Falling in love at Glastonbury
Sesh heads, vodka lemonades and a boy from London
Hi Style Stars,
Last weekend American Style went to Glastonbury with Ella, a 22-year-old Brighton girl. Ella told me she’d be working at one of the bars and I thought it might be interesting to see what it’s like really being in the weeds of a festival. Glasto has a rep for being way realer than say… Coachella… and what’s realer than serving people vodka lemonades in the sun all day then dancing with your friends after?
This year felt like a big one for Glastonbury, given that we are probably at peak Kate Moss and Pete Doherty on drugs in the mud-nostalgia. Burberry just released a campaign that stuck Alexa Chung back in that very mud, referencing her own peak festival days in the 2000s. Would there be many Katelets and Chungsters this year? I needed to know…
I wanted to publish this on Monday before everyone’s Instagram stories from Glasto expired.
Alas, I could not get a hold of Ella’s diary until today, Wednesday. When I read through it I see why — she met a guy in the dregs of the festival on Monday and went home with him to London, where she wrote this diary. She texts me this:
That’s the Glastonbury dream, baby…
Name: Ella Ray
Age: 22
Occupation: HUSTLER: Student / Bar-Tender / Holiday-Home Host / Festival Operations / Tattoo Artist
Hometown/where you live now: Brighton!
Where you’re staying: Small pop up tent.
Is this your first Glasto? No! My 3rd.
Why you’re here: Werk. (I’m doing 12h shifts each day on a bar!).
Who/what you’re most excited to see: The absolute size of the crowds- its amazing. And Paranoid London Live Set (post script- they were pretty good), as well as Nabihah Iqbal Live (post-script- didn’t catch this :().
How you got to Glastonbury: 4 hour, peaceful train ride.
A couple days before the festival starts, Tuesday
I arrive on Tuesday. My 3rd Glastonbury. I am overloaded with stuff: I’m my own donkey. My mistake for bringing all my favourite outfits and then also telling a friend that I’d bring in 3 dozen deep red roses to use for decoration on one of the artist bars. I look laden. And romantic.
My dad dropped me off to get the train, recounting how he went to Glastonbury with only a bum bag/ fanny pack for the yanks, containing (redacted: substances), £20, and no ticket. My mother has a similar story, circa 1991 she snuck in, hidden in the drum of a Peruvian samba band. She had no tent, no money, and lost all her friends on night one, hanging out with an ancient hippy for the rest of the festival.
Day 1, Friday
On Friday, I get dressed up cute and head out and about at the festival. I end up at the healing fields, lying in a tent listening to Vedic music with my best friend. We get lost in the forest and then bump into someone we know- he’s going to see Andrew Garfield talk.
I then walk around the shops, stopping in Oxfam. I’m looking for the perfect pair of Levi’s shorts. Not too short, not too tight, just enough straggly denim bits coming off. I try a pair on that are slighhhhhtly too tight. But I do come out instead with a lovely blue crochet top. Glastonbury is a great place to buy clothes. Everything glittery, everything vintage and bohemian, everything crochet and feathery you can dream of, there’s a shop.
It is then work time for little me, I hop on the bar in my blue boiler suit and serve endless double vodka lemonades. I finish at 4am and dream of cups full of ice.
Breakfast: Croissant, Cigarrette, Tinned Cold Coffee, and Tangarine. Always my festi brekki.
Your outfit today: Before work, I trot around in a very cute vintage mini slip dress, white tie up stocking socks with slouchy boots and a crochet headband.
Hydration of choice: All of them! I work on a bar! Tomato juice, red bull, cheeky tequila shot here and there.
The vibe in the air: It’s super hot. People are boiling. Everyone is almost naked and dancing and trying to find shade. It’s good though, despite the heat, everyone is still getting on it.
Lunch: Sandwich and apple- nothing too exciting
Your favorite set: I caught some floating points and it was wicked!
High point of the day: Buying a lovely crochet top from Oxfam. (Charity / thrift shop in the uk which has stalls at festivals too).
My dad dropped me off to get the train, recounting how he went to Glastonbury with only a bum bag/ fanny pack for the yanks, containing (redacted: substances), £20, and no ticket.
Low point of the day: Doing 3h of washing up fruit juice containers. (Festival work is really not glamorous)
Any outfit changes?: Into my work outfit. Blue dungarees and red lippy. Bikini top underneath.
Most Glasto moment of the day: When I go the Oxfam shop, everyone is trying on clothes - getting dressed and undressed- out in the open- not in the changing rooms as they are full. No one cares.
Best outfit you saw today: Pictured below!
Worst outfit you saw today: I hate the coin/ circle belts [very controversial these belts, a similar opinion was shared in the A.S. Coachella report]. I saw a lot of them around.
Dinner: Chicken Katsu curry. 6/10
Any interesting VIP sightings? Amelia Dimoldenberg.
Your mood: Fairly good. Gettin by. Better with tequila.
Excitement level/10: 6/10
We exchange hellos, and I realise as I leave that it was Harry Styles. I hope he enjoyed my nips.
Day 2, Saturday
Breakfast: Croissant, ciggy, canned coffee, tangerine- again!
Your outfit today: Very short shorts, high neck vest in military green, converse 70s.
Hydration of choice: lots and lots of water with ice.
Hangover level/10: 0/10- I didn’t drink too much, but I feel tired, very tired.
Most Glasto moment of the day: Having a cry in the toilet because I’m so exhausted and hot. Quickly recovering with a cigarette.
The vibe in the air: Again, it’s hot. Oh so hot. People are up though, up for a boogie in the sun. Lots of scarves being worn wrapped around heads or under guys’ hats - I personally really like this look.
Lunch: Sandwich with crisps (chips) in. And banana.
Your favorite set: I saw paranoid london! Also caught a little 4AM CRU - v good. And a tiny bit of Charlie XCX (lock it lock it lock it lock it unlock it).
High point of the day: Dancing with friends to 4AM CRU. Such great energy!
Low point of the day: Saw a man collapsed on the floor with a ring of stewards & paramedics around him and for a moment thought it was one of my friends :(.
Any outfit changes?: I have no photos of it, but I changed at night into a sheer frilly shirt (no bra, nips out!), blue jeans and a scarf wrapped around my head.
I saw a lot of these today with big square Ibiza sunglasses, bad haircuts and totally fake turkey teeth (veneers). It’s really a wild look.
Most Glasto moment of the day: Having a cry in the toilet because I’m so exhausted and hot. Quickly recovering with a cigarette.
Best outfit you saw today: See below! Missy in the white looked stunning.
Worst outfit you saw today: In the UK there’s a big cohort of men who exclusively wear a brand called montirex to go out in. It’s like a two piece - tshirt and shorts - made from sports material, normally in the most jarring colours (highlighter teal, yellow ect). I saw a lot of these today with big square Ibiza sunglasses, bad haircuts and totally fake turkey teeth (veneers). It’s really a wild look.
I have showers at my camping luckily, and every time I lather my hair and get stuck in with a toothbrush, I think about being the cleanest person in this place.
Dinner: Big lasagne.
Any interesting VIP sightings? Said hello to Harry Styles in a queue (I guess Harry Styles has seen my tits now). Cara Delevigne and Charlie XCX & George Daniel of the 1975 hanging around my bar also <3.
Your mood: Tired in the day, kinda on it at night.
Saturday night, after work, I go out. Everyone is walking around wide eyed and happy. There’s a slightly anxious buzz, anticipative for the big night. I catch some of Charlie XCX and am disappointed by the people on the edge of the crowd who are sitting on the floor for bangers like Lock it- but stand and get excited when ‘Apple’ comes on next. Come on guys, your music taste doesn’t have to be entirely informed by Tiktok!
The ‘highway’- as I call it- is busy. The main road that goes through the middle of the festival operates a one way system, creating two streams of people, from above it probably looks like a perfectly flowing river.
I’m on my way to meet pals at Paranoid London but arrive slightly early due to the efficiency of the one way flow. I wonder what to do with myself, so I slip down a small path. Security asks what wristband I have on- I tell him crew and after some deliberation he lets me through. Suddenly I’m in a line to the exclusive ‘(Name Redacted) Bar’- I only realise when I get to the front as they ask me for my card. I don’t have a card.
I’ve been in before, it’s cool. It’s super exclusive, full of A-Listers. You need to know people or be someone to get in- you get given a membership card that works for life. At that time I don’t know people nor am I anybody. As I leave the queue a big possy of people come in, in the middle a man in a big fluffy hat and glasses. We exchange hellos, and I realise as I leave that it was Harry Styles. I hope he enjoyed my nips.
I dance the rest of the night at iicon stage.
Day 3, Sunday
Sunday style is scatty. People really don’t care anymore. I don’t wear any make up at all and it’s fine. People are late to arise- you finally see people wandering about at 2pm, heading to get bacon buttys. It’s a weird atmosphere, some people ready to go home, some people gearing up for the last absolute bender of a night- it carries right through to Monday night.
Breakfast: Croissant, cigarette, cold coffee, pack of crisps, tangerine, lots of redbull on ice.
I head to the stone circle, where everyone gathers when the music stops. A big meeting place for all the biggest sesh-heads and party-lovers.
Your outfit today: I can’t be asked for anything special. Black vest and short denim shorts, the cute white stockings I wore on day 1, slouchy boots. Over the course of the day I acquired 2 stickers from customers and a large gold rosette on the front of my shirt which says ‘Looking fucking fabulous: Glasto’25’.
Hydration of choice: Orange juice, coffee, tea, shots of rum.
Hangover level/10: 3/10
The vibe in the air: People in the morning are hungover and delirious. I think this carries throughout the day. Normalcy is out of the window, opening the space for general acceptance of everyone in whatever state they may be in. It’s this camaraderie that people come to Glastonbury for. All the chats I have with customers don’t quite make sense and it’s all laughed away. People are excited for the last day- and dare I say excited to go home.
Lunch: Sandwich again. Lol.
Your favorite set: I loved Coco Maria!
High point of the day: The silly morning chats with customers and colleagues. Making jokes with my best friend and generally not making sense.
I meet a guy, we hang out all of the long, hot day in the shade of a big tree, listening to rouge sound systems and lying on an airbed.
Low point of the day: Going to bed at midnight…. I am not the crazy party girl I once was.
Any outfit changes?: Into my lovely PJs for bed.
Most Glasto moment of the day: One of the men who gave me a sticker, told me that he stuck another one at the top of a 20 meter flag pole that he climbed last night.
Best outfit you saw today: pictured below.
Worst outfit you saw today: I saw a man in a full Hawaiian shirt and shorts combo made from shitty polyester. Didn’t enjoy.
Dinner: No dinner.
Any interesting VIP sightings? Beebadoobie! Late at night!
Your mood: Actually pretty good! Excited for it to be over but completely leaned in to being tired and in this crazy place.
Emotions are high, with people processing the feelings of the sets they saw last night - the people they met, the things ;) they did.
People are dirty. Showers aren’t readily available and it shows. I have showers at my camping luckily, and every time I lather my hair and get stuck in with a toothbrush, I think about being the cleanest person in this place.
If I’m the cleanest, someone must be dirtiest, and I hazard a guess that there are many, many grimy people on site.
The style at Glastonbury in 1-3 words: Practical, silly.
Your Glastonbury weekend in 1-3 words: Hard & fast.
Are you going back next year? Next year isn’t on. Fallow year! They let the grass grow and the cows graze (apparently). But maybe the next year? Who knows what I’ll do in 2 years!
Glastonbury is a crazy place. It’s liminal- all the rules are gone. Time doesn’t exist, 5pm could be 9am. Everyone is friendly, everyone wants a good time, everyone is up for a joke and a lot of people are on drugs, letting go of pretensions from the real world.
I think this is reflected in the style. You have to carry all your clothes in on your back, along with your booze, food, and tent. It’s a slightly bleak environment- it was super hot this year, but at any point it could rain and the ground could turn to mud under your feet. You dress accordingly, deliriously rummaging for whatever’s clean in your backpack and putting together an outfit that reassembles something stylish. I think that’s what I like about Glastonbury style. There’s no pretentiousness, none of it is particularly contrived and out comes outfits that are messy, cool, wearable, and personal.
Really- no one cares what other people are wearing particularly, everyone just wants to have fun and survive, I think that’s Glastonbury style.
It’s suddenly Monday morning. I head to the stone circle, where everyone gathers when the music stops. A big meeting place for all the biggest sesh-heads and party-lovers. I am wearing blue starry pajamas, of which I take the shirt off and wrap a scarf around my top, no shoes but sunglasses.
I meet a guy, we hang out all of the long, hot day in the shade of a big tree, listening to rouge sound systems and lying on an airbed. I go home with him to london- and I’m writing from his bed.
Yes glasto is great.
Love 2 see it
real! ❤️