How to Pick the Best Shoes for Festivals This Summer
Picking the best shoes for festivals this summer should involve finding the best shoes to showcase your summer festive style, finding the best shoes to withstand the sun, sweat and fun and finding the best shoes to live and survive comfortably in for as long as you’re there — and maybe even longer, depending on where the road takes you after the festivals end! Summer festival season is soon going to be in full swing, so you’ve probably already been scouting, strategizing and spending. Before you start spinning out and selecting all of the most stylish and obscure clothing samples and shoes you have (or spending to secure new ones) though, you’ll want to remind yourself that something as simple as the wrong shoes can ruin the whole show and scene. So how exactly do you pick the right ones?
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Look Into the Venue
While there is a chance that the festivals you’ll be attending are indoor, there’s an even better chance that they are outside, in a field, away from level ground and stable amenities. So as much as your summer festival style may call for spiked heels or super wedged sandals, your summer festival SCENE is a more significant deciding factor for your footwear. Even if you are indoors, the nature of a festival itself generally calls for something survivable. So if you’re not already, you will want to consider something flat and comfortable no matter what specific style it is. If you can see that the outdoor setting your festival is at is extra muddy, uneven, overgrown or underkept, do yourself a favor and allow yourself to enjoy it fully by MAKING the space in your bags for a pair of boots!
Look Into the Weather
We’ve established that there’s a good chance the summer festival you’re attending is set in an outdoor location — which could be simply relabeled as an unpredictable setting. Luckily, some grace is found in the fact that it is summertime. While you may see some serious rain, it’s likely that you’ll at least experience some serious humidity and heat, so choices like cute sandals for women become perfect for festivals. Especially if you’re expecting hot days, sandals may make the difference between you overheating and you overcoming. With that in mind, many festivals continue on well into the evenings and nights. If you think this will be the case where you are (and even if you don’t), it’s in your best interest to either pack a pair of warmer shoes or be proactive by bringing as many sets of warm socks as you can!
Look Into the Agenda – And Consider YOUR Agenda
Summer festivals always feature different activities and agendas, so you’ll want to know what you’re getting into. Look at what the festival has to offer, and think long and hard about what you’ll be doing there. Along with picturing what your plans will play out like, you’ll want to consider what other activities you may get into. Is there a lake close by that you might trek to at some point? Are your friends going to convince you to get up and go dancing late at night? Will you be up early any of those days and feel like a hike? Everybody is different, so make sure you’re embracing what you love as much as the festival you love by being prepared to do so!
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Find Footwear You Can Afford to Forfeit
Festivals are notorious for being chaotic and even downright messy environments. Likewise, festival fanatics are notorious for being fairly carefree and all-embracing — and you want to be one of them! So do yourself another favor (you deserve it!) and find yourself some shoes that you are comfortable with ruining, or even possibly losing!
Form Your Festival Style with Safety in Mind
Part of the summer festival allure is the ability to embrace your own unique summer festival style. And while we can’t sculpt your style for you, we can tell you that it’s the most fun part of the process! As you begin to form your style, though, it’s important to try to translate it into the most effective version in terms of fashion and function. Thick-soled shoes for fields and rough terrain, closed toe shoes for festival style without the squished toes and dusty shades of shoes for dirty scenes and fun times are all supported!
Break in Your Shoes Before
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when choosing your footwear for a festival or any fun event is picking the perfect pair and keeping them perfect for the function. It’s okay to buy brand new shoes or wear your special sneakers that you’ve never worn — but make sure to break them in first! Not only will this help you feel more confident in them and avoid being distracted by them, but it will help you make sure that they are comfortable and that you avoid getting blisters in them or worse. If you fail to break in your new shoes before you go, you may be unable to keep up with the festival — both literally and metaphorically. This could mean being unable to keep up with the conversations, the music, the walking or the dancing — and you don’t want to miss out on a moment of any of it!
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Picking the Best and Packing the Next
Even once you’ve selected your perfect pair of festival shoes, it’s important to prepare for any possibility or predicament. If you’re able to make the space, strongly consider packing an extra pair of shoes (or two) that will be there for you if your primary shoes get wet, ruined or start to wreak havoc. For these reasons, it’s a good idea to make your extra pair of shoes a completely different style than your primary pair. This will ensure that you’re prepared for any situation or activity, as well as give you the comfort you need from a footwear flip — which makes cushioned kicks a commendable choice! If a pair of cushioned kicks is too bulky for your bags, consider a pair of cute, comfortable flats compact enough to fit into your purse!
