comfort zone – but fits the vibe. If your significant other is more bold, he could wear things like American flag shirt/shorts (lots of guys wear that), cut-off/sleeveless flannels, cowboy boots, cowboy hat, flat-brim rancher hat, denim shorts, plaid shirt, you get the jist! (Please no one get offended or come at me, I’m just trying to give some tips). Peace and love!
My 2019 Outfits: As you can tell from the pictures above, I did a little bit of everything – while staying true to my style. The picture on the left, I wore a Harley Davidson bodysuit that I found at a thrift store in Huntington Beach called American Vintage. I LOVE that store! It’s not cheap, but you can find unique pieces there that you can’t find anywhere else. Harley Davidson has become a ‘trendy’ thing to wear, but I grew up around motorcycle’s and bikers, so this outfit felt like ‘me’. With the bodysuit, I wore a denim skirt from Fashion Nova with a western belt, cowgirl boots, and silver hoops (also very me) from Forever 21. This was my Day 3 outfit, so I wore a high pony tail with two small braids to mix it up a bit! In the middle, was my Day 2 outfit, and also felt very true to my style (black, red, leather, hoops lol). I wore red lips, curled hair, a top with a bandana pattern and obviously pleather skirt, both from Fashion Nova, with the same silver hoops and black cowgirl boots from Forever 21. Tip: bring an actual bandana to wear over your nose/mouth for that dust and dirt (there’s a lot), plus it’s helpful if you’re worried about germs and Covid-19. Day 1, was my girliest outfit with half-up-half-down hair, a matching white set from Showpo, gold dangly earrings from Forever 21, and brown cowgirl boots from DSW. I felt good in this outfit until I saw like 4 other girls in the same set as me lol. Personally, this is why I like to put together my own outfits and not shop at trendy stores, because I don’t like to match! I know some people don’t care about that, which good for you! But I do haha.
Tips for shopping: Again, this is for my fellow people who have to save and budget for these type of events. I highly recommend shopping through thrift stores, Mercari, Poshmark, Etsy, and eBay. Not only can you save some money by doing this, but you can also find some unique pieces OR find that trendy overpriced dress that you don’t want to pay full price from the actual brand. You’re also helping people out with these type of purchases, and recycling clothes, which is planet-friendly! Also, if you’re a frequent online shopper like me or have the terrible habit of buying something and only wearing it once or twice, you can sell your festival outfits after the fact and make some money back from it! It’s a win-win. I’m aware that everything I listed above, are not thrift, however, most of that I already had in my closet – so I didn’t do much shopping!
Turismo de Catalina 