I Went To Gov Ball Solo
A mid month roundup of festival fashion, good reads and a crafty closet hack
Sort of a Dear Diary newsletter this week! I’ve got some fashion musings, multimedia obsessions and a wee Father’s Day shoutout to round it out. Enjoy!
Festival notes from Gov Ball
I went by myself for a day pass on Friday. It wasn’t my first solo concert, but definitely first for a festival. Apart from getting a little sleepy before Tyler the Creator’s headlining set due to a marginal crash (x1 beer problems), there weren’t many times that I felt like a wallflower to my own experience. Experiences like this, ie when you know exactly what you want to do but fear doing it alone because the intent was to share it with someone, cannot be foregone just because that someone else never takes you up on it. As an expat, or moving to a new locale, or in the early stages of making friends, I’ve come across this fork in the road and have always been grateful for the times I chose to do the thing for myself, regardless of company. Alone in a crowd, I can also mimic the artist’s choreography and don’t have to pretend that I don’t know it from watching it on loop every time I get ready for a night out. The trade offs here certainly leaned more pro than con.
Between sets, I read Julia’s latest from orzo bimbo. The rage was enough to motivate me to grab a tall boy, move into the crowd and get ready to throw down to Tyla’s Push 2 Start. For her part, Tyla wore a tied-up ringer tee and a body chain layered over top in what felt to me like a nod to the R&B fashions of its heyday. Not to mention, she is keenly aware of what shapes and proportions her outfits need to have for the choreography to take full effect: most of the weight of her clothing (and accessories!) settles around her hips. Dancers, take note!
It was a great day for people with tattoos above the outside of their elbow, myself included. Every girl there — I say girl because a majority of festival goers appeared somewhere between 17 and 22 — was either decidedly in SZA or Charli XCX’s camp. It was as if they all had to choose from micro shorts or a two-tiered skirt/oversized football jersey while getting dressed that morning. Lots of babydoll tops as well, but they weren’t reimagining so much as replicating its Y2K styling with medium wash denim shorts. It always feels a little Aeropostale/Limited Too that way. To my disappointment, and intrigue, I only clocked one pair of bloomers and one sheer maxi skirt.
The lead from Mannequin Pussy is breathy and fearsome in the same vein as Janis Joplin, or Sonic Youth’s Kool Thing. Thought she was worth the mention.
T-Pain brought in the grown crowd, thank god. My predictions about his setlist were right; similar to fellow recession radio king Pitbull, T-Pain knew his fans were only concerned with the OG hits and was more than happy to deliver on this front.
J Crew wants to paint you like a… well…
American summer might feel a little more bisou bisou this year if J Crew’s latest collection has any say in the matter. Meandering into the store the other day, which I NEVER do, I was struck by how French Riviera-esque the racks of crochet, cotton, and raffia appeared. The silhouettes were right in my wheelhouse, lightweight and a little unassuming, maybe skimming the body, and the colorways seemed loud-averse and focused on natural elements. There were certainly enough browns and beiges to boot. I was particularly inspired by crochet top with shells pictured below - hopefully going to give you a more dedicated secondhand roundup with similar finds.
Nevertheless, I was a little shocked that one of the cornerstones of American fashion wasn’t going to zero in on the timeless, functional clothing fans have been mood boarding on Substack Notes all year from their 90s/00s eras. Will this move pay off, even for the summer? I would assume those looking to Francify their wardrobes would turn to Sézane without question.
Before Sunrise changed me.
Or at least validated my feelings on Euro-American relations, summer flings, risk, heterosexual love, and Ethan Hawke. Watching the characters dance around each other in extended scenes felt tender, exhilarating, nerve-wracking. This watch was long overdue.
Started wearing some of my skirts as tops.
I’m in a weird period where I don’t know what to make for dinner, and I don’t know what to wear. As a result, both my pantry and closet are at a bit of a standstill until further notice. Braving my subconscious fashion insecurities by Trying Something™, I met my friends for dinner and drinks on Friday in a flowy elasticated skirt-as-top and tied a silk scarf at the waist over a pair of jeans. A bias cut would be all the more powerful here. Why buy a tube top when you (sorta) have one at home???
Returning to my homeostasis as a Voracious Reader.
I’m on a hot streak this summer, having taken advantage of the Brooklyn public libraries’ hold capacity and living with the consequences of every book becoming available at the same time. So far, I’ve tackled Giovanni’s Room, Song of Solomon, Close to Home and Black Swans (each with commendable 3-4 star ratings — mama is stingy with her fives!). I’m capitalizing on my Chateau Marmont obsession with my current read, The Castle on Sunset, halfway through Inside Central America (1991), and have a slew of exciting reads on deck: Play It As It Lays, Vincenzo Latronico’s Perfection (shortlisted for 2025 Booker Prize), and Seven Days in June. My screen time is still uncomfortably high, but at least a few times a week I’m struck by beautiful writing on a tangible page.
Bought 2-for-1 focaccia at the farmer’s market.
My favorite breakfast sarnie is the Egg Chilli Cheese at the Dusty Knuckle, and after visiting me last summer and trying it for himself my dad went on a few trial runs of the recipe at home in the weeks that followed. It went from being the go-to hangover cure I would trade for a pint at the taproom I opened on the weekends, to comforting bites made by the best damn breakfast chef I know while I was still devastated about leaving London. I suppose that’s a solid Happy Father’s Day mention as any!
That’s all folks!!!
Love your brain