Summer Festival Planning Means Packing Must-Haves for Comfort

You’ve made your festival selection, loaded your GoogleMaps, checked the tires on the car and filled your cooler with your favorite drinks and snacks. You’ve even remembered to put the folding beach chair or portable hammock in the trunk — but festival pros know planning doesn’t stop there. Here’s what you need to bring along to make the most of those sunny dog days:

Style-Forward Shades With Cool Features

The Premium Collection from Sunski has polarized lenses and great new shapes including the Andiamos and Vacanzas styles that channel the elegance of coastal Italy. Each and every pair of sunglasses from Sunski boasts polarized lenses and planet-friendly sustainable elements such as proprietary SuperLight recycled plastic resin locally sourced in the United States. More local sourcing: Every style of sunglasses in the Sunski collection was actually designed by the company’s San Francisco-based team.

A Hat to Top Off Your Look and Protect You From the Sun

Newport. Photo: Tenth Street Hats

Full disclosure: My great-grandmother, Marie LaRose, was a milliner in France, making beautiful hats in an age when women weren’t supposed to have jobs. Wearing a hat is literally in my DNA, and I’m unlikely to ever apologize for the amount of headwear in my closet (it’s impressive, I assure you). And, if you’ve ever suffered the non-joy of a sunburned scalp, you don’t need to be told why a great hat is non-negotiable, especially if you plan to settle into your best outdoor music fest lawn chair for the better part of a summer day. Tenth Street Hats has you covered, with a heady (get it?) selection of styles for men and women that ranges from casual to pretty and posh. The family-run company utilizes the skills of designers and craftspeople who meld vintage elements with cool style, using only top-quality fabrics and fashioning the headwear on rare millinery equipment. My favorite Tenth Street style is the Diego boater in Toast, because it’s breezy, packable and lets me peek out from beneath the brim.

Something Cute and Functional to Pull Back Your Hair

The new hair rule (I just made this up, but it’s still true) is you can never be too old to wear your hair in a ponytail. Pulling your tresses back with a plain hair tie is simply too boring for a big festival weekend, though — which is where Madison & White comes in. Its selection of Healthy Hair Ties come in Newport White, Venice Slate and Malibu Nights, are completely vegan and were produced sustainably with cruelty-free standards. They’re made from the same custom Madix fabric the company uses to produce pillowcases — a technical blend that helps reduce hair damage, plus (in the case of the pillowcases) reduces sleep wrinkles and helps skin and hair retain moisture.

Creamy, Soothing Organic Moisturizer

Outdoor festivals can wreak sun havoc on skin, so pack some powerful, protective potions to keep the world smooth. Rich, lightly scented organic whipped body butters from Garner’s Garden are concocted from raw, unrefined ingredients and come in gorgeous scents that include Ginger Clove, Lavender, Lemongrass and Grapefruit Tangerine Citrus. There’s even an unscented version, and the multiple sizes mean you can stash one in your travel kit or day bag, keep one in your car and another at home.

A Sleek, Eco-Friendly Beverage Bottle

If you don’t stay hydrated, you’re going to be too thirsty to enjoy the music, the art and the entertainment. Be proactive and bring along a bottle from Mizu. Bonus: The food-grade, stainless steel, double-walled, vacuum-sealed, insulated construction means you can keep your coffee or Earl Grey tea hot in the morning, and your water or mango-hibiscus herbal tisane cold in the afternoon. The company was founded by Olympian and X Game medalist Jussi Oksanen, inspired while on a film shoot in Alaska to create a product line that met his own reusable, non-plastic demands — hence the company’s slogan “Enjoy the Journey, Leave Nothing Behind.” Check out Mizu’s smoothie-friendly, stainless-steel straws with removable silicone marbled tips to take along with you.

One Perfect Tote to Hold It All

The only tote bag I’ve come across that’s roomy and sturdy enough to hold all my essentials (which means anything I’ve decided I can’t live without for the day, night or weekend), is beautifully made and makes me smile when the couple in front of me blocks my view of the stage is my Teddy the Dog Nauti Dog Boat Tote. First, Teddy the Dog wears sunglasses and is featured on the bag’s patch logo; next, this canvas bag has generous space, a zippered top, exterior pocket, integrated handle and a cloth-lined interior with a zip compartment. It can even be monogramed so no one’s tempted to take your Teddy away.