what are people wearing at outside lands?

tech bro selvedge hoes, sundae school asians, and what molehill readers (you!) were wearing at SF's biggest music festival.

Hi!

I feel like a forest fairy because I got my hands on some foraged fig leaves yesterday. Each leaf is as big as my hand and it makes the house smell coconutty and floral and green. It’s been a while since I’ve been this enchanted with a scent, to the point where I’m trawling Fragrantica for photorealistic fig leaf scents. The plan is to make an infused syrup to mix with sparkling water and lattes. Also, this post might cut off in email due to length + photos, so read in browser.

Before we dive into the Outside Lands fashion report, here are some end of summer sales + new stuff worth looking at:

• Emma Rothkopf’s archive sale is your chance to get earthy natural fiber blouses/knits on a rare discount. If you’re inclined to consider the non-sale selection, the pointelle henley (thicker feel than Cou Cou and Leset) was the most popular item on last year’s holiday gift guide.

• The word whimsical gets overused, but there is no better way to describe Samantha Pleet’s circus fortune teller prints, now included in a sample sale.

• My favorite one-piece from Left on Friday is 30% off. Btw, I personally don’t like the cut and fit of the bikini sets, only this specific one piece.

• Araks swim sale is color combo paradise, and some of the swim tops are especially passable as regular crop tops. I have a red set from three years ago and the color has not the faded, the fabric has stayed taut/compressive.

• Like others in the molechat, I have been looking at the new greens from J.Crew, aptly named “peridot” after the August birthstone. The green silk wrap skirt and relaxed viscose pants look the most promising based purely on ecomm photos, and I’d consider sizing up in this striped merino wool knit for a loose boyish fit paired with denim shorts.

Have you milked your job benefits to the max? Ask your employer/university org to cover the cost of a Molehill subscription with this email template :)

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Last weekend, I was one of the 200,000+ people who made the pilgrimage to the mystical woods of Golden Gate Park for Outside Lands, San Francisco’s marquee musical festival.

This was my OSL ever. Generally, I have a hard time enjoying myself in massive crowds. I am also short, so mosh pits mean my face ends up in the vicinity of a man’s stinky armpit. Not ideal!

But the lineup was stacked this year, and I really, really wanted to see Marina because I am a #primadonnagirl. So I went for one day with my partner, and met up with some friends there too. It was honestly the perfect amount of time, I left happy but exhausted and didn’t have FOMO about the rest of the weekend.

Leading up to OSL, I did a lot of research on what the weather would be like, what to pack, what the food options were etc. My goals were, in order:

1. See Marina!!!!!

2. Don’t get sunburnt.

3. Have perfect squat form in the porta-potties because there is NO WAY I can mentally deal with bare skin touching any surface in there. Be in and out in 20 seconds tops.

4. Don’t freeze at night.

5. Jot down fashion observations that feel interesting and see what comes from it. If there isn’t a story angle or trend deep dive that itches my brain, don’t force it.

The rest of this newsletter is a diary-style breakdown of my day at Outside Lands, peppered in with anthropological commentary on festival-goers and what they were wearing.

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2:00pm: Board the N Judah train at Embarcadero.

Yay! The train is pretty empty when we board, because we’re so far from the Outer Sunset lol. But at least we get seats. I’m wearing my “practical” outfit over my cute outfit for this public transit stint: bell sleeve Custo Barcelona top, forest green spa-inspired pants, and Keens of course.

Oh and a mask, because public health is very chic. The train starts to fill up. From the downtown stops, a gaggle of girls with glitter eyeshadow and the good ‘ol Coachella copy paste: midriff-baring crochet top, long boho skirts with medallion belts and long gold jewelry. Girls headed home from their office jobs in Rothy’s flats and Aritzia shell blouses closed their eyes to disassociate.

By the time we get to the Duboce stop, it was starting to feel like packed sardines. The Gen Z boys notably gravitated towards neutral colored camp shirts, long relaxed pants and crossbody fanny packs.

You can also spot the tech bro-selvedge hoe by their ridiculously stiff (and expensive) denim sets which are the worst thing I can imagine wearing in a porta-potty. Then the UCSF nurses in their blue scrubs boarded and I felt soooo bad for them. Imagine having to finish a long ass shift at the hospital and then cramming into a train of screaming broccoli top youngsters.

By the time we approached the Outer Sunset, the fashion was a bit more androgynous, sporty and very earth toned—parachute pants, bandanas, little white Hanes tanks, you get the idea. (The Outer Sunset Asians also love their Sundae School fleeces and mochi flower jerseys).

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2:45pm: Walk to the OSL entrance.

The train stop is in a residential area so we follow the flock down rows of pastel-colored houses with “DO NOT BLOCK DRIVEWAY” signs. There was a family with kids selling spam musubi snacks out of their driveway a block from Golden Gate Park. Smart!

The mini flocks converge into even bigger flocks. I’m overwhelmed at the sheer amount of people, and at this point can’t even pay attention to specific outfits, just the broad strokes.

The most popular shoe by FAR were knee high boots, especially cowboy boots and Frye/Frye dupe boots. So many freaking boots! A lot of the outfits reminded me of Cierra from Love Island lol.

Made it in! Filled up our water bottle, got a pee in while there were no lines at the porta-potties, hovered around the main stage where Thundercat’s set was on.

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3:00pm: Run into a Molehill reader at Beer Lands.

I don’t even really like beer that much. But something about a music festival makes me spend $16 on a random guava infused beer (very mediocre). Anyways as I was about to buy my overpriced alcohol, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was a Molehill reader! (I’m so sorry I can’t remember names because the day was so hectic but let me know if this is you!).

This mole had on such a cool outfit. Very vintage, bohemian vibes. I liked the different shapes going on with the halter triangles and handkerchief hem miniskirt. I also loveeeee a good tattoo placement, pretty sure the tiger tats are by Christine Liu at Two Cranes Tattoo!

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3:30pm: Take a photo with the mushrooms.

There’s really nothing else to say except we were wandering around and I was like, hey those mushrooms kinda match my red/brown color scheme so let me get my one and only real outfit photo here. At this point it was really hot, the sun was coming down and we re-applied sunscreen. I slid off my public transit outer layers at stored them in my partner’s clear backpack <3

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3:50pm: Stake out a grassy patch, people watch.

I am really glad we brought a picnic blanket because it’s the closest thing you have to comfort + a sense of “personal space” here. I felt pretty euphoric sipping my mediocre beer, snacking on Late July nacho chips, and just people watching in the warm sun.

A big theme was *microclimate solution dressing.* Aka layers. Pashmina scarves are easy to drape onto any outfit, and are extremely practical when the damp cold air rolls in. Keffiyehs were both a political/style statement while keeping the neck/head warm.

We miraculously found our friends at a meeting spot, and slowly started heading over to the Twin Peaks stage.

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5:20pm: MARINA!!!!!!

Omg she looked like an ethereal goddess onstage. The energy was exuberant, bratty, sassy, bubblegum bitch vibes.

We didn’t arrive early enough to get in the mosh pit sections, but found a comfy hillside spot from afar. I could see a tiny blurry Marina moving around, which was enough. Cuntissimo and Primadonna Girl were my favorite songs. She killed it. Such a fun audience too.

I saw a lot of complaints online this year about “OSL needs to be 21+” due to the “lack of festival etiquette” among younger attendees who were reportedly shoving people in crowds/don’t say excuse me/etc. I did have a few annoying encounters—but personally, I didn’t feel like it was to a point where it hindered the overall experience.

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6:00pm: Ran into more Molehill readers.

After the Marina set, these two lovely moles came up and said they recognized me from my green Custo Barcelona top in the crowd.

Meeting moles in the wild is the best. The tinted sunglasses! The poppy red fur trim jacket! Their outfits are also a masterclass in OSL layering: you absolutely need a jacket and comfortable shoes. Long pants are a huge plus for comfort.

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6:25pm: Bundle up and browse food options.

The fog rolled in aggressively. It was like being swallowed by a ghost ectoplasm. You can feel the moisture and bone-chilling cold immediately on contact. I grabbed my puffer and cinched the hood.

I think if you come prepared for the dramatic weather shift, the fog adds to the mystique of OSL. Apparently Gracie Abrams said this was her favorite kind of weather.

We browsed the food options, and I could have definitely chomped into a Senor Sisig burrito but the line was super long. We decided to get dinner at a sit-down place on the train ride home.

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6:40pm: Wait in line to pee.

Nature was calling, and I wanted to get my last pee over with before the Doechii set. The lines were longer this time. I held my breath. In and out in 15 seconds.

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7:00pm: Doechii time.

Doechii is an incredible performer. I’m more into her fashion moments than her actual music, but wow the set was basically a Superbowl halftime show. She was so high energy and I loved that there were backup dancers.

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7:20pm: Popped into the GAP tent.

During Doechii I realized we were right by the GAP brand activation tent thing (idk what it’s technically called lol). It looked really dead inside but I was like, let me see what they’re doing. Basically, you could customize a GAP hoodie with OSL patches. I don’t know how well it did, but based on Friday night…no one was buying.

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7:45pm: That’s a wrap.

We left right before the Doechii set ended up avoid crowds. Flew through the exit, it was awesome. I was super dazed and tired at this point, so I remember thinking “just follow the golden ribbon, follow the golden ribbon” as we sauntered towards the MUNI stop. It was fluttering in the fog like a shiny arrow sign.

I put my hood up and shut my eyes the whole ride to dinner. I’m sure my eyeliner was panda smudged, I didn’t care.

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8:30pm: Finish the night at Beit Rima.

I think this is the best place you can end up for a post-OSL dinner because the restaurant is right along the N Judah heading back. We waited a bit for an outdoor table, and the whole scene just felt so magical—the way the sun set against the patio tables and Victorian houses, the glow of the outdoor heaters and waft of pita baskets in the air.

Also, I was just really hungry. I inhaled a chicken shish plate as we debriefed the day.

From there we did the last leg of transit back to the East Bay.

We got home and I was never more excited to take a shower and feel CLEAN.

I played more Marina songs on my phone as I brushed my teeth. Slept like a baby that night.

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xo viv

Thanks for being here. You can find me on IG and TT. My wardrobe pieces and recs are saved here—unless it’s vintage, of course ;) I may earn a small commission on purchases made on affiliate links.