How to Wear Coachella Looks in the Real World

This may come as a bit of a surprise to you guys, but I've never actually been to Coachella. Mostly because of logistical issues and timing (why does it always happen to fall in the middle of final paper season!?) but it's whatever. There's plenty of think pieces on why the music festival is totally overrated anyways, which makes me feel slightly better about missing out on surprise performances by my middle school crush, Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie (let's be real, he's still amazing).

But just because I didn't go to the festival doesn't mean I can't take away important lessons from the people who did attend. Coachella is where the biggest trends of the summer start to emerge, with celebs and fashion bloggers flocking to Palm Springs with trunks full of cute new clothes and innovative styling techniques. While Coachella has maybe gotten away from its hippie roots, I do love that it has become a truly fashionable event, and yes, I promise, that some of the clothes worn there can be worn in real, non-music festival settings as well!

The Inspirations:

Whitney Port via @whitneyeveport | Chiara Ferragni of The Blonde Salad

Flower crowns are over, but Whitney Port may have found the new way to incorporate florals into a hairdo. She stuck bougainvillea leaves into her hairstyles all weekend and looked totally cool doing it, so I thought I'd give it a try, seeing as there's an abundance of pink flowers in the sorority parking lot. You know how I love my bougainvilleas!

And for my outfit, it seems I got this cute Madewell denim dress at precisely the right time, because this style is about to blow up. Both Chiara Ferragni (above) and Emma Roberts wore a button-up denim dress by N Nicholas this weekend, practically guaranteeing that we are going to be seeing a lot more of this look. And it's totally perfect for summer, so why shouldn't be a big trend?

Like Chiara, I threw a bandana around my neck and hoisted a designer backpack over my shoulders, and I was ready to go. Am I prepping for a three-day music festival or just heading off to class looking like an adventurous tropical alien? The world will never know.