Festival Fashion - Wearing Our Best for the ACL Fest

Happy Sunday, readers! I often feel nostalgic towards quite possibly the best weekend of my life: Austin City Limits Weekend 1! My amazing mother spontaneously won two 3-day passes on the radio over the summer (what???) valued at $300 each, setting the stage for the most magical trip down to Austin, Texas, the live music capital of the world! One of my very best friends, Selin, and I made the drive to possibly our future home (University of Texas?) ready to hear some of the most popular artists of 2014. If you are unfamiliar with Austin City Limits, it's basically the same thing as Coachella spread out over 3 days in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. They have several stages where there's continuous live music, some of Austin's best food, and 350 acres of pure bliss. Catch the 2014 lineup HERE.

Day 1

Selin and I arrived just in time to catch Sam Smith perform, and basked in the glory of his angelic voice. We then saw Childish Gambino after pushing through crowds, dancing to some of our favorite songs, and hanging out with 75,000 other people who shared a love for music. It started to sink in how amazing the weekend was about to be. Above, Selin and I are waiting in line to grab food after Gambino; this is where I purchased the infamous $6 lemonade.

After catching our breaths and getting some grub, Selin and I ended the night with the performance of Outkast (Hey Ya, anybody?) and exploring Zilker Park. I distinctly remember just taking a moment to lay on the field and take everything in; we were finally here! In the picture above, you can see what Selin and I sported on Day 1. She opted for a dark gray crop top, white high-waisted shorts, and some combat boots. My original outfit didn't go as planned, so I ended up borrowing blue cotton shorts from Forever 21 and long-sleeve black crop top from Selin. To top it off, I pulled on a beaded headband from Francesca's and my white Converse.

Not wanting the night to be over, Selin and I went downtown to a trendy coffee/dessert place, Halcyon, where we got our own personal s'mores with a little fire and everything (cutest thing ever)!

Day 2

Today is the day we see Lana! Pre-concert jitters are setting in as we take a vain mirror selfie showing off our outfits for the day, Selin sporting a thrifted crop top and studded shorts, while I'm wearing a romper from a boutique in New Mexico. We planned to see Lana Del Rey front row, which meant standing at the same stage for hours, forcing Selin to lug around a backpack with our snuck-in food. We were not about to lose our spot.

After successfully sneaking in the food, we made our way to the Samsung Stage, where we would be standing for 7 hours. Here you can see the bag I used this weekend; a pink circle crossbody I picked up at Nordstrom from the brand Cesca. We arrived to hear the closing of Spanish Gold, followed by waiting for an hour and trying to figure out how we were gonna get to the very front by 6:30. We next heard Rebelution, a band Selin really enjoyed, then later The Head and the Heart, which turned out to be one of my current favorite bands. Check them out on Soundcloud HERE.

We ended up getting THIS CLOSE to the stage and could not be more excited! After squeezing, making friends, and begging, we got as close as we were gonna get to the queen. The sunnies from Francesca's I'm wearing literally saved my life during the wait because it was so hot! When Lana came out, there were screams, tears, and the most excitement I have ever felt. Lana is Selin's favorite artist of all time and I knew that this was one of the best moments of her life. 

This is my favorite photo from the concert. I swear on my life that she looked at me and Selin because we were screaming so loud. She is even more beautiful in person. After Lana's performance, came the worst part of ACL. Most of the people at the front had been waiting for Eminem who was to perform an hour later, and all Selin and I wanted to do was get out because we had already seen who we came to see and honestly didn't care for Eminem. After shoving with literally every ounce of my strength, almost losing Selin, getting cursed at, breaking the strap on my romper, and losing my monogrammed Camelbak water bottle, Selin and I made it out of the insane crowd and still laugh about it to this day. To end the day, we ended up staying for Skrillex, an unexpectedly fun experience. We made some friends in the crowd and danced along to flashing lights and loud mixes.

Day 3

Our final day has arrived and the feelings could not be more mixed. Excited for our third and final day, but definitely not ready to leave. We also were fortunate enough to mini-tour The University of Texas with help from our friend Alaina who is a student there. 

Today Selin and I opted for similar looks - black tops with distressed shorts(mine from Forever 21), but I added a kimono borrowed from my friend Sydney. Today we had no act we wanted to see in particular, so we spent the day exploring and doing a bit of shopping around the markets. 

We couldn't leave without another classic ACL picture in the frame, where you can see the beautiful Ausitn skyline in the back. 

I'm so thankful to have shared this experience with one of my best friends in the entire world. Through the music, the laughter, the squeals, the tears, she's been through it all and I'm blessed by a forever friend. I can't wait to see where our futures take us; if it's in different directions, I'm confident in our ability to conquer the world even if we're miles apart, but if it's to UT, let's keep Austin weird, together.
Yours truly, Sara