The outfit is decided. You ordered it weeks ago, it arrived, and you've already tried it on twice. You know what you're wearing. Now comes the part where you figure out how to actually survive the weekend in it — and come home still glad you wore it.
This is a packing list for people who plan around their outfit, not the other way around. It's also a practical guide for the day itself — what to bring, what to do when something goes wrong, and how to make the whole thing easier than it usually is.
The outfit decision
If you're wearing RARR to a festival, you already know which direction you're going. Sparkles or Glitteratti when the answer is more. Felix when you want something that works from every angle and in every light. Verona Velvet for texture. Yasmin or Electra if you're leaning into shape and want something that moves with you.
The question isn't which piece looks good — they all do. The question is what you can move in all day, and what you'll be glad you chose when it's 11pm and you've been dancing since 4.
A few things worth factoring in before you lock it in: sequin and embellished sets photograph brilliantly but can get heavy after a few hours. Mesh and slinky fabrics like Felix have almost no weight and move with you all day. Velvet looks incredible but runs warm — great for a cooler evening, worth considering if you're in the sun all afternoon. None of this is a reason not to wear your favourite piece. It's just worth knowing before you decide.
Two things that hold true regardless of what you choose: high-waist shorts stay put. They don't roll down mid-dancefloor and they hold through however much movement the day throws at you. Sets also photograph better than separates from different brands — the colours are matched, the fabric has the same sheen, and it reads as intentional rather than assembled.
What to wear over it
The transition layer is as important as the outfit itself. A lightweight kimono or wrap does the most work — you can wear it properly when it's cooler, tie it around your waist when you're dancing, and throw it over your shoulders if it gets cold at night. Linen or lightweight cotton moves well, doesn't trap heat, and looks like a choice rather than a cover-up.
For footwear, bring two options. Something with height or support for the first part of the day when you're walking and standing — platform sneakers, chunky boots, whatever works with the outfit. Sandals or slides for when your feet decide they're done. And accept in advance that you will want to be barefoot at some point. Everyone does.
A small crossbody or bum bag rather than a tote. Totes slip off your shoulder when you're dancing, take up space in a crowd, and become a liability. A crossbody or belt bag keeps your hands free and your things secure without interrupting the outfit.
The festival survival kit
This is the part most people underpack for. Your outfit is sorted — now build the kit that keeps it looking good and you feeling good all day.
Outfit insurance
Body tape is non-negotiable. Even if your outfit fits perfectly at home, tape gives you a mental reset — once it's taped, you stop thinking about it, which means you can actually be present. Silicone-based tape holds better in heat and movement than standard fashion tape. Bring more than you think you need.
Safety pins in two or three different sizes. For a clasp that gives out, a strap that needs adjusting, or a wrap that won't sit right. You won't need them until you desperately need them, and then you'll want them immediately.
A small sewing kit if you're at a multi-day event. One needle, a few metres of thread in a neutral colour. Takes up almost no space and has saved many an outfit from an early retirement.
Spare shorts or a sarong. Not because you'll need them. Because knowing they're there means you can stop worrying about it.
Skin and body essentials
Sunscreen, and more of it than you think you need. When you're wearing minimal coverage and dancing outdoors, you're burning in places that rarely see direct sun. Reapply every two hours — keep it in your bag, not in a car or a locker. A broad-spectrum SPF 50 in a small bottle takes up barely any space.
Thin adhesive bandages in a skin tone for anywhere a strap, garter, or seam might rub over a long day. Identify those spots when you try the outfit on at home — the side of your foot, the back of your ankle, where a bra wire sits — and pre-empt them rather than dealing with them at hour six.
Wet wipes. Not for touch-ups, but for the moment you sit on something questionable, need to cool down fast, or want to clean your hands before eating without walking twenty minutes to find a bathroom.
A mini deodorant. The solid stick travel sizes take up no space at all and are infinitely better than nothing mid-afternoon when you've been dancing for four hours.
The practical add-ons
A keychain torch in the bottom of your bag. Darker stages, portable toilets, finding your keys at midnight — it's one of those things you forget until you desperately need it.
A portable battery pack and the right cable for your phone. Festival phone batteries drain fast from music, maps, photos, and payments. A charged power bank means you're not spending the last three hours of the night rationing battery.
Cash. More festivals are going cashless but not all of them, and card systems go down at the worst times. Keep $40–60 in notes somewhere secure in your bag.
Pain relief — ibuprofen or paracetamol. For your feet at hour seven, the headache that arrives from hours in the sun, or the moment someone else in your group needs one and you're the person who remembered.
Hair and beauty: what actually survives a festival
Festival beauty needs to look intentional at the start and still be working twelve hours later. The things that don't make it: anything that needs touching up every two hours, hair that was set but not secured, and glitter applied directly to sweaty skin without a base.
Hair: Loose styles that were meant to look undone become just undone. If you're dancing all day, plan for the hair to move. A style that looks good slightly messy — a bun with pieces out, a braid that loosens naturally, waves that just keep doing their thing — will serve you better than anything that was perfect for the first forty minutes. If you want your hair actually done-done, use a setting spray, enough pins to secure the structure, and accept that it becomes a commitment.
Makeup: Eyebrows, mascara, and a lip stain are the three things worth committing to because they hold through sweat and movement. Full foundation in festival heat tends to move — if you want coverage, a setting spray and a light powder over the top will extend it significantly. Skip anything requiring constant reapplication unless you've got the bag space for a proper kit.
Glitter: Chunky body glitter applied over a glitter adhesive base stays where you put it. Fine particle glitter on bare skin is everywhere by hour two — on other people, in your food, on your camera lens. Decide which you're going for and pack accordingly. A small pot of chunky glitter and a brush takes up almost no space and lets you add more later when the light changes and you want more.
Fragrance: A solid perfume or oil rollerball takes up essentially no space and lasts far better in heat than an alcohol-based spray. Worth the swap if you don't already carry one.
Food and water
Festival food is expensive, often inconsistent, and available at the worst possible times. Going in with a plan means you eat on your schedule rather than the festival's.
Eat a real meal before you go — something with protein and fat that will actually stay with you. The energy you arrive with sets the tone for the day, and trying to fix a blood sugar crash at a festival is not fun.
Bring water in a reusable bottle. Most festivals have refill stations and allow sealed bottles through. If you're dancing all day in minimal coverage, you're losing more fluid than you realise. Drink before you feel thirsty, not after.
Pack a few snacks — something dense and easy to eat while moving. Nuts, a protein bar, dried fruit. Not because festival food is necessarily bad (sometimes it's excellent) but because the queue is always longest at exactly the moment you need it most.
If it's a pole festival
Grip and stage time change the equation. Festivals run warm, poles are used by many people across a full day, and the queue for your turn is always longer than class ever prepared you for.
Grip aid: Bring your preferred product plus a backup. Warm conditions mean going through more than usual. If you use a spray or liquid grip, bring something for your hands specifically — sweaty hands on a warm pole need a different solution than a cool studio pole.
A small hand towel rather than tissues, which disintegrate. You'll use it constantly between spins and climbs throughout the day.
Kneepads if you're competing or performing, regardless of whether you think you'll need them. By hour four of a festival, decision fatigue is real — having them in your bag means the choice is already made.
Two separate bags if your costume and warm-up gear are different. A stage bag that stays with you, with everything you need in the ten minutes before you go up. A larger day bag for everything else. Hunting through a full festival bag for grip aid right before your turn is the kind of stress that's completely avoidable.
A change of outfit or at least a change of shorts for after you've poled and before you go back out to watch and socialise. Performing in something and wearing that same thing for a festival crowd for eight more hours are two different experiences. Give yourself the option to switch.
If there are outdoor poles and it's a warm day, check the pole before you go up. Metal in direct sun can get genuinely hot in ways that affect both grip and skin — worth a quick check with the back of your hand before you commit to a climb.
The night before
Lay everything out and photograph it. Not for content — for the moment at 6:30am when you're trying to remember whether you packed the body tape, and you can just check the photo instead of unpacking everything.
Charge everything: your phone, your portable charger, your earbuds, anything else with a battery. Do this the night before rather than the morning of, because morning always runs shorter than you expect it to.
Pack your bag properly rather than roughly. Everything that might be hard to find in a hurry — torch, body tape, safety pins, pain relief — goes in a small internal pocket or a separate zip pouch. Loose at the bottom of a bag is where things go to be unfindable exactly when you need them.
Eat something substantial and drink more water than usual the night before. The best festival preparation is arriving already fed and hydrated rather than trying to catch up on both once you're there.
The people who have the best time at festivals are the ones who've thought about it enough that they can stop thinking about it. Sort the logistics the night before and show up ready to actually be there.
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Festival & Rave Outfit Ideas: What to Wear When You Actually Want to Dance