Burning Man Fashion
When I first started going to Burning Man, in 2005, I put zero effort into fashion. As long as my clothes was durable and comfortable, I was happy. In 2012, when I started a theme camp, though, I needed to dress in a way that fit the camp theme and that opened my mind to the joy of Radical Self-Expression.
I'm not a fan of the typical festival clothes or off-the-rack outfits. I'm also not a fan of wearing much clothes, but at the same time am quite skeptical of shirt-cocking or going nude (protect your delicate bits!) Instead, I usually bring some mix of homemade clothes, store-bought clothes that I've altered or, most often, individual pieces of clothing put together into just the right configuration. I love all of these sources enough that I started wearing their clothes off-Playa or gifting it to others.
Below you can find some of my favorite sources for clothes that I bring to the Playa.
Foxy Lingerie sells ladies intimate wear (something I need for my camp). In addition to stocking affordable, lovely and durable thongs and panties that can make up part of a Burning Man outfit, they have some great babydolls and teddies, a costume section, sexy evening wear and plenty of accessories, like pasties, gloves, tights and leg warmers to round out an outfit.
Freshpair sells sexy, well-made, stylish and comfortable underwear for men. At my camp, many of our outfits require thongs for men. In my experience, the stuff on Amazon is pretty much garbage. Often ill-fitting, almost always flimsy and, if your package is outsized compared to your body type, good luck getting something that will hold it in! If you've never purchased male lingerie, you'll be amazed at the selection of styles. They also carry harnesses, the hottest Long John's you've ever seen, and if you want to go really weird, a couple style of singlets.
Spirithoods is well-known by burners for producing top-quality, comfortable, warm faux-fur garments. I was never sold on the faux-fur coats: a little too festival-y, expensive and I actually don't get cold easily. Then a campmate bought me a Spirithoods coat as a thank you for "saving her life." It's pretty great. On cold nights, I can stay warm with just the coat, it has convenient pockets with zippers that somehow stand up to the Playa dust and just feels really cozy. It's a pain to wash, though, something to keep in mind before going out with bare armpits. As long as you don't do that, though, you can generally just blow the dust off with a leafblower and air it out to get it feeling and smelling fresh again. They sell many styles of faux-fur garments, along with non-fur stuff like leggings, bodysuits, kimonos, hats and really cute tops. They do a great job of crafting clothing that looks festive, without making you look like you just fell off the VIP bus to Tomorrowland.
