Clicking through my usual online fashion haunts this week, it seems the only thing I’m hearing about is Coachella. Who’s at Coachella. I’m not at Coachella. Coachella, Coachella, Coachella! H&M even launched a Coachella-inspired line, presumably so festival-goers could narrow the fashion palette that is festival gear even further…? When one looks at photos of looks spotted at Coachella, one has to assume the event has become some sort of bizarre hipster Woodstock/Burning Man hybrid. So much see-through, crochet, and high-waisted shorts! Dudes wearing t-shirts ironically featuring bands they’ve never heard of! And dear lord, the impractical footwear! I suppose if I rolled into Coachella in my Chacos and sensible sundress I’d be laughed at. Whatevs, ladies: I’d be comfortable. Hiking for miles around festival grounds in platform wedges sounds like the opposite of a good time to this pragmatic fashion fiend.

Coachella ostensibly kicks off something that style and culture writers have dubbed ‘festival season‘ (it has its own Facebook page; le barf) which confuses me. I guess it’s weird to hear the phrase ‘festival season’ when you live in a place where there are festivals year-round (in fact, if Austin had a ‘festival season’ it’d probably be in the fall when ACL, Fun Fun Fun Fest and a host of other gourd-related meetups give way to the holiday season). If you have the means to do nothing but attend festivals for an entire season (three months’ time, last I checked), then screw you, I’m of course completely jealous. Probably mostly kids without jobs living on their parents’ dime, but here I go jumping to conclusions. And while we’re on the subject of youth-oriented culture, can we please all knock it off with speaking in superlatives all the time? “I’m OBSESSED….”, “this coat is EVERYTHING…” Stop it. Just stop. You sound ridiculous.

Okay, I’ve derailed from the topic at hand. And I’m ranting. But one more thing before I sign off: my absolutely most favorite piece of coverage from the annual festival has been this, natch. Ahhh, sweet schadenfreude, take me away.

So! Are you at Coachella? Have you been to Coachella in years past? What’s your fave annual festival for people-watching (and why)? Give it to me, festivistas!