V Festival with Rocket Dog

Festivals – they’re almost a rite of passage. Like the girls/lads holidays everyone seems to go on after finishing their A-levels, to a spot of travelling in SE Asia for some, going to a festival to camp out, enjoy your favourite artists, and most likely roll about in some mud seems an inevitable experience for any Brit. But at 24, I still hadn’t got that experience notched onto my memory bedpost. Luckily, Rocket Dog got me all packed up and ready to go to V Festival in Highlands Park, Chelmsford, kitting me out with the wear-with-everything grey Campo trainers, rubber Rainy boots, VIP passes, and all of the camping equipment necessary from Vango.
 

Being the kind of girl that favours her bed and the comfort of her own home, I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t the slightest bit apprehensive about going to a festival. Will my hair become so greasy I can fry an egg on it? Will my skin become so at one with the mud that I could be mistaken for a pig just chilling in a farm? Are the toilets really as bad as people say they are?

It turns out no, to all of them. Festivals just have that free-loving vibe that make it easy to just get on with it. Plus, the VIP passes certainly helped…

We touched down early Saturday morning, threw up the tent (we could hear our tent-neighbours muttering about how easy our pop-up tent assembled itself) and headed straight off to explore the park and see who’d be playing. DNCE, Foxes, Sia, MK, Faithless and Justin Bieber were just a few to pepper the Saturday line-up. Between acts, we vibed-out in the VIP area, situated in the gardens of the stunning stately home, dosing up on coffee and burgers (naturally) all whilst swinging away in banana yellow hammocks.

On Sunday we played a game of repeat, crawling out of the tent for breakfast coffees and recovery donuts, then slowly eating our way through the myriad of pop-up food stalls dishing out dangerously delicious treats whilst gearing up for All Saints, David Guetta and Rihanna.

It wouldn’t be a festival without mentioning the rain, so despite having perfect sunshine-ready, super comfortable Rocket Dog trainers for walking, dancing, whatevering to the music, I also packed the Rainy lace-up boots in case of emergency. Inevitably, sunshine turned into showers, and grass turned into mud. But crafted like a welly, with the style of a classic hi-top lace-up trainers, these boots are the ultimate festival essential for wading through mud whilst still looking fashionable.

 The boots played-up perfectly against this Topshop floral tea dress, adding a subtle punkish vibe to lower the tone of the girly dress. Then throw on a denim jacket – all oversized, overdyed and covered in graffiti-esque prints – and you’re well on the way to nailing essential festival style with just a little nod to sartorial anarchy.

Oh, and pro tip for festivals: make sure your partner in crime for the weekend is at least 6ft tall or more: it ensures ultimate viewing when scoping the likes of Rihanna.

So, that’s my festival story! Spanning just a couple of days, V Festival certainly is an easy one to prepare you for potentially taking on a longer festival next summer round. Have you been to many festivals? Or are they one rite of passage you haven’t quite made yet? (much like me until now!)