What to Wear to a Food and Arts Festival in Lagos

Outdoors, holding a plate in one hand, your phone in another, wishing you wore something better.

It is a daytime outdoor event first before anything else

Light fabric that breathes. Nothing heavily lined. A colour that holds up in strong sun rather than a faded one, and ideally a dress that does not show what a long hot afternoon is doing to you. This rules out pale grey and most pastel colours.

Something to cover your shoulders is worth carrying even if you do not wear it the whole time. Festivals run from afternoon into evening and the sun is relentless for the first half of that.

You will be standing and walking the whole time

There is rarely enough seating and you will not get any of it. Expect to be on your feet for four or five hours, moving between stalls and installations, often on grass or gravel.

Block heels, flat sandals or trainers if the festival is relaxed enough. Thin heels sink into grass and you will spend the afternoon on your toes, which is uncomfortable and shows in every photograph.

The crowd is creative

This is where it differs from a wedding or a work event. A food and arts festival pulls in a crowd that dresses with more personality and less formality, so this is the place for colour, print and something with character rather than something safe.

Being slightly underdressed here reads as relaxed. And being overdressed reads as if you just came from somewhere else and haven’t had time to change.

What tends to work

A midi in a light fabric with a bit of print or colour, flat or block-heeled shoes, a cross-body bag, and sunglasses. Comfortable enough to spend five hours in and interesting enough to photograph well.

If the festival runs into the evening, the usual trick applies. Change the earrings, add a stronger lip, and the same outfit carries into the night without you going home.

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